NEWSWORTHY
WITS STUDENT
WINS SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN AWARD
Since
its
the
inception
AfriSam-SAIA
in
2009,
Sustainable
Design Award has grown into
South Africa’s most prestigious
sustainability award programme,
attracting an exciting range of
entries. By honouring outstanding
achievements in sustainable archi-
tecture, the awards programme
has taken the lead in creating
public
awareness
about
and
sustainability
debate
in
the
built environment.
Most recently, AfriSam launched
the
AfriSam
Challenge
Student
to
Design
incentivise
the
next generation of designers to
foreground sustainable solutions
in design thinking. The inaugural
VIBRANT SURFACE ADDS COLOUR TO URBAN ENVIRONMENT
FNB has unveiled the first phase of its BankCity revitalisation project to continue its
commitment and investment in the Johannesburg inner-city. The bank’s recent investment
affirms its sustained contribution to inner-city rejuvenation.
The revitalised BankCity precinct offers a ‘Work. Eat. Play’ experience through a
combination of 34 retail tenants that are open to all residents and visitors of the inner-city
and nearly 12,000 FNB employees who occupy its properties spanning 181,000m 2 .
It took nearly 130,000 hours to produce brand new retail spaces and a world-class,
colourful Fraser Street surface which connects Pritchard and Jeppe streets.
Working in conjunction with Boogertman + Partners, Seamless Flooring Systems was
responsible for the eye catching surface that has turned Fraser Street from a grey streetscape
into the vibrant heart of the revitalised BankCity precinct, providing a bold canvas for the
benefit of both pedestrians and the retailers alike.
Presented with the existing cobbled surface that was not allowed to be removed, this
provided a challenge in sourcing a suitable, thin surface material that could be laid over the
top of the cobbles. The laying of a rubberised floor on another project gave rise to ideas of
how this type of flooring would be ideal to lay directly over the existing surface at BankCity.
The numerous colour options available in this product range also allowed for more creativity
with regards visual impact. Specifications important to the architects were that the flooring
was porous, came with a long warranty and ensuredminimal UV degradation.
The product chosen for the application is manufactured by German firm Melos, the world’s
largest supplier of EPDM rubber and is solely distributed by Seamless Flooring Systems.
Seven different colour blends were chosen for the application. A world first for the
application of this product at BankCity was that it is applied to both vertical and horizontal
surfaces. Due to the fact that the street is used for both pedestrian and vehicular access, the
surface had to be tough enough to take heavier traffic than normal. This necessitated some
months of experimentation in the Seamless Flooring Systems laboratory and resulted in the
use of a 90 shore hardness EPDM as opposed to the standard 60 shore hardness EPDM.
Technicians from Melos came out from
Germany to consult on the project and
ensured the installation ran smoothly.
The end result is a unique, colourful
urban environment that brings something
special and uplifting to the staff and
public who will be using this space daily.
www.seamlessflooring.co.za
News Watch
brief went out to architecture
schools
across
Gauteng
who
were required to take an in-depth
look
at
Joubert
Park
/
the
Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG)
and how to connect the museum
to its immediate community and
other audiences.
The winning design came from
Lenasia resident,
Hashim Tarmahomed,
currently
doing
23-year
his
old
who
is
Honours
degree in Architecture Studies
at Wits University and grabbed
the opportunity
his creative
to
design
showcase
and
love
for sustainability.
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