Winners of Steel Awards produce world-class work

© deGraaf Erik – 123RF.com

The awards recognises the excellence in the use of structural steel, where 81 projects were entered this year.

Convener of the awards, the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction’s (SAISC) Spencer Erling, said that the quality of the entries in 2015 easily matched the outstanding quality of previous years. “We are going through very tough times in the steel construction industry yet, in spite of this, we are able to produce world class work - an indication that the future is a bright one.”

The judges affirmed that the Value Logistics’ new distribution centre in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, is one of those model projects in which from start to finish one can see that the structure was well designed, and that the team worked closely to ensure that the architects could fulfil their vision of a highly aesthetically pleasing office facility. Value Logistics walked away with top honours in the Factory and Warehouse Category.

Wide range of services

In order for Value to offer its wide range of logistical services, it needs to have distribution centres which enable them to offload, sort, store, reload and deliver any product imaginable, from the biggest to the smallest quantities, both domestically and internationally, and that the new facility fulfils these requirements ingeniously.

The installation consists of two warehouses, one for Value Logistics (about 13,000m²), and one for Freightpak (about 7,000m²), as well as support facilities such as wash bay and vehicle inspection, dispatch, refuelling, gatehouse and canopies to many of the structures.

As one would expect, these warehouses are massive with columns spaced far apart with the double pitched roof (the Klip-lok roof sheeting was of course rolled in long lengths on site) supported on light transverse roof trusses, which in turn are carried by long span longitudinal lattice girders between the columns. In this instance, the lower sections of the columns are made using tilt up concrete columns.

Other categories and winners included:

• Winner Mining and Industrial Category: Medupi Power Station-air cooled condenser
• Overall Winner and Tubular Category Winner: SKA Africa radio antenna positioner
• Bridge Category Winner: Kirstenbosch Canopy Walkway (The Boomslang)
• Joint Winners of Light Steel Frame Category: House De Clercq and Cottage and Mediclinic
• LSFB Category Commendation: Kuruman Casino façade
• Winner Residential Category: Zinkwazi Beach House
• Residential Category Commendation: Hennie De Clercq House
• Winner Architectural Category: Multichoice City
• Winner Cladding Category: 'Peak Cap' at Multichoice City
• Winner Retail Category: The Watershed at the V&A Waterfront