Developments News Magazine

The South African stainless steel industry is in an early developmental stage with regards to construction and cladding, despite many architectural projects having been completed over the past few decades, says South African Stainless Steel Development Association (Sassda) Western Cape regional manager Michel Basson. This early stage, he adds, provides an opportunity for the local stainless steel industry to grow rapidly over the next decade, considering that stainless steel – while slightly more expensive – has the unique ability to resist corrosion, heat and chemical damage, thereby providing a total life-cycle costing that is, in most cases, “unbeatable”. Basson explains that albeit that most stainless steel grades can be used for architectural application, high-strength duplex grades of stainless steel provide added strength, which allows for a reduced thickness of the material, subsequently providing a cost advantage over conventional grades of steel since the construction will ...

A low cost house. The national housing deficit currently stands at about 1.85 million units. Rents are scary. The number of low cost houses is deteriorating. Efforts to address the present-day housing crisis in Kenya have yielded little fruit, and millions of citizens are living in squalor. Statistics from the World Bank paint a grim picture of the situation with six out of 10 households living in slums. There is a deficit of over two million houses countrywide as annual production remains at a paltry 50,000 units, way below the targeted provision of 250,000 units. Exorbitant prices of land, high cost of construction and low purchasing power are the root causes of the deficit exacerbated by high population growth and rapid urbanisation. Interestingly, most new homes target the upper and middle classes since they produce better profits. Worse still, scarcity and excess demand has resulted in a swift price escalation that has subsequently displaced low-income households from affordabl...

Multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm Arup was commended for its finalist entry of the V&A Grain Silo Complex façade in the architectural category at the 2018 South African Steel Awards, held last month. The R500-million V&A Grain Silo project, once an agricultural silo for grain storage and now an industrial heritage complex, is “the jewel in the crown of the silo district development”, says Arup senior façade designer Tessa Brunette, and the complex is now occupied by the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA) and The Silo Hotel. The most notable and significant aspect of the use of steelwork in the structure, according to Brunette, are the 98 pillow windows on the building. These were installed into the existing concrete frame, where existing masonry infill could be removed at the rooms and restaurant of the Silo Hotel and on the top floor of the Zeitz MOCAA. Briefed to “give new life to the redundant industrial building and repurpose it into something new f...

For the last 70 years, drugs known as antimicrobial agents have been used to treat infectious diseases caused by microbes such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. However, antimicrobial agents have now been used so widely that some of the microbes targeted by the drugs have adapted and become resistant to these drugs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 2 million people become infected with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in the United States every year. Around 23,000 people die as a result. In addition, 1 in every 25 hospital patients has a health-associated infection (HAI) on any given day. Fast facts on antimicrobial resistance Here are some key points about antimicrobial resistance. • Antimicrobial resistance can develop in bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. • Resistance can make treating infections a costly, difficult, and prolonged process. • Prominent forms of antimicrobial-resistant infections include MRSA, tuberculosis, HIV and ...

Chicago Pneumatic, a leader in high-performance compact tools and equipment, travelled to the coast to display its generator prowess at the KwaZulu-Natal Mining & Technical Exhibition (MTE) held in Pongola on 16 October 2018 and Richards Bay on 18 October 2018. The company gave away its innovative CPPG5 portable generator to a lucky winner at each of these MTEs. “Our company is consistently looking for new ways to improve our levels of service excellence in order to deliver solutions to our customers that are in line with Chicago Pneumatic standards,” states Eben van der Vyver, Business Development Manager at Chicago Pneumatic Construction Equipment in South Africa. “The 2018 MTEs have been an invaluable learning experience for us as a company, as we have the opportunity to interact with customers face-to-face and to gain an in-depth understanding of their needs as well as their views of Chicago Pneumatic generators.” The robust CPPG5 petrol-driven portable generator delivers c...

Atterbury, the leading property development and investment company, has concluded a significant B-BBEE transaction that secures 30% black ownership of Atterbury Property Fund (APF). APF is now 30% owned by Talis Investment Partners (TIP) and 70% owned by Atterbury Property Investments (API), a subsidiary of Atterbury Property Holdings. TIP is 100% black-owned and led by entrepreneur Tebogo Mogashoa, Chairman of Talis Holdings. Its investors include a consortium of Talis, a black women’s group, the Atterbury Property Foundation NPC and Ascension Capital Holdings, a black-owned private equity fund. APF houses all Atterbury’s South African investment assets with a gross value of R4.1bn and a development pipeline estimated in excess of R6bn. APF also has a 28% stake in the newly launched Divercity Urban Property Fund, an investment fund that is focused on urban renewal with a unique emphasis on inner-city mixed-use precinct development. Divercity’s gross assets include a development p...

Workshop17 won Best Coworking Space, South Africa, 2018 at the recent Southern Africa Startup Awards. It was one of 75 local finalists shortlisted across 15 categories. The sought-after award was presented to Workshop17 for being “a coworking space that deserves recognition for its services, support and resources to fast-growing tech start-ups, and for creating a culture and environment that fosters innovation”. Workshop17 (formerly Open Workspaces) creates and manages spaces in which startups, freelancers and companies -- big and small, profit and non-profit, new and experienced -- can work, meet, collaborate and innovate. It is a leading coworking space with an increasing number of locations in South Africa. Since its first coworking space opened in 2012, Workshop17 has grown into five iconic workspaces hosting over 2,000 members and 500 companies. More locations are in the pipeline. Paul Keursten, CEO and Co-Founder of Workshop17, says, “We are thrilled to be recognised as a...

On 8 November 2018, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa proudly hosted the official opening of its Technical Training Academy situated at their Service Centre in Chloorkop. The company extends a sincere thank you to Naledi Pandor, Minister of Higher Education, for her participation in the prestigious ribbon cutting ceremony. “Our aim is to offer first class technical training programmes to raise the technical proficiencies and standards of our industry and to set further benchmarks for excellence on the African continent,” states Philipp Nellessen, CEO at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions Sub Sahara Africa. “We want to develop exceptional skills in Africa for Africa!” “Our decision to build a Technical Training Academy was motivated by our goal to develop exceptional candidates for our workshop and site team environments combined with the tremendous skills shortage faced by the country,” comments Ruben Lamprecht, General Manager of thyssenkrupp Service Centre. “This was a...