The Civil Engineering Contractor June 2019 | Page 16

ON SITE
The sky’s the limit
The curved shape was selected to represent an airplane wing.
By Eamonn Ryan
Remote-controlled (RC)
car, drone and planes
specialist Grandprix Models
recently refurbished its
premises, opting for a highly
engineered look using an
airplane wing design to
capitalise on its distinctive
location.
G
randprix Models is located
in the flight approach to
OR Tambo International
Airport so Grandprix Models
owner Gary Gibson wanted to
create an environment where RC
racing enthusiasts, their friends and
families could mingle and talk motor
sport in a sports venue setting – and
it had to have the right ambience.
Gibson’s vision was for a curved
fabricated steel structure to extend
14 | CEC June 2019
over the area, resembling a giant
airplane wing.
RC racing has a fanatic following,
with many Formula 1 Grand
Prix drivers having more humble
beginnings with RC.
“We’re passionate about Grand
Prix, we’re passionate about Motor
GP – so that’s what we wanted the
structure for. I designed and built this
building myself 15 years ago – I’m
the architect, the quantity surveyor,
the contractor,” says Gibson.
When it came to the latest
refurbishment, he opted for a steel
specialist, Fabcon Steel, because their
steel design is incredibly intricate.
“Nobody else wanted to take the
project on because of its complexity,
because of the curvature skeleton in
the steel needed to create the wing
image. They just wanted to put in a
piece of H channel and a cross, and
that’s all they wanted to do, despite
the drawings I had done.
“The curved shape was selected
to represent an airplane wing, as
the building is in line with the flight
path from OR Tambo International
Airport, providing a spectacular
vantage point to view airplanes
landing and taking off. You can
watch aircraft flying overhead every
15 minutes in the evening and see
them land. We decided to leverage
our distinctive location by designing
a mezzanine floor with a glass
structure, and a deck where you
can watch planes touch down. The
structure by itself would become
the building’s dominant architectural
feature and aesthetic: not only a
talking point for visitors, but being
a striking visual feature highly visible
from the main road.
“The rolling of the steel was
complex – you’ve got to roll it in
two directions. Fabcon was the only
contractor that actually understood
what I wanted.”
The complexity also doubled the
cost of the roof to R2-million. To
create an industrial-type look, Gibson
describes the choice of 55mm piping
as ‘aggressive’. This is also because,
being glass, the wind factor required a
sturdier structure. Such was Gibson’s
confidence in Fabcon Steel, he had
www.civilsonline.co.za