NEWSWORTHY
CIVILS HOLDS
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
GVK-SIYA YAMA
SUTHERLAND COMPLETES PHOTO-VOLTAIC SKYLIGHT
Sutherland Façades recently completed the new Parklands Head Office for I&M Bank in
Nairobi, Kenya. The building is the first commercial building in Kenya to generate electricity
using transparent solar PV glass in place of conventional glass, and is the largest photovoltaic
skylight installation in Africa. It consists of 2,200m 2 of Onyx Solar amorphous silicon
technology supplied by ACES Africa, and combines different degrees of transparency to
adapt to the design requirements. Generated electricity is 76.5kWp or 3,342,503 kWh over
the 35 year life span, and the payback period is projected at less than 6 years. It also avoids
approximately 84 tons of annual Co2 emissions.
Sutherland designed the full building envelope on the fundamentals of optimal materials
usage and energy efficiency, whilst visual and thermal comfort for the building occupants
was a key driver of design of the bespoke double glazed curtain walls.
www.sutherlandengineers.com
CASCADE FAÇADE SERVICES
BRINGS TALENT TOGETHER FOR
NEW INDUSTRY PLAYER
Recently established, Cascade Façade Services
(CFS) brings together a number of seasoned experts
in the fenestration and façade industry.
CFS operates confidently in both the commercial
and residential markets, locally and outside the
borders of South Africa. Offering design, supply
JP Joubert, Anton Fish, Salvador Moita
and installation of aluminium fenestration, glazed
curtain wall systems, aluminium composite panel and stone cladded façade systems. They
also provide a highly skilled rope access service, focussing on façade cleaning, repairs,
remedials, joint sealant and the design and installation of access points.
Headed up by Anton Fish, previously with World of Windows, CFS are passionate about
providing practical, cost efficient solutions to improve the performance of façades on existing
buildings to meet the required performance criteria. From over-clads and external shading
devices to internally installed double glazing conversions. CFS will design, supply and install
the appropriate system.
With the guidance from well-respected façade engineers, they pride themselves on crisp,
professional designs and workshop drawings backed by their solid project management
team. Salvador Moita is Head of Projects and JP Joubert heads up
the Design department.
Although the industry finds itself in challenging and somewhat
uncertain times at the moment the company is positive and driven
to continue contributing to the economy by building a successful,
ethical, sustainable and profitable business. Providing excellent
service and delivering high quality products on time is a key focus.
www.cascadefs.co.za
Despite the decline of the Civils
sector, which saw a low confidence
level of 24% as measured by the
FNB/BER Index just before COVID-
19, GVK-Siya Zama has tapped
into its entrepreneurial spirit and
added a dedicated Civils unit to its
operational offering. The company
aims to create jobs by filling the
void left by many companies that
had to close their doors.
This is according to Dumisani Madi,
Chairman of GVK-Siya Zama, who
says a time of crisis and uncertainty
often presents entrepreneurs with
good opportunities to grow their
businesses. “Adding the Civils
component to our services will
expand our reach in the market and
increase our chance of procuring
construction work through exposure
to different clients.”
Based in Gauteng, the unit will
be structured to enable it to
work country-wide. It will be
spearheaded by 35-year industry
veteran Anton Botha, who has
extensive civils experience at
senior board level at some of the
foremost construction companies.
It is also important to note that
GVK-Siya Zama is a level 1 BBBEE
company, and there are few Civils
companies that offer this and have
the necessary experience to carry
out the work, he explained. “As
such, GVK-Siya Zama could bid
on almost any kind of project with
the reasonable confidence that the
requisite skills are there.”
Anton
Botha
News Watch 7