CLADDING // CONCRETE // INSULATION // STEEL // THATCH // TIMBER // TRANSLUCENT // WATERPROOFING // COMPONENTS
PROJECTS
Restoring an 80-year-old promise
Leading construction stakeholders pay homage to a little old church on a hill .
By Candace Sofianos King | Photos by GWR Roofing
Continuing an age-old promise made decades ago by one man of faith , a team of well-respected construction role players joined forces to restore the weathered structure of a quaint 80-year-old church .
In 2014 Lead Architects undertook a development masterplan of the Albini Mission Station situated in Ntshongweni , KwaZulu-Natal for the Catholic Archdiocese . Renowned construction company F Verbaan Construction , roofing contractor GWR Roofing and brick supplier Use-it teamed up in the rebuilding and restoration of this historical site , which is recognised by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial heritage conservation agency Amafa .
Honouring the site ’ s rustic appeal , the restoration project preserved its aesthetic properties and breathed new life into the structure through a modern and rapid reconstruction approach following extensive community engagement and heritage approval .
Restoring the faith
Amanda Lead of Lead Architects was responsible for creating and designing the extension of the Albini Church , while Morrissey Engineers and RMI Quantity Surveyors formed part of the professional team for this project .
“ A bigger church was required for this growing parish – currently it only seats 90 people and is used mainly by the mission residents ,” says Lead . “ The aim is to increase the space to hold a capacity of 450 people , which is indicative of the communities ’ needs .”
Of the three concepts that were proposed by Lead , the client proceeded with the option that preserves as much of the original church structure as possible in the centre of the site . Part of the original building needed to be demolished to make way for the large extension , however , the footprint of the original building is evident in the internal flooring . This forms a large enough space for priests to meet in an area that is considered to garner historical and religious importance .
According to Lead , the most challenging aspect of the design was scale as adding a vast amount of space without dwarfing the existing church was tricky . The design and construction of the roof was the main contributor in eliminating this challenge – consistent eave heights and manipulating the roof pitch played the volume down . “ This is the main reason that the construction of the roof was so important for the success of the project . We are fortunate to have had such experienced contractors working on it – it looks incredible ,” enthuses Lead .
New lease on life
Responsible for converting the architectural vision into reality is local builder F Verbaan Construction . Purchasing manager Warren Verbaan explains , “ Special consideration had to be given to the building to ensure that the original structure in its existing state was maintained and that existing fittings and finishes are restored .”
Materials that are considered structurally compromised were replaced with the same materials or similar to those historically used . Special Rambricks , which are manufactured using a compressed clay method , were used for the construction of this heritage site .
“ Laying these bricks with a bonding slurry is a labour-intensive process executed by specially trained staff ,” notes Verbaan . It was also agreed that community members would be involved in the building process of the iconic site . Other special considerations such as custom-made window frames built to maintain the unique original window shapes were also one of the challenges the teams faced . In the absence of lintels , these lightweight steel frames were also designed to support the Rambricks .
Being a sensitive heritage site , the church required the utmost care to ensure that the team complied with the original 1938 architectural appeal of the building . With the onsite work having rapidly progressed , the current phase of the project was completed in September 2018 .
Historic finish
The roof construction project is divided into two sections , a new section which comprises of a steel structure with loose rafters bolted to the steel IPE , and the roof of the remains of the original church which comprises of prefabricated trusses . “ Due to Amafa specifications , the roof installation has been challenging . The original building is not square nor is it level ; even the original wall plate heights vary significantly ,” says Andrew Gove , industry roofing specialist and director at GWR Roofing .
14
OCTOBER 2018