Demonstrating once again its professionalism and construction excellence, Concor has been highly commended in two categories of the 2022 Construction World Best Projects awards, held in Sandton this week.

The first commendation was in the Building Category, while the second was in the AfriSam Award for Sustainable Construction – recognising Concor’s success in enhancing environmental awareness in construction. Both awards relate to the recently completed Ikusasa building in the Oxford Parks precinct in Rosebank, Johannesburg. According to Concor contract manager Martin Muller, the demanding project gave Concor the opportunity to show its colours.

“This was a complex project that we conducted with a fast track approach, requiring real agility and focus,” says Muller. “Not only did we complete it in just 12 months from start of earthworks to handover, but we also achieved ‘World Leadership’ level in green building standards.”

The four storey, three and a half basement building was handed over in February 2022 for occupation by blue chip company Anglo American Global Shared Services – who recognised Concor by awarding a Certificate Award of Excellence to the company.

“Our team of professionals co-ordinated over 70 subcontractors on site,” he says. “Our scope of work included the fit-out of the entire building, coordinating the installation of all fittings and fixtures before handover.”

In terms of the sustainability achievement, Concor worked with Ikusasa’s developer and team of consultants to push the boundaries of sustainable design and construction. The building achieved a 6 Star Green Star SA Office v1.1 Design and a Net Zero Carbon Level 1 Base Building certification.

“The 6 Star accolade confirms that this project is world class when it comes to minimising its environmental impact – both in the construction process and in the building’s operation,” Muller says.

Ikusasa was designed with sustainability features throughout, including solar and waterwise sanitary fittings, wet waste composting, recycling and a range of energy efficiency interventions. To earn the Green Star rating, Concor applied a range of processes and features that reduced the building’s environmental impact. This included meeting three key requirements before construction even commenced: a Waste Management Plan (WMP), an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and a Hazardous Waste Management Survey on existing buildings.

“During construction, we applied strict performance strategies to manage water use, energy consumption, process waste and pollution to uphold critical environmental standards,” says Muller. “For instance, we re-used or recycled about 70% of demolition and construction waste, rather than sending it to landfill.”

To achieve this, waste was separated at source into waste recycling storage facilities for paper and cardboard, plastic, glass and cans as well as metals. This ensured that rubble, wood, steel and plastic was sorted into dedicated skips. By preventing contamination between different waste streams, waste could be recycled more cost effectively.

“We also used concrete mix designs with a lower carbon concrete wherever possible, including all slabs,” he concludes. “Concor reduced the portion of ordinary Portland cement in its concrete mixes by 30% on average, while also achieving 60% recycled content in its steel requirement.”

The concrete structure on the Ikusasa project progressing with the third floor construction underway.

Installation of the façade starting; this unitised system was less labour intensive to install and did not require a full façade scaffold for installation. This also reduced cost and time.

The Concor team for the Ikusasa project on the topped out structure.

Accurate dimensioning of the façade was possible using sophisticated software that could model the full façade around the concrete structure. These approaches meant Concor unlocked two long lead materials: the glass and façade tiling.

To earn the 6 Star Green Star SA Office v1.1 rating green standard in terms of the Green Buildings Council South Africa (GBCSA) certification, Concor applied a range of processes and features that reduced the building’s environmental impact.

Concor used innovative strategies to fast track the project – giving the tenant early access in a phased approach.