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REFURBISHMENT
The original masonry plant rooms, built some 40 years ago, reflected a level of architectural forethought and investment rarely seen today. At a time when air-conditioning technology was far less advanced, the system already incorporated features such as chilled water, heat recovery and pneumatic controls – a state-of-the-art solution for its era, and one of the earliest hyperretail installations in the Cape Town region.
Kleyn says:“ For me, walking into that plant was both impressive and challenging. A lot of the original equipment was gone, so you were left with empty supply and return chambers, apart from a few remaining fans and attenuators. We had to understand how the system originally worked before we could even think about how to upgrade it using modern technology. That’ s where the puzzle came in. Once we looked at the solid concrete and brick structure, it became clear there was a real opportunity there. Instead of scrapping everything and putting in simple like-for-like replacement packaged rooftop units, it made far more sense to bring the original concept back to life – just in a more efficient, modern form.”
That decision shaped the entire project.
Long lead items, particularly the heating / cooling coils, posed the greatest threat to the programme. On refurbishment projects, coils are often the bottleneck. In this case, suppliers delivered within six weeks – a significant achievement given manufacturing backlogs at that time of year. With that certainty in place, Elmecair focused heavily on preparation. Pipework, builders’ work, cabling and electrical infrastructure were installed in advance, ensuring that once the coils arrived, installation could proceed rapidly.
“ The project involved multiple crane lifts to remove the four old rooftop package units and make space for the new VRF condensing units. Work like that only runs smoothly if the sequencing is planned properly upfront, and that was critical in keeping the programme on track,” he says.
“ Reusing the original masonry plant rooms completely changed our installation approach. In today’ s retail environment, most HVAC systems are packaged units – essentially boxes installed outside and ducted into the building. Purpose-built masonry plant rooms are rare now, mainly because of the space they require and the cost involved.”
But while refurbishing a masonry plant takes longer – typically four to six weeks versus two weeks for a packaged unit – it offers opportunities that a steel box never can. For Kleyn, these plant rooms are not just functional spaces; they are showpieces. Elmecair’ s signature approach emphasises clean lines, meticulous finishes and an almost clinical standard of presentation. Walls, ceilings and floors are painted, pipework is carefully routed and the final result resembles a hospital-grade environment.
“ It’ s about showing value,” Kleyn believes. Even if clients never step into the plant room, the quality is evident in documentation and photographs – and, ultimately, in system performance.
Despite the complexity of the refurbishment, there were few surprises once work began. The design, developed by VMG, reflected years of experience in similar plant replacements across the country. While no two refurbishments are ever identical – every site has its own environmental and operational variables – lessons from previous projects informed this one. project
The cooling towers of the original chilled water system were badly corroded and removed for safety reasons.
From a contractor’ s perspective, the biggest risk was time. Elmecair was appointed late in August, leaving a narrow window to complete the works well ahead of the store’ s critical Christmas trading period and store reopening on 25 November 2025.
RACA Journal I April 2026
“ Even though the site is about 8km inland, we recorded wind speeds of 60 – 70km / h, which was completely unexpected.”
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