DURBANVILLE PREPARATORY SCHOOL SEATING
C MA member and global landscaping block designer and license provider, Terraforce, has introduced the Four x Four® Step Block Cap, a concrete panel 400 mm (width) x 200 mm (height) x 50 mm (thickness), designed for installation at the ends of landscaped seating rows and steps to create neater and more attractive edging for outdoor seating installations. The world’s first Four x Four® Step Block Cap block installation was completed in June 2022 as part of a sports facilities upgrade at Durbanville Preparatory School in Cape Town. The upgrade included the construction of 244 m of seating and steps between three and five rows high and built on five elevations. The seating fronted onto two new Astro Turf fields and two grassed fields. It was constructed with the Terraforce 4×4 Step™ block and the L12 block, and the Four x Four® Step Block Caps were used to panel the edges of the last 4 x 4 blocks at the ends of the of seating and stair rows. The project also included the construction of a vertical wall between the two Astro Turf fields built with L12 blocks. And in a first for the Western Cape, the top blocks of
block manufacturer, Klapmuts Concrete. Overall, 10 000 4×4 Step Blocks, 3 200 L12 blocks and approximately 150 caps were used for the project. The actual installation work was done by Decorton Retaining Systems as a sub-contractor to the main contractor, DP2 Construction. During the installation process additional reinforcing was provided using dry concrete to support the blocks. Cast with two bars of reinforcing with hooked ends, the Four x Four® Step Block Cap is easy to install. The host block is simply filled concrete into which the reinforcing is pressed until the capping panel is flush with the block. One of the challenges of the project was the extremely long seating rows and sloped embankments which meant the seating had to be stepped down in several places. Moreover, the seats and stairs were given a slight slope to allow for water run-off. The introduction of the Four x Four® Step Block Cap resulted from a special request from the school which had previously undertaken similar projects using the Terraforce blocks. As a result, the Four x Four® Step Block Cap blocks will now be made available countrywide and globally through other Terraforce licensees.
the wall were capped with the L12 Terraforce® Cap, a capping panel similar to the Four x Four® Step Block Cap. All the products used on the project, including the Four x Four® Step Block Cap and the L12 Terraforce® Cap, were manufactured by licensed Terraforce
• Company entering: Terraforce • End date: June 2022 • Main Contractor: DP2 Construction • Consulting Engineer: Lyners Consulting Engineers PROJECT INFORMATION
53
21 st Best Project Awards 2022
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker