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Green Building News

Interface increases recycled content in its flooring products

By: Donna Slater 3rd July 2020 Modular flooring producer Interface will, going forward, produce its luxury vinyl tile (LVT) products with an exceptionally high (39%) content of recycled material, without compromising any quality. According to the company, this achievement represents a “breakthrough” in sustainable flooring,... →

Growthpoint achieves green building first with development of Serra facility

By: Donna Slater 2nd July 2020 Property investment company Growthpoint and washroom solutions company Serra Services have achieved the first Green Star Existing Building Performance (EBP) rating for an industrial building in Gauteng, with a 5-Star certification for a 7 400 m2 facility in Meadowbrook, Germiston. An extensive... →

MBA North welcomes infrastructure strategy, but warns that implementation is key

By: Irma Venter 25th June 2020 The Master Builders Association (MBA) North has broadly welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s vision of infrastructure spending as the flywheel of South Africa’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. Speaking at the inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa held on June... →

More profiles can benefit local market

By: Darren Parker 19th June 2020 The current SANS 517 for light-steel-frame building, which is still in development, focuses only on the application of the C-channel profile, but consulting engineering firm ES Consulting Engineers and Associates structural, fire and energy consulting engineer Wessel Esterhuizen believes that it... →

NO LIGHT MATTER Light steel frame building can have more engineering challenges than meets the eye, especially when larger, more complicated projects are considered

Emergency structures present opportunity for sector

By: Darren Parker 19th June 2020 Although the Covid-19 national lockdown proved “disastrous” for the light-steel-frame building sector – as it was for the rest of the construction sector – Southern African Light Steel Frame Building Association (Sasfa) director John Barnard believes that there are opportunities for the sector.... →

SWIFT AND STURDY The speed with which light steel frame structures can be erected makes them eminently suitable for the building of emergency structures

Training course goes online

By: Darren Parker 19th June 2020 The Southern African Light Steel Frame Building Association (Sasfa) has had to adapt its five-day training course for building contractors, architects, engineers and quantity surveyors to an online presentation, owing to the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions on gatherings. The online version of the... →

JOHN BARNARD Light-steel-frame building could become more popular in South Africa if more local suppliers and builders were properly trained

Building confidence at all-time low

By: Irma Venter 18th June 2020 The First National Bank (FNB)/Bureau for Economic Research (BER) Building Confidence Index has fallen to an all-time low of 4 in the second quarter of this year, following the 13 recorded in the first quarter of the year. This was underpinned by a sharp fall in activity owing to the nationwide... →

MBA North urges all stakeholders to reach force majeure consensus

By: Irma Venter 12th June 2020 As the construction industry gears up to return to work as the national Covid-19 lockdown moves to Alert Level 3, industry stakeholders need to come together to reach consensus on a number of contentious issues, says MBA North president and Gothic Construction director Wayne Albertyn. “A key... →

Company eases burden of understanding carbon tax

By: Mc'Kyla Nortje 12th June 2020 Companies have shifted their focus from attempting to lower their carbon emissions to making a budget allowance to pay for these emissions, owing to their misunderstanding of carbon tax, says software developer EDS Systems business development head Eckart Zollner. The new Carbon Tax Act is said... →

ECKART ZOLLNER Carbon tax aims to assist companies in regulating their carbon emissions to keep them to a minimum

Development will create demand for office space

By: Mc'Kyla Nortje 12th June 2020 Following the achievement of a 5-Star Green Star Design Certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa on the work done for the 144 Oxford Road office development in Rosebank, Gauteng, engineering, design and advisory firm Aurecon, rebranding as Zutari, believes that the building... →

Sustainable building designs on the rise

By: Mc'Kyla Nortje 12th June 2020 Although it was previously widely thought to be prohibitively expensive to make the upfront capital investments to go green, uncertainty about the availability of power and water resources, as well as cost volatility, for example, is influencing a mindset change, says professional services... →

Agreement signed on overtime, UIF/TERS payment improving, says MBAWC

By: Irma Venter 9th June 2020 The reopening of the entire construction industry on June 1 under Alert Level 3, instead of the initial suggestion of a staggered approach, caught many companies by surprise, says Master Builders Association for the Western Cape (MBAWC). “Although the return to work was universally welcomed, the... →

Allen Bodill

MBA North calls on all stakeholders to reach force majeure consensus

By: Irma Venter 29th May 2020 As the construction industry gears up to return to work when the national Covid-19 lockdown moves to Alert Level 3, industry stakeholders need to come together to reach consensus on a number of contentious issues, says MBA North president and Gothic Construction director Wayne Albertyn. “A key... →

Construction industry operating at 10% to 15% of capacity – economist

By: Irma Venter 29th May 2020 Despite certain sections of the construction industry returning to work under Alert Level 4 of the national lockdown, the industry is currently working at only between 10% and 15% of its capacity, says Industry Insight senior economist David Metelerkamp. Construction on public projects, such as... →

MBA North calls for engagement around lockdown regulations

By: Irma Venter 22nd May 2020 The Master Builders Association (MBA) North is calling on government to “proactively engage” with the construction industry to firm up the lockdown regulations relating to the industry as quickly as possible. MBA North executive director Mohau Mphomela says that certainty will help the industry... →

UIF/TERS claims leading to 'enormous anger', says Master Builders’ WCape

By: Irma Venter 22nd May 2020 The Master Builders’ Association Western Cape (MBAWC) says it is “cautiously confident” that the construction industry is ready to return to work safely, and maintains that the longer the industry remains dormant, the greater the financial losses its members will need to bear. These losses... →

Integration vital for construction-project life cycle

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd May 2020 There is a need for integration between the engineering design and environmental processes, before the final submission stage of a project, to avoid the possibility of environmental authorisation for construction on the preferred site being denied, says environmental consultancy Environmental... →

SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS Identifying the environmentally sensitive areas on-site early during the design phase can increase the probability of a sustainable and integrated development

System gaining traction in building conversion projects

By: Mamaili Mamaila 22nd May 2020 Alternative building technology solutions provider SanteQ Liteweight Building Technology’s bespoke Plaswall building technology provides for simple and rapid installation using unsophisticated skills. →

BACK TO THE WALL SanteQ's walling systems use between 80% and 90% recycled and waste materials

Timber suitable to help address Covid-19 housing requirement

By: Donna Slater 19th May 2020 In response to government investigating alternative housing solutions for densely populated informal settlements during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sawmilling South Africa (SSA) and the Institute for Timber Construction South Africa (ITC-SA) have approached government with a proposal that timber be... →

Construction industry operating at 10%, 15% of capacity, says Metelerkamp

By: Irma Venter 19th May 2020 Despite certain sections of the construction industry returning to work under Alert Level 4 of the national lockdown, the industry is currently only working at between 10% and 15% of its capacity, says Industry Insight senior economist David Metelerkamp. Construction on public projects, such as... →

Entrepreneurs urged to document business development from early stage to attract investors

By: Donna Slater 14th May 2020 Entrepreneurs that have started a business or are looking to start a business, especially in the green economy, should start, as soon as possible, with documenting their business development process to ensure they have that information available for when they start looking for investors, YWaste... →

YWaste Solutions MD Emile Fourie discusses how entrepreneurs can navigate starting businesses in the green economy.

Westend Building C secures Green Stars rating

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 13th May 2020 Westend Building C, which is part of the modern Westend office development in Centurion, received its 4-Star Green Star SA Design certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), just weeks before South Africa went into lockdown. With a useable area of 6 214 m2, Building C... →

Westend Building C

Local energy not managed efficiently

By: Tracy Hancock 8th May 2020 South Africa is not using its world-class renewable energy resources to drive energy efficiency, says independent conservation organisation World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA) urban futures project manager Louise Scholtz. “If we were, South Africa’s Integrated Resources Plan 2019... →

TRANSFORMATIVE DEVELOPMENTS The decreasing cost of renewable-energy technologies, such as rooftop solar photovoltaic, are one of the developments transforming South Africa’s energy market

GBCSA appoints Reynolds CEO

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th May 2020 The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has appointed sustainability expert Lisa Reynolds CEO, effective June 1. Reynolds co-founded the Green Building Design Group and previously served as executive of sustainable development at Saint-Gobain and chaired the South African National... →

The startup disrupting the construction tender process

By: Mc'Kyla Nortje 6th May 2020 TenderPoint SA aims to introduce effective and efficient e-procurement in the construction industry both from procurement entities such as government and property development organisations, as well as between contractors themselves. TenderPoint SA is an online construction procurement platform... →

Deadline for AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Design Award entries extended

By: Donna Slater 23rd April 2020 Entries for the yearly AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Design Award have been extended to July 3, as a result of the disruption brought about as a result of Covid-19. Cement, aggregate and readymix concrete producer AfriSam points out that strict lockdown measures in most countries around the world... →

Cape Town extends deadline for carbon-neutral development proposals

By: Irma Venter 16th April 2020 Given the current lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, the City of Cape Town has extended the date for submissions for four underutilised city-owned sites that have been made available for carbon-neutral, mixed-use development. The four sites are available to interested and affected parties,... →

Construction sector faces cash crunch as lockdown is extended

By: Irma Venter 15th April 2020 The Master Builders Association (MBA) North warns that the current Covid-19 lockdown and its aftermath are set “to raise all sorts of issues” for an industry that is already in trouble. “The fact that all construction work has been put on hold for the lockdown period has caused an immediate cash... →

Ground-breaking R488m fund seeks to catalyse green-economy SMMEs

By: Terence Creamer 7th April 2020 An innovative new fund has been launched in South Africa to incentivise fund managers to invest in small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) that are able to generate verifiable green outcomes and jobs in the energy, water, waste, infrastructure and land-management sectors. The... →

World Green Building Council collaborates with BBC StoryWorks on buildings series

By: Marleny Arnoldi 6th April 2020 The World Green Building Council (WGBC) has partnered with filmmaker BBC StoryWorks to deliver a landmark film series. The series will air on the BBC television network between September and December →

GBCSA to launch home green rating system next year

By: Marleny Arnoldi 3rd April 2020 The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has motivated South Africans to get a certified green rating for their homes. The council explains that the Green Home Rating System for existing buildings will look to shift South Africa’s homes to align with the United Nation’s Sustainable... →

Building for sustainability promotes valuable returns

3rd April 2020 There is a direct link between the stability of an economy and ongoing development, says consulting engineers firm WSP Africa structures regional director Johan Piekaar. Currently, the local construction and property industries are experiencing a lull owing to reduced expenditure by government on... →

Photo by Creamer Media
CONSTRUCTIVE BUILDING Implementing a sustainable building philosophy provides value-add throughout the value chain

Collaboration needed in electrical sector

By: Tracy Hancock 20th March 2020 South Africa’s entire electrical sector needs a “shake up” and a lot more collaboration, Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa (ECBSA) MD Peter Pedrick has learnt since taking up his position in May last year. Historically, South Africa was internationally recognised for its effective... →

FIRE STARTER There has been a significant rise in fire damage in South Africa over the past ten years amid a lack of regulation policing and governance

Cape Town commercial building showcases pioneering use of ecobricks

By: Kim Cloete 19th March 2020 A new building under construction at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront has become among the first commercial buildings in the world to use ecobrick technology. Recycled beverage bottles, including the typical ‘Coke’ 2 litre bottles, are being used as ecobricks in the construction of The Ridge, a... →

Civils sector lifts its head after sharp contraction

By: Irma Venter 17th March 2020 Collectively, in nominal terms, the nine listed contractors on the JSE have lost “a staggering” 80% of their value since before the start of the financial crisis, says construction market intelligence firm Industry Insight senior economist David Metelerkamp. “This is absolute destruction of an... →

Balwin, Absa partner to launch South Africa’s first green home loan

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th March 2020 JSE-listed real estate investment trust Balwin Properties, together with Absa, has launched South Africa’s first green home loan – the Absa Eco Home Loan. The home loan will come with features and benefits that will appeal to customers looking to live green. →

Balwin CEO Steve Brookes

Green Building Council seeks new leader

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th March 2020 The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) has invited applications for its CEO position. The council said in a statement on Wednesday that it was looking for a dynamic leader to take it to the next level in its mission of accelerating the property industry towards sustainability. →

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