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Contents
of August 1998
EDITORIAL
NEWS
INSPIRATION
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
TREE OF THE ISSUE
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS
FEATURES
Millennium Public Spaces
Competition
Environmentally sensitive
stormwater management
Responding to its environment
PROJECTS REVIEW
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EDITORIAL
Space
constraints in this issue have obliged us to include the ‘Insult to the Environment’
in the editorial but it is something so close to my heart and at least it’s not
tucked into the bottom of the ‘Inspiration’ page, continuing to ruin something
good – or interesting (we have a throught provoking Inspiration award in this issue,
thanks to Henning Rasmuss). A visit to the Witwatersrand Botanical Garden is, in my
opinion, truly inspirational and yet, just after I pass through the entrance gate, I am
met by a sight of one of the most inexcusable examples of visual pollution in Gauteng
– the, recently built, ugly house which juts out just above the splendid waterfall.
Our few remaining wild places in urban environments would be sacrosanct! How the
Krugersdorp Local Council could have allowed this to happen is beyond my understanding. It
could certainly have been avoided by means of a simple visual impact assessment, and maybe
a little loss of revenue for the poor developer – but probably not, if the
development had been planned properly!
Whatever
happened to the ‘ridges and rivers’ policy? It is surely better not to allow any
development on ridges. I remember, in 1987, when Gillooly’s Farm in Bedfordview was
being planned, environmental planners Graham Young and Mark Wood said in their report:
"Today there is general agreement amongst planners that only under exceptional
circumstances should development be permitted on ridges. Their complex terrain supports a
variety of plant and animal species which are not found elsewhere, they are often
associated with interesting geological formations and stone or iron age archaeological
remains, they have considerable aesthetic appeal and they from continuous chains which
make then particularly suited to walking trails." The portion of the ridge at
Gillooly’s Farm was conserved, according to their recommendations, and the proposal
for the construction of a artificial ski slope turned down (thank goodness!) because of
the ecological damage that would have resulted.
A public
meeting is to be held on Saturday 19 September and the Nestle Centre at the Wits Botanical
Garden to discuss the formation of an official organisation to help conserve the remaining
natural areas on the ridges of the Witwatersrand and create a Heritage Trial incorporating
places such as the archaeological sites on Melville Koppies and in Alberton and the first
viable gold mine on the Reef in the Kloofendal Reserve.Conservation bodies such as the
Botanical Society, the Wildlife and Environment Society and the Geological Society are
spearheading this ‘save the ridges’ movement.
Thanks to
the trouble taken by certain municipalities and other landowners or managers, we had a
really good cross-section of entries into our Townscape Millennium Open Spaces Competition
and it was a real problem deciding on the finalists. We hope that our subscribers will
participate to help us make the difficult decisions about the category winners and the
grand ovelall winner – and thanks to all 33 entrants!
Hope to seee
you at our Green Products and Services stand at Interbuild ’98.
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NEWS
Electrically driven game-viewing vehicle
The Kruger
National Park identified the need for a noiseless vehicle for night-time game vieiwing and
Nissan, having already developed a number of game viewing vehicles – including the
Cabstar in operation in the KNP, has produced an appropriate vehicle in partnership with
Eskom. The Cabstar’s electric motor is driven by 56 batteries located in two banks
underneath the vehicle, to give e range of about 80 km. The first prototype is proving
very successful in the KNP with excellent reduction in costs alongside the noise factor.
1998 Habitat
Council Awards
These awards
were presented on 4 June, during World Environment Week, at the Symposium entitled ‘Ensuring
a Sustainable Life on Earth’, in conjunction with the EPPIC Awards. The Habitat
Councils’ Award was given to the Brenton Blue Butterfly Campaign and award
certificates and citations were presented to the Endangered Wildlife Trust (in conjunction
with the Green Trust) and the Lepidopterists Sosciety of Africa. The 1998 Habitat Award
(Individual Category) was given to John R Jerman of the Pennington Environmental Group.
The Habitat
Council is an environmental umbrella body formed to act as an early warning system when
there is a reason to fear environmental and ecological harm and bring matters of
environmental concern to the attention of the authorities.
The WWF-SA Green
Trust Award Winners
The Green
Trust Environmental Awards were established in 1990 to create environmental awareness and
inspire environmental action – and to recognise the efforts of individuals and groups
in environmental conservation. They are awarded in seven categories and this year’s
winners deserve congratulations for the very real difference they have made to the
environment.
The Tongaland Sea Turtle
Project
The Conservation Project Ward, sponsored by The Green Trust, went to
KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Services which heads up this project aimed at increasing
the numbers of Loggerhead and Leatherback Turtles along the beaches of northern
KwaZulu-Natal and increasing tourism which benefits the local community.
Christ van der
Westhuizen, Die Beeld
The Sam Mabe Media Award, sponsored by Times Media Ltd, was given to Van Der
Westhuizen for her insight into environmental problems and her fearless confrontation of
offenders, particularly in the saga of the Brenton Blue.
Collect-a-Can
The Corporate Award, sponsored by The Green Trust, was awarded to Collect-a-Can
for, not only collecting over 60% of the used beverage cans from Southern African
countries, for recycling purposes, but for creating thousands of jobs. There are now 20
000 collectors – 82% of whom would not otherwise be employed.
Elna Kotze
The Individual Award, sponsored by SAB Beer Division, was given to Kotze for
their leading role in the conservation of the Wakkerstroom wetland area and the formation
of the Wakkerstroom Natural Heritage Association which leased the wetland and, until
recently was responsible for its management. After a mere two years, and reputedly for the
first time in living memory, 13 pairs of Southern Crowned Cranes are breeding in the area.
Hornlee Community Park
and Nature Reserve
The Keith Kirsten Greening Award was presented to the previously disadvantaged,
Hornlee Community in Knysna for their work on the Hornlee Community Park. They cleared the
site of alien vegetation, litter, car wrecks and building rubble, planted formal beds of
indigenous species, created pathways and informal seating and organised the building of an
amphitheatre and education centre. Sensitive fynbos and wetland areas have been protected
and the indigenous vegetation is coming back naturally.
Ramsgate College
The Schools Environmental Project Award, sponsored by Total SA, was given to
Ramsgate College for their rehabilitation of a severely degraded wetland on their
property. A wide variety of educational projects have been undertaken by the college
students using the four different eco-systems: riparian forest, grassland, swamp an open
water.
The Urban Green
File joins tree identification fray
The Urban
Green File was invited by the CSIR to participate in a tree identification ‘treasure
hunt’, held during World Environment Week. The hunt took place on the natural koppie
in the grounds of the CSIR, and the competitors were given an hour in which to identify
and bag specimens from a list of 44 given tree names. Arriving unavoidably late for the
event, the three Urban Green Filers led by intrepid editor Carol Knoll, put knowledge into
practice and joined the fray to see which team could bag the most specimens.
Clutching
secateurs and wads of tree specimen bags, the team identified and collected many of these
indigenous samples. Amongst those collected were Combretum molle (velvet bushwillow)
– this is a small to medium sized spreading tree, greyish in appearance, with heavily
scented pale yellow flowers. Its leaves are invariably covered in short, velvety hairs
(hence its latin name molle which means ‘with soft hairs’). Cussonia paniculata
(mountain cabbage tree) – the foliage of this thcik-set tree has a distinctive pink
undertone. Rhamnus prinoides (dog wood) has very glossy green leaves with small shiny red
fruit, when ripe. This small tree is usually multi-stemmed.
When the
alotted hour was up, teams sorted their samples and earned brownie points if they not only
ken the tree’s botanical name but its common name as well. Although The Urban Green
File did not win (we’re sure this was only because we arrived late), we were
complemented on our tree knowledge and given a consolation prize. This event was great dun
and we hope it will be repeated again next year. Watch out – here come the winners!!
Sasol Technology
ISO 14001 certification
The
engineering and project management division of Sasol Technology at Secunda was recently
given ISO 14001 certification for its conformance to the Environmental Management System
requirements of the SABS. Sasol is a signatory to the Business Charter for Sustainable
Development of the International Chamber of Commerce and to the Responsible Care
initiative of the international chemical industry.
1998 EPPIC Awards
AT the World
Environment Day Symposium on 4 June, the Environmental Planning Professions
Interdisciplinary Committee presented Awards for the application of Integrated
Environmental Management to the following: Lesotho Highlands Water Project: Delivery
Tunnel North received the National Premium Ward; Lourette Swanepoel of Pretoria University
received the National Student Award for ther environmental project entitled ‘New
Muckleneuk Urban Park’; the DEAT, Gislab and Pretoria University received the award
for the Best South African Environmental Technical Paper – the ‘Environmental
Potential Atlas for South Africa; The Wildlife and Environment Society of SA received the
award for the Best South African Journal for the Mar/Apr and Sep/Oct 1997 issues of ‘African
Wildlife and Environment’.
Urban Greening
Association
Urban
Greening is a term used to describe a wide variety if sustainable ‘eco-economic’
urban development actions: including urban forestry, urban agriculture, open space
management, etc. The Urban Greening Association (UGA), a network of experts in diverse
disciplines, has been formed to address urban greening and development at many levels. The
UGA will concentrate on the improvement of urban quality of life and environments. The UGA’s
objectives are: to facilitate effective and efficient use of resources and affected
parties concerned with common issues; to lobby all relevant authorities; and to realise
economic benefits for the community from the use of renewable resources. The UGS is
assisting government, non government and community based organisations, aid agencies and
business to develop and provide urban greening programmes.
Pupils pay to
participate in World Environment Day
This year’s
World Environment Week in June 1998, saw the CSIR’s Division of Water, Environment
and Forestry Technology and Rietvlei Nature Reserve hosting and environmental awareness
event on ‘Live Sustainable and Conserve’ at the Rietvlei Nature Reserve. The
standard five pupils from primary schools in Ivory Park and Mamelodi were invited to
participate in this event provided they pay a fee.
"Each
pupil was asked to bring ten empty cans as an ‘entry fee’," explained Sam
Payne of the CSIR, The pupils feel good about contributing towards the management of the
nature reserve, as well as contributing towards a cleaner environment.
The event
was structured around three programmes designed, not only to educate, but to instill on
the pupils the sense that each of us, as individuals, can make a difference in helping the
environment. They were taken on a visit to the Rietvlei purification plant and taught bout
population and water supply. An interactive water study was also conducted giving the
pupils a chance to come to terms with life ‘with and without’ water. Through a
series of games, the pupils learned about the water cycle and man’s interference and
about the effect of pollution on the environment. The success of this event was
demonstrated when pupils solemnly took a ‘Clean Environment Pledge’, and
formalised it with a green thumb print.
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INSPIRATION
Drive In for your Inspiration Fix
It is said
of Jo’burg that it has none of ‘the things that make a city’- a river, a
mountain, the sea... simply natural features that one could ‘attach’ to, in the
widest sense of the word. It’s simply not beautiful, you see, and we all know that
people live here for the money alone. We’d all rather be in Cape Town, right? After
all, Cape Town has ‘the mountain’ (intoned as if there were no other), and Jo’burg
is simply.... so uninspiring, right?
Well, if
Cape Town has a mountain that is central to its soul, so has Johannesburg. And it’s
closer to the real soul of the city than that lump of sandstone across from Robben Island.
It’s simply more sublime, more dramatic, more stylish, more in-your-face and
exciting, more.... Jo’burg (there is no other).
Where do you
go for inspiration in Johannesburg? I have a theory about people’s relationships with
cities, and it’s this: every once in a while you need to sit and contemplate the
place where you live. You need to face this city, frame it, give it a sharp and incisive
glance, and a forgiving and knowing one. And for this, you need distance. In Hong Kong,
try the harbour promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui. In Cape Town, try Robben Island. In Berlin,
try the Kreuzberg. In Johannesburg, go to the drive-in. (I mean the vehicular bioscope,
not the McDonald’s hole-in-the-wall.)
When last
did you go to the Top Star? What? You haven’t been to the Top Star lately? Not on a
weekend winter’s morning, with yellow grass and spiky fleshy plants crowding the
crash-landed, pastel-coloured, concrete gatehouse exiled from Brasilia? Not on a hot
summer afternoon with the smell of wet dust and golden red rivulets of molten sand
streaming down the cleft sides of our mountain? Not on a warm night with cold burgers and
chips on your car seat? Well, no wonder you find Johannesburg uninspiring.
Never mind
the fantastical gatehouse, wait for the drive to the top! The mine dump that is crowned by
the Top Star has some grand 30’s factories around its base, all orange Transvaal
brick and voluptuous curves. Then the snaking drive around the hill to the top and back
down the opposite way, with sweeping panoramas of the Deep South and the Wild West.
The Top Star
is, and ought to be, one of our true monuments to the magic of urban life. It is one of
the great places of repose in the city. Here, you can take a deep breath of polluted
highway air and stare across at a shimmering, glowing, ziggurat city of hopes and
violence. Here, you can see and feel and understand the geography and the history. Here,
you can have the distance to contemplate. Go on, choose a bad movie, get a cold burger,
bring a bottle of OBS and sit in front of the big screen, facing the city. The grass and
the dark broken earth fall away at your feet, the ground is awash in synthetic yellow and
blue light from the pale billboard towering above, and the city faces you head-on.
We went the
other night, with ten thousand others, to cheer for ‘Bafana Bafana’ and dance
the winter night away against the city silhouette in the distance. Groups of shadows stood
huddled around perforated, smoking, fire spitting oil drums. A great crowd of people
united by a form of hope on our own Table Mountain. And it felt strangely good and
reassuring to know that this was our mountain in our city, shaped out of our piece of
bland Transvaal earth.
With all our
mine dumps being dissolved back to gold-bearing sludge and exported to the East Rand as we
speak, perhaps you should go out and catch the late show. It may be your ‘last chance
to see’. Go on, get over to the Top Star and get your Inspiration Fix. You may be
back by public demand.
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Swaziland Tourism Potential Atlas
GIS Business
Solutions (GISBS) and Prof Willem van Riet, recently undertook a study in order to zone
the high tourism potential areas of Swaziland. The study utilised GIS technology to
determine the scenic qualities of the Swaziland landscape and was used to assist in the
interpretation, analysis, correlation and display of the various tourism data sets that
were collected and provided a scientific platform on which the evaluation was conducted.
The Kingdom
of Swaziland, comprising ±17 000 km2, is roughly speaking the same size as Wales, and is
also the smallest country in the southern hemisphere. It is landlocked between South
Africa to the west and Mozambique to the east, at a latitude of 31¼ , 30 min east of
Greenwich and a longitude of 26¼, 30 min south of the equator.
Sometimes
referred to as the Switzerland of Africa, Swaziland has magnificent mountain scenery with
unique, ancient, rock formations, which have long been a source of fascination to
geologists and scholars.
The country
is made up of four different areas, varying from 400 to 1800 m above sea level, each with
its own climate and characteristics. The mountainous highveld to the west has rivers,
waterfalls and gorges with a generally temperate climate of warm, wet summers and dry
winters with vast temperature fluctuations. The adjacent Middleveld is at a lower altitude
with lush, fertile valleys and a warm climate, ideal for cultivating various crops.
Further east is the sub-tropical Lowveld where two major export crops, sugar and citrus,
are cultivated in abundance. Cattle farming is a common activity in this region, much of
which is typical African bush where a profusion of indigenous fauna and flora are found.
The smallest area is Lubombo, which borders on Mozambique. This sub-tropical region is
typified by mountainous scenery and supports abundant plant and animal life. Mixed farming
is the main activity.
The
catchment areas and most of the major rivers have their origin outside the boundaries of
Swaziland. The tertiary catchment zones are incised from the high lying to the low-lying
areas; this gives the very distinct valley shapes, which make up the seven major valleys
of Swaziland.
The
landscapes of Swaziland set the basis for scenic splendour. Granite hillocks form the
upper escarpment of the Highveld on the countryÕs western side and slowly these terrace
down to the Middleveld then to the Lowveld on the eastern border, just west of the Lubombo
Mountain range. The above-mentioned hydrology dictates the fact that these east-west
incised valleys have cut into six north/south stretching landscapes, comprising the
landscape map which depicts these landforms. Smaller landscapes are derived and exposed in
the quaternary catchment zones, which give rise to the higher lying areas characterised by
high rainfall and runoff.
The
vegetation units have a considerable impact on the ecological and natural tourism
potential. The type of vegetation is attributable to the various environmental gradients
such as moisture, soil types, climate, and altitude - to mention only a few. Therefore the
higher lying wetter escarpment region is characterized by afro-montane vegetation types -
moist belts of dense vegetation, which gradually flow into the grasslands of the
transition between High and Middleveld. The bushveld vegetation types, again
characteristic of the various environmental gradients, typify the Lowveld.
The current
land use of Swaziland was broadly categorised and included in the analysis - and the
areas, which are still relatively undisturbed and have not been invaded by exotic species
such as timber and sugarcane, are categorised as having a high tourist value or potential.
In a similar
fashion, the land tenure data base ultimately distinguishes which land may exchange hands
and which land may be developed for tourism.
Each of the
data layers, hydrology, shape and surface, vegetation, landscape and land tenure were
evaluated and weighted according to their potential for scenic value in the tourism
industry. All contributing data layers were unioned and merged into various facets using
the GIS. The facets were dissolved and again integrated in accordance with scenic value
and the resultant coverage is the tourism potential atlas.
This
coverage (see map) encompasses three broad scenic potential zones: low, moderate and high.
High potential zones are linked by spurs with high tourism potential, but are almost
distinct ‘islands’ within the country’s borders.
This project
has successfully converted a plethora of information into a meaningful and accurate
Tourism Potential Atlas for the Kingdom of Swaziland. This atlas is a valuable tool for
the facilitation of future planning for this sector of the industry in Swaziland.
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TREE OF THE ISSUE
Apodytes dimidiate
Commonly
known as the White Pear
We have
chosen one of the Trees of the Year, Apodytes dimidiata, for our ‘Tree of the Issue’
to mark National Arbor Week (1 - 7 September). The other ‘Tree of 1998’ is
Greyia flanaganii or the Kei Beacon Tree which is a rare, archaic plant, endemic to the
Kei River and its tributaries.
The White
Pear is a small to large evergreen tree with glossy leaves that have pinkish leaf stalks.
The small, fragrant, white flowers, borne in sprays, look like tiny crystalline snowflakes
and the tree flowers over an extended period. It fruits in winter, producing a nut which
is black in colour with a fleshy appendage which changes from green to red to black as it
ripens. The attractive bunches of multi-coloured fruit not only add to the exceptional
ornamental value of this tree but attract a number of bird species such as the Pied Barbet
and Black-eyed Bulbul.
It has a
wide distribution in South Africa, from the Northern Province down the east coast to the
Western Cape, where it occurs in bushveld and coastal and inland forest. It is a hardy
tree which prefers semi-shade and well-drained soil, and likes to have its roots mulched.
In their
book ‘Making the Most of Indigenous Trees’, Fanie and Julye-Ann Venter comment
that the White Pear can be grown as a hedge, as it reacts well to pruning; that it makes
an effective screen plant; and an attractive specimen in parkland, which can also be grown
into a successful shade tree. They say that the growth rate of the tree is about 700 mm a
year.
Fanie and
Julye-Ann Venter are emigrating to New Zealand in the near future and we would like to
acknowledge their input into The Urban Green File in the past and hope that they will
continue to correspond with us in the future. Their combined ecological, botanical and
horticultural knowledge and skills will be sorely missed.
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INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Nissan’s Trim Plant obtains ISO 14001 accreditation
ISO 14001
has become a buzzword in the industrial environmental management scene in South Africa,
since the finalisation of the ISO 14001 standard in late 1996. It is regarded virtually as
a condition of international trade in many parts of the world. Nissan is one of the few
South African companies and the first (and so far the only) SA company in the motor
industry to have achieved certification to this standard.
Nissan’s
Trim Plant was the pilot project in the company’s drive to achieve ISO 14001. The
certificate was officially handed over to Nissan in April 1998 after a successful audit of
the Trim Plant’s Environmental Management System in November 1997. It is in this
plant that the interior trimmings such as seats and head rests are made.
ISO 14001 is
an international Environmental Management System (EMS) standard which sets requirements
for responsible environmental management. It specifies ways in which an organisation
should manage activities that could affect the environment:
*
by developing an
environmental policy with strategic objectives for responsible environmental management;
*
by setting objectives
and targets for complying with the policy. These objectives and targets must be based on
the organisation's environmental impacts and relevant legal requirements;
*
by planning and
implementing these plans so as to achieve the objectives; and
*
by monitoring
compliance to these plans.
The standard
requires continual improvement in an organisation’s environmental performance.
Trim plant
prepared for ISO 14001 certification by making fundamental changes to some aspects of its
work. In order to reach these objectives, simple technology and working methods were
introduced.
An example
of a simple procedure is the following: steam is used to ensure that the coverings fit
snugly over the mouldings. Previously, a continuous flow of steam was supplied for this
task, but in order to reduce water usage, steam guns were introduced which eject steam
only when the operator needs it.
All waste
generated in the plant is sorted on line by the workers that generate it and waste
(including paper, cardboard, plastic and some material off-cuts) is sold for recycling or
re-use, wherever possible. It took a long time to instil this awareness of waste reduction
and sorting into the worker’s thinking patterns. Various methods such as posters and
role-playing videos, with Nissan staff as actors, were used to great effect to create
awareness of correct waste management practices.
After the
initial success with Trim Plant, ISO 14001 is slowly being introduced throughout the
company. Each department (21 in total) has monthly environmental objectives which it must
meet in order to prepare it for full ISO 14001 implementation. These include the setting
of department-specific objectives and targets, identifying what environmental training is
necessary, compiling flow diagrams of the processes used to identify all the environmental
inputs and outputs and listing all potential environmental impacts. The actual achievement
of targets is left to the departments themselves, as far as possible, in order to build
capacity within the various departments.
Not all the
departments will necessarily be expected to obtain certification (for instance the
administrative components), but because the requirements of the ISO 14001 standard are
seen as a logical and systematic way of managing environmental impacts, non-certification
departments are nonetheless expected to use the standard in managing their impacts.
The adage
"What can’t be measured can’t be managed" is as relevant to
environmental management as it is to the management of anything else. Thus the status of
implementation of each department’s environmental objectives is measured in monthly
environmental performance audits which assess compliance with legal and company
requirements - concerning waste management, pollution prevention, hazardous chemical
management and resource conservation. In order to ensure that energy resources are
conserved, a monthly random, after-hours, spot check of every department is conducted to
see whether lights have been left on. In addition to environmental benefits in the form of
reduced greenhouse gas emissions due to lower power consumption, this has obvious
financial benefits, as well. The 60% company average which Nissan has set itself as a
target for the environmental performance audit in 1998 has already been exceeded by 14%,
in the first six months of the year.
All of these
measures have resulted in significant improvements in the way that Nissan manages its
activities. However, probably the most visible example of the company’s commitment to
responsible environmental management is the wetland on its Rosslyn site.
This wetland
was constructed in 1995 to purify all the stormwater from the main assembly plant and to
encourage greater biodiversity on an otherwise typical industrial site. The entire main
assembly plant’s stormwater system leads to a reedbed of about half a hectare in
size, which filters out sediment and other impurities before the water flows into an open
water body. The objective of increasing biodiversity has been successful, as evidenced by
an increasing variety of aquatic bird species which are now regularly seen in the wetland.
These include Grey Heron, Whitefaced Duck, Yellowbilled Duck, Redbilled Teal, Reed
Cormorant, Darter and Egyptian Geese. Other birds include Crowned Plover, Rock Pigeon,
Grey Lourie, Sacred Ibis and Helmeted Guineafowl. The dam is periodically stocked with
small fish to provide food for the aquatic birds. The area also provides a welcome
recreational site for Nissan staff. Some of the dam's water is used for garden irrigation,
enabling Nissan to rely less on the municipal water supply.
The wetland
has become home to three tortoises which were severely burnt in a veld fire and lovingly
nursed back to life by a staff member. These tortoises now live on an island in the centre
of the dam, where they are protected from fire and marauding dogs. They share the island
with some of the aquatic birds that now breed there. Hopefully, the tortoises and breeding
birds will not prove too attractive to the rarely seen python which has made the area its
home and has affectionately become known as ‘Monty’.
Our wetland
is but one tangible example of Nissan’s commitment to minimising its negative
environmental impacts. Underlying this is the less noticeable but no less real application
of sound environmental management principles in our day to day activities. ISO 14001, the
vehicle (no pun intended) which we have chosen to achieve responsible environmental
management, is regarded as non-negotiable at Nissan and we will continue to apply its
philosophy of continuous improvement of environmental performance.
Dust control at
Karan Beef
Carol Knoll
visited Justin Armstrong of EnvironMist Dust Suppression Systems on site at Karan Beef
outside Heidelberg, where he was installing a tailor-made, computerised dust suppression
system into the ‘feed plant’ to cope with emissions, from a variety of finely
ground feeds, at the loading stations.
There are 58
000 head of cattle to be fed at Karan Beef and a variety of feeds such as malt flower,
barley screenings, cotton seed, brewers grain, sunflower oil cake and milled hay are
discharged down chutes into Ōmixing wagonsÕ on an on-going basis, during the working
day. This is a brand new plant and Karan, which has always provided its workers with dust
masks and goggles to guard against the harmful effects of fugitive dust, has decided to go
a step further and reduce these emissions in the interests of healthy employees and clean
air.
The
Environmist System produces fine droplets of water, about 10 microns in diameter (one
tenth of the diameter of a human hair), by pressurising water to 1 000 PSI. By reducing
the size of the droplet, the volume of water vapour is increased, producing a fine mist.
These mist or ‘fog’ droplets, which float freely in the air, amalgamate with the
fine dust particles (smaller than 10 microns) and the increased density of the combined
elements causes the particles to fall back into the product or to the ground, while the
tiny droplets evaporate.
In the feed
plant at Karan, the tractor-drawn mixing wagons pass down a tunnel under a series of
discharge chutes and, as the particular type of feed is released into the wagon, a cloud
of so called ‘fugitive dust’ escapes - the milled hay produces the most dust.
Prior to the final installation of the dust control system, a trial run done by Armstrong
proved that between
85-90% of
the dust from the milled hay would be eliminated. Cotton seed fibres are also dangerous
because they stick in the membranes of the eyes, nose and lungs.
All the
major ‘point source emission’ areas in the feed plant, such as the discharge
chutes, have been isolated with rectangles of stainless steel nozzle line (piping) to
which nozzles are fixed at strategic points. The measurements of these rectangles are the
equivalent of the inside measurements of the mixing wagons and the nozzles are set at
angles 300 below the horizontal and adjusted according to the performance of the dust. The
fog needs to be floated with the dust. A ‘curtain’ has been created over the top
of the mixing wagon which is being filled at the milled hay chute, so that this very
volatile dust (smaller than 5 micron/dia) is obliged to move through the fog. The misting
system will be activated in conjunction with the opening of the chute.
Another
point source emission area is where the hoppers (which are positioned above the discharge
chutes) are loaded with the various feeds. Rectangles of nozzle line are located above the
hoppers and the misting is triggered when the vehicle carrying the load crosses a sensor
beam.
Armstrong
commented that because the system does not use large amounts of water, there is no
resultant mud problem and the process does not add weight to the product (which is
particularly relevant when a product is sold by weight). At Karan, when all the discharge
chutes are in operation, only 15 litres of water is being used per minute - that is 2,
3l/min per chute and the misting system only runs for 20 seconds per chute, during the
loading of each mixing wagon. An anti-drip system ensures that the system is properly shut
off when it is not in operation, so that there can be no water wastage. River water is
being used in the system at Karan and this has to be carefully filtered to ensure that
there is no clogging of the fine nozzles which are only 0, 02 mm/dia.
Mark Stanley
of the American company, Dustco Inc, was on site as a consultant, assisting Armstrong with
the installation of the system. He has used the same system in the States on, as he worded
it "...almost anything that creates a dust problem". He mentioned how fugitive
dust in a grain elevator, for example, has the potential of building up and causing the
elevator to explode. He has installed the system, which he calls a low cost solution in
comparison to alternatives, at quarries and mining operations, construction sites,
conveyors , lift stations, transfer points and unloading depots.
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FEATURES
Townscape Millenium Public Spaces
Competition
Finalists
- Townscape Millennium Public Spaces Competition
The Urban
Green File is pleased to announce, and to congratulate, the finalists in our first urban
public open spaces competition, sponsored by Enviro Elements / Townscape. We have decided
to announce all the finalists in this issue, so that entrants who have taken a great deal
of trouble with their entries do not have to wait, some until May next year, before being
acknowledged - but to give coverage, in this issue, only to those in the ‘larger
parks’ category, as planned. Out of 33 entries, we have chosen 17 finalists - more
than we originally planned, per category, because of the high calibre of the entries. It
is very gratifying to see that, even though the Parks Departments of many municipalities
have had their budgets severely cut, the determination to look after our urban open spaces
still prevails. All subscribers should take note of the ‘ballot paper’ included
in their magazines which allows them to participate in voting for the winner of the ‘larger
parks’ category and the eventual overall winner - the Best Public Open Space in South
Africa. Please remember to fax this form through to The Urban Green File, as soon as
possible. Fax: (011) 782-1380.
Category 1: larger parks
Burgers Park, Pretoria Central
Johannesburg Botanic Garden
Oppenheimer Tower / Khylandaba Park, Soweto
Category 2: pocket parks
Fitas Park, Atteridgeville
Mai Mai Play Space, Johannesburg
Sasol Sensory Trail, Delta Park, Johannesburg
Category 3: squares and
streets / malls
Lower Marine Parade, Durban Beachfront
St George’s Mall, Cape Town
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town
Category 4: nature
conservation areas
Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, Pretoria
Grootvaly / Blesbokspruit Wetland Reserve, Springs
Hornlee
Community Park and Nature Reserve, Knysna
Category 5: campuses
Peninsula Technikon, Bellville
Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg
Category 6: parks and
conservation areas charging an entrance fee
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town
Tswaing Crater Museum, Soshanguve
Witwatersrand National Botanical Garden, Roodepoort
Johannesburg Botanic Garden, Emmarentia
The Johannesburg Botanic Garden, initiated in 1968, is situated in Jan van
Riebeeck Park, which is sited on 82, 2 ha of land incorporating the Westdene Spruit, three
dams of varying sizes and extensively developed landscaped areas displaying an
international collection of plants. All tree plantings are categorised into family
groupings for educational purposes. An internationally renowned succulent collection,
including lithops, aloes and stapeliads; two alpine/montane growing houses and an
impressive cycad collection are points of interest for the visitor, along with the formal
rose garden and a unique hedge display garden. A herbarium, which houses ± 12 000
specimens is accessible to the public, along with a reference library on horticultural and
botanical subjects.
The Garden
links in with the ‘green lung’ network of the city by means of the Westdene
Spruit Trail through to Delta Park at its northern end and Melville Koppies to the south.
The park is very well used with the conservative figure of 2000 people per weekend, based
on autumn attendance, and up to 40 wedding photographic shoots during summer. The local
community has formed a users committee/policing forum and security has improved with two
permanent day and night shift watchmen and the involvement of both the police, private
security companies and a ‘donation vehicle watch’. Numerous societies make use
of the small lecture venue and library and help with its maintenance. Picnicking, informal
soccer and volleyball, cycling, kite flying, canoeing and other water sports (which take
place on Emmarentia Dam) are the order of the day, while the site is also used for
classical concerts and open air plays.
The site is
maintained by the Greater Johannesburg Transitional Metropolitan Council, comprising a
machine/mowing team, a nursery/propagating team, along with a horticultural maintenance
team of 12 staff, each assigned their own designated areas of responsibility.
Oppenheimer Tower Park,
Ntsane Street, Jabuva, Soweto
The park, which is also known as the Khylandaba Park, is managed by the Greater
Johannes-burg Southern Metropolitan Local Council, Parks Cluster. This truly indigenous
park was developed in the early 1960s, funded by a grant from the late Sir Ernest
Oppenheimer. The amount donated was £6000. A key feature of the park is the Oppenheimer
Tower which was built with material from houses that were demolished in the old Shanty
Town - Sophia Town, during one of the former government’s forced removals. The park
also houses the sculptures and village of the renowned Credo Muthwa.
Although the
park is fenced, it is fully accessible to the community and it lies on a main bus/taxi
route in Soweto. The park is utilised by tourists, wedding and engagement parties and the
occasional art exhibition is held in the recreational hall, on site. A caretaker lives on
site and three Parks Cluster staff members are stationed at the park to do the daily
maintenance, while twice a month a team is sent in to do the major maintenance.
Burgers Park, Pretoria
Central
Burgers Park was initially established as a botanical garden by President
Thomas Burgers in 1874. It was transformed into the Victorian style and layout, still in
evidence today, in the early 1890s and handed over to the curator of the City Authority.
In 1910, the park became the property of the City Council of Pretoria and, at present, the
CouncilÕs Department of Culture and Recreation is responsible for its management. It was
declared a National Monument in 1979. It is graced by a wide variety of trees and other
plant species and the palms and rubber trees were planted in the early 1900s.
Structures
in the park include a stone walled fish pond, the bandstand, a stone pergola, the Tea
Parlor, the Queen Wilhelmina commemoration plaque - unveiled in 1898, a Statue of
Rememberance, the bronze bust of President Burgers - unveiled in 1955 and the Florarium
-opened in October 1974. Burgers Park forms part of the recently developed Museum Park
culture route which links places of cultural and historical interest - the Park, Melrose
House, the Transvaal Museum and the City Hall.
The park is
in the heart of the city, occupying a full city block, bordered on two sides by main
arterial roads, and parking is available on the road shoulder. It is surrounded mainly by
high-rise residential units and is within walking distance for a large number of flat
dwellers. The park is utilised by numbers of regular day visitors, tourist groups and
children, who delight in the play area. Ceremonial religious services, weddings and
exhibitions take place in the park and the Tea Parlour is well-utilised. Two guards patrol
the park, while four guards from the Pretoria Inner City Partnership patrol the area,
along with the police.
The park,
which is maintained by a 17 man team, is cleaned on a daily basis; structures and paths
are repaired regularly; lawns maintained on a weekly basis; and planting of annuals,
pruning and tree care done on a seasonal basis.
-----
Environmentally sensitive
stormwater management
Engineers
have an obligation, placed on them by their training, to use their skills for the benefit
of society: to improve the quality of life of those who rely on their skills; to ensure
that their activities do not detract from the quality of life of generations to come; and
to achieve these objectives at minimum cost and an acceptable level of risk, taking into
account all elements including initial, maintenance, environmental and decommissioning
costs.
Civil
engineers, in particular, carry a heavy responsibility because their activities have
far-reaching and long-lasting effects. We have the potential to do both immeasurable good
and irreparable harm.
Is there a problem?
Urbanisation is an accelerating and world-wide trend, most rapid of all in
Africa where the urban population is doubling every 14 years. By the year 2 000 the
population in South Africa will have increased to about 45 million with about 36 million
in urban areas and 9 million in rural.
This
burgeoning urbanisation is the reason that an environmentally sensitive approach to the
management of stormwater is essential. Urban development can increase the rate and amount
of stormwater runoff from the land, significantly - and failure to work with nature to
deal with the inevitable changes will result in increasingly higher costs as our impact
spreads and the cost of repairing the damage grows.
Why does it happen?
Storms cause floods
Any river or watercourse will flood if there is the right kind of storm. It
takes three days of steady rain, over a wide area, to cause the Vaal River to flood but
this kind of rainfall hardly shows as a trickle in our roadside drains. Conversely, a good
thunderstorm, lasting half an hour, causes great torrents of water to run down the streets
and small streams, causing great destruction as it goes, but hardly raising a ripple in
the river.
Larger
catchment areas require longer, more widespread, storms to cause flooding while smaller
catchments require shorter, more intense storms. In general, the longer a storm lasts and
the bigger the area it covers, the lower its average intensity will be, although the total
depth and volume of rainfall will be greater.
Development changes
catchments
The development of cities and suburbs, and the activities of the people that
live in these, all affect the stormwater that runs off the surface. As natural vegetation
and water courses are replaced by roads, roofs and stormwater drains, the rate at which
stormwater flows away grows: the total quantity that runs off increases and the volume
that seeps into the soil, to replenish the ground-water, decreases. The quality of the
water also deteriorates as it picks up the debris of our activities, trash, faecal matter,
heavy metals from motor vehicles, etc, and these remain in the water as there is nothing
in the drainage system to filter them out. Each aspect is linked to the others in a web of
cause and effect that can feed off itself in a vicious circle, unless carefully
controlled.
Some of the
changes in the catchment area caused by development are:
Impervious surfaces
Paved areas, roofs and roads prevent the infiltration of rainwater into the
ground, forcing greater volumes of surface runoff into the rivers and reducing the amount
of water that infiltrates into the soil.
Smooth surfaces
These same paved areas are also much smoother than the natural grassland
that they replace so the rainwater runs off much faster.
Efficient drains
Many of the drains that we build to get rid of stormwater quickly and
efficiently merely add to the problem. If only by doing what they were designed to do,
they make the stormwater run off faster.
Larger stream channels
Streams generally form compound channels for themselves: an incised channel
that can contain more-or-less the 2 year RI flood flow and a floodplain that carries the
rest of the water. As urban development increases the flood and spate flows in a stream,
so the incised channel will grow to accommodate the greater discharge until equilibrium is
reached. The ugly, eroded dongas downstream of major stormwater drains are an
all-too-common sight, especially in erodible granite soils.
Variability of flow
As springs dry up, because less water has seeped into the ground, and flood
peak flows increase, the difference between dry weather and storm flows enlarges.
Environmental conditions become more extreme and it becomes increasingly difficult for
natural communities to establish themselves and stay viable. Loss of reeds and other
vegetation from the banks and bed deprives the soil of its natural erosion protection,
making the channel more vulnerable to scour.
Increased silt load
Building activities and denudation of vegetation in the catchment, and
increased flows in the channel, all add to the amount of soil picked up by the flowing
water. This soil settles out wherever flow velocity drops but, instead of dropping out as
the mixture of fine and coarse particles and organics that makes up the original soil, it
is sorted by the stream, dropping out as sterile, clean, sandbanks in some places and
sticky, sterile, anaerobic mud in others.
Canalisation
Natural rivers and streams are not uniform. They flow through a series of
chutes and pools, and have banks that range from gently sloping to vertical and undercut.
Their bed materials vary from boulders and cobbles down to the finest silt and clay - and
their water depths range from a few centimetres in riffles to metres in pools, with flow
velocities that vary from fast turbulent water to almost still pools. Vegetation changes
from reeds and grass on the banks, through to free floating and anchored water weeds. This
variability provides habitats for all kinds of animals, birds, fish and insects creating a
robust and resilient ecosystem capable of absorbing the stresses of floods, droughts and
even pollution.
Canalised
streams are typically smooth with regular cross-sections that provide very little
variation in water depth and flow velocity and little or no shelter for adult or immature
animals or much opportunity for vegetation growth.
Viable ecosystems thrive on diversity. Artificial channels - even the best - provide
uniformity.
The solutions?
It is not really possible to eliminate the impact of urbanisation but there is
a lot that we can do to minimise new impacts and alleviate old problems. Fortunately,
these remedies are not necessarily difficult nor expensive to achieve. It merely takes a
little imagination to break away from the old prejudices - and some sensitive planning,
with an Integrated Environmental Management approach, at the earliest possible stage in a
city’s life.
For our
cities to work efficiently, they must be densely populated - but this does not necessarily
mean doing away with open space, it merely means planning the use of land in a way that
concentrates the people and concentrates the open space, while making as many different
uses as possible of that open space. A recently constructed detention pond in Booysens,
Johannesburg, was built to double as a football field for 99% of the year when it remains
dry. A stormwater channel in Tamboville was built wide and flat with grass lining to serve
as a park and football pitch for the children, except on rainy days.
What do we do?
Avoid the mistakes of others
There are many lessons to be learnt from the mistakes of the past. Old style
stormwater drainage systems are very difficult to rehabilitate, once the problem has been
created, it is extremely costly to solve. A proper stormwater management masterplan must
be drawn up and implemented, as early in the life of the city as possible.
Costs and benefits
The city must make it worthwhile for private property developers to manage
their stormwater with sensitivity. An incentive, in the form of a rebate on contributions,
should be offered to developers who control their stormwater on site and so do not load
the municipal facility.
Space
Provide the space for stormwater to spread out in a controlled and safe manner.
It will spread out anyway, so it is best to know, in advance, how this is going to happen.
Floodplains should be sacrosanct. They will be inundated by floodwater and the cost to the
community - both financial in repairing the damage and emotional because of lost homes and
lives - is not worth the short term gain of the easily developed land.
Infiltration
Create as much permeable land as possible and reduce impermeable paving to a
realistic minimum. Several excellent open 'lawn paving' blocks exist for parking and other
areas that carry low traffic loads. This will help reduce the volume of runoff, increase
the reliability of springs by recharging the groundwater and reduce the peak flow by
increasing the time of concentration in the catchment.
Storage
Replace the storage volume lost to paved surfaces. It takes about 6 - 8 mm of
rain to start runoff from a grassed area but only 1 - 2 mm will start runoff from a paved
surface. This represents only 40 to 70 m3 of storage per hectare of paving but
it will greatly reduce the frequency of spate flows and will help improve water quality.
Detention storage
Detention ponds are a tried and tested stormwater management tool with many
advantages. They work by temporarily detaining some of the flood-water in the pond and
releasing it slowly after the peak has passed, so reducing the peak by attenuating the
hydrograph, as well as by increasing the catchment time of concentration. They also help
to improve the quality of the runoff, as the stored water has time to lose some of its
sediment load and can be screened to remove much of the floating debris that it carries.
Detention
ponds can have multiple uses. They can be designed to be dry most of the time, providing
parkland for active or passive recreational use - or they can be designed to remain wet,
with pools and reeds, to encourage birds and other wildlife.
Retention storage
Retention ponds differ from detention ponds in that they control runoff by
storing stormwater until it percolates into the soil or evaporates. They are often
combined with detention ponds in a ‘blue green’ system.
Wetlands
Wetlands are nature’s kidneys. They perform an exceptionally valuable role
in maintaining water quality; providing wildlife habitats; protecting water courses from
erosion; acting as sponges to maintain stream base-flow in dry times; and providing
storage capacity to help attenuate flood peaks.
Surface flow
Stormwater should be kept on the surface for as long as possible. Piped systems
are essential in many places but they are hydraulically very efficient and greatly speed
up runoff, decreasing the catchment time of concentration, and contributing to the
increased peak flows. Major roads and collectors need to be drained as effectively as
possible for traffic safety reasons, but all other roads can double as stormwater drainage
routes, without detracting from their primary function, if designed correctly.
Channels
fail safe - that is their capacity increases rapidly with increasing flow depth. The
opposite is true of closed conduits, particularly rectangular culverts, whose capacity is
suddenly reduced when the water surface touches the roof.
Maintenance
The constructed and natural elements of a stormwater management system must be
properly maintained. Damage is progressive: channel banks erode, ponds silt up, reed beds
develop short cuts, linings break up or become unstable, etc. Unlike roads, water pipes,
and sewerage systems, stormwater management systems are frequently not in the public eye
and damage can easily go unnoticed. Regular inspection and prompt action is required to
avoid major repair expenses.
Conclusion
Stormwater can be managed in an environmentally sensitive manner by following
the principles of Integrated Environmental Management (IEM). This approach is likely to
result in a system with lower total cost once all costs including capital, maintenance,
and environmental damage have been accounted.
To be
implemented successfully, a stormwater management plan for an area must be developed long
in advance of changes to land use and must be supported by a strong, coherent, policy. A
system that allows ad hoc decisions, such as whether to permit encroachment onto a
floodplain, spawns uncertainty and encourages unscrupulous developers to make such changes
to the land use and present the council with a fait accompli.
Stormwater
management planning is not just a matter of setting up a computer based model of the
catchment and working out the sizes of pipes and channels necessary to contain the flow
for a certain recurrence interval. The plan must incorporate the principles of IEM and the
process needs specialist input from many different professionals. Savings in capital and
maintenance costs, resulting from a good plan, can be many times greater than the fee paid
to the planners.
-----
Responding to its environment
KPMG
Crescent, Johannesburg
Rich in
natural materials and set in an indigenous landscape, the new KPMG corporate office park
is a truly African development. Yet, it also meets the criteria of an internationally
active company.
For years,
the Parktown Crescent site has been one of the most visible available for development
within Johannesburg (flanked by three major arterials - Jan Smuts Avenue, Empire Road and
the M1 motorway), and the focus of many development proposals. The site is located,
according to John Sampson of Jeffares & Green, at the busiest intersection in
Johannesburg.
One might
expect a building of public significance - a monument, national library or court - on such
a prominent site. It was therefore with justified suspicion that the local community
watched the development of a private office complex with much scepticism, although with
relief that a previous development proposal (a motor city) had not materialised. Their new
neighbour was to be KPMG - an international auditing firm - which had chosen to relocate
from the Carlton Centre.
The design -
the positioning of the building and architectural detailing - is a direct response to the
context. "The challenge has been to design an appropriate building for this specific
site," says Rechelle Le Grange of Boogertman Krige Architects. The building is
positioned on an island surrounded by roads and is designed so as to protect its users
from the noise associated with roads; the choice of materials is African - a building clad
in natural materials such as quartzite and copper, set in a landscape of indigenous
planting.
The building
comprises four office wings which face north and south with virtualy no facades on the
west. An intersecting wing houses all the support facilities - ablution, kitchens and
services. In order to avoid sun control problems associated with west and east facades,
both these elevations of the building are curved with the windows located in the shadow of
the curved walls, thereby reducing the need for extensive air conditioning, with its
associated waste of energy.
Copper
parapets ensure that the noise is reflected over the roof as opposed to entering the roof
through the ceilings - which would have been the case if roof overhangs had been used. The
facades act as buffers to keep the noise out of the building while, in the courtyards,
opposite walls are positioned at angles to each other, rather than parallel, so as to
prevent standing wave patterns from forming which would echo the road noise.
Naturally
ventilated underground parking, in two basement levels, provides parking for most of the
staff. KPMG is fortunate in that most of their employees work in their client’s
offices during audits and not in the building itself. However, employees do return to the
head office occasionally to attend office meetings and functions, but the informal
overflow parking is adequate for these short stays. Exterior parking areas, with many
landscaped islands in between the bays, provide for visitors while the landscaped ‘buffer
zone’ between the southern facade and Empire Road functions as an overflow parking
area - cars park on the lawn with the ‘bays’ demarcated by a grid of trees.
At the
centre of the robust entertainment / overflow parking area is a pavilion with braai
facilities positioned next to a water feature. The southern edge of this space is defined
by a 9 m high retaining wall and landscaping is located in a ‘moat’ between the
road and the building. In order to compensate for the difference in levels, naturally
shaped embankments against the walls are densely planted with trees and shrubs. A large
water feature is positioned against the retaining wall and the design, according to
landscape architect, Anton Comrie, was inspired by a dam wall. Water pours out of four
copper boxes, attached to the wall, through chutes (reminiscent of the sluices of a dam)
into a ‘river’ bed. Adjacent to this feature, a grid of trees demarcates the
overflow parking spaces and it is also under these trees that tables can be set for bigger
outdoor functions.
In keeping
with their determination to have a quality location, KPMG have undertaken to develop and
maintain a pocket park on the piece of lost space on the corner of Empire Road and Jan
Smuts Avenue. This is a good example of how private companies can contribute to the urban
environment. However, Comrie feels that it is a pity that the ‘dam wall’ water
feature is inward facing and that motorists are totally unaware of it.
All the
courtyards are designed as ‘graphic images’, to be viewed from the offices and
balconies above. The main courtyard is visible from the foyer through a glass facade that
spans the entire height of the building. A water feature that faces in two directions
(water flows from the highest point to both the east and the west) provides a focal point
for both the offices and the entertainment / meeting areas overlooking the space. So as to
break the monotony of the long ‘canal feature’, the landscape architects
specified granite cobbles and pebbles in alternating blocks and this results in different
flow patterns over the different surfaces.
At night,
the elevated canal is lit with fibre optic cables. A bio-filter ensures that the water is
crystal clear at all times, while also allowing for water plants to grow. A significant
aspect is the fact that the landscape is built on top of the roof slab of the parking
basements and care had to be taken with the water proofing. All the trees in the main
courtyard are deciduous so as to allow light to penetrate (Combretum erythrophyllum,
Rapanea melanophloeos) and the yellow and red colours of the flowers add warmth to an
otherwise cold space (Strelitzia reginae, Crocosmia aurea).
The eastern
facade overlooks a paved ‘boulevard space’ stretching the full length of the
building. A grid of trees, planted in specially designed containers which double as
seating, lines the space and is overlooked from many balconies. It is this integration
between interior and exterior spaces that makes the KPMG development significant. Workers
are not trapped in their offices and not only have the opportunity to view the landscape
from their offices, but can also interact with it, by walking out onto balconies, patios
and the courtyards.
Also
significant is the fusion of architecture and landscape architecture. The architecture
does not stop at the edges of the building. The guard houses, water features, light
fixtures, seating and even tree planters all complement the building.
Traffic design
Flanked by three major arterials and positioned on the busiest intersection in
Johannesburg, the potential problems in terms of vehicular access to the site are obvious.
Traffic engineers, Jeffares & Green, made various proposals to solve this problem -
ranging from a fly-over across Jan Smuts Avenue to a tunnel underneath the M1 on /
off-ramps. However, a bridge over Jan Smuts Avenue would have meant that vehicles would
have entered the site from two blocks away and if a visitor drove right to the site, he
would have been unable to find the entrance. Another entrance was proposed through the
Wits campus with a bridge across Empire Road but this did not meet with the approval of
campus authorities.
The end
solution has been successful and cost effective. Access is through two entrances off
Empire Road and Jan Smuts Avenue with left-turn slipways into the property and the exits
are onto the M1 off-ramp and Empire Road, also with left-turn slipways. This means that
cars do not need to turn right across the lanes of on-coming traffic - thereby eliminating
the possibility of traffic congestion. The gates are positioned inside the property,
leaving space between the road and the gate so as to prevent traffic from backing up into
the street.
Previous disregard of
river
The Braamfontein Spruit, which flows under the KPMG Crescent site and along
Empire Road in a huge underground canal, approximately 10 m below ground level, has its
origin towards Hillbrow on the Witwatersrand (the continental water shed). It appears
above ground next to Barry Hertzog Road and flows through the Parkview Golf Course in an
open canal and eventually through Delta Park and Bryanston (now with natural embankments)
into the Jukskei River. It is this, hopefully, ‘past’ disregard of our rivers,
close to their sources, that has resulted in erosion and pollution downstream. The sources
of the Jukskei River and Braamfontein Spruit on the Witwatersrand are, in fact, the
sources of the Limpopo River. Severely polluted stormwater from the roads flows directly
into the canalised river without any natural plant growth to help purify the water or to
break its impact during flooding.
Critique
by architect, Carin van Schalkwyk
Refreshingly absent are the columns and pediments that have marred our recent
architectural landscape. A building respectful of the tradition of the 20th century city,
favouring a contextual expression which is wonderfully positive.
These were
among my first impressions of the new KPMG building on the corner of Jan Smuts and Empire
Road in Johannesburg. The cylinder is a powerful aspect of the building and resonant of
the building that occupied the site before it. Yet, where rectilinear office
configurations were needed, such plans were adopted and the cylinder simply sliced away.
This cylinder has been clad in sandstone, an understated and appropriate material in the
South African context.
Then, there
are the huge copper box gutters which peek over the building at odd intervals. They don’t
seem to be essential, were expensive and detract from the elegance of the building.
So too, the
monstrous canopy. Its sole purpose lies in expressing the entrance. The aforementioned
cylinder has been cut back in a dramatic fashion, with cantilevered ‘skins’
offering a significant expression of gateway, so that the imposition of this huge steel
structure reduces the value of the primary gesture.
The
oversized flower box on the north-western side of the building is fascinating - it turns a
large opening in the cylinder into an oversized urban window onto the ‘street’,
namely the M1. Happily, the choice of plants has fallen on indigenous, sustainable
material.
in fact,
although there is room for improvement, the lasting impression does justice to the first
impression as one recognises a commitment to creating something true to our ‘here and
now’.
Professional team:
Client: KPMG
Project manager: Standard Bank Properties
Architects: Boogertman Krige (Jhb) (Pty) Ltd
Quantity surveyors: Farrow Laing Ntene
Structural and civil engineers: Kampel Abramowitz, Yawitch & Partners
Electrical engineers: Chorn Kirtland & Associates
Mechanical engineers: Richard Pearce, Partners
Traffic engineers: Jefarres & Green Inc.
Landscape architects: Green Inc
Main contractors: Group Five - Goldstein
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PROJECTS REVIEWS
...of goats and
men two parks in Khayelitsha
"While
being important for all, the role of public places in the lives of the urban poor is
crucial. Urban parks within this context have the traditional ‘Olmsteadian’ role
of social ventilation - an escape valve for stifling living conditions in poor
neighbourhoods. They should offer opportunities for choice, stimulus, contrast, social
experimentation, orientation and environmental education."
Community Conscious
Public Space Planning
Macassar and KERIC are two parks in Khayelitsha that have been designed, with
input from the surrounding communities, along basically the same lines - but the former, a
pocket park, has been more successful than the latter which is a larger ‘regional’
park. Carol Knoll of The Urban Green File and Michelle Robertson Swift, the landscape
architect responsible for the Open Space Framework of Khayelitsha and the design of the
two parks, took a walk through these and discussed the many problems related to park
design in disadvantaged areas and the need for "community conscious open space
planning".
At present,
most of Khayelitsha’s public open space is distributed along stormwater drainage
areas Š in other words, it is Space Left Over After Planning (SLOAP - the derogatory term
given to areas that are perceived to be valueless by planners) and no real thought has
gone into this vitally important part of the public realm. The need for a public open
space study was identified by Tygerberg municipality. Robertson Swift had been involved in
a research project, under Prof Simon Bekker of the Department of Sociology at the
University of Stellenbosch, to create a new model for open space, with a strong
socio-economic base - and she, along with Johan van Papendorp of OvP who had been involved
in the Greening of the City programme for Cape Town, was appointed to do the study.
A number of
general needs and problems were identified by the people of Khayelitsha, as a whole, and
these have been taken into account in the Open Space Framework - the first draft of which
has recently been completed. A priority amongst these was the need for the provision of
open space for livestock farming - which would, additionally, alleviate the problem of
cows and goats in landscaped parkland and communal vegetable gardens. Community policing
was seen as an interim solution to the latter problem. It was suggested that to cut
development and maintenance costs, the allocated space could be leased out to urban
livestock farmers.
Other
interesting aspects that came to the fore during the public participation were the
importance of roads and road reserves as public open space and the people’s choice of
‘line shops’ or informal markets along the road reserves in preference to
shopping centres, where their perception is that rentals are too high. The community’s
love of texture and colour and the idea of viewpoints and landmarks was expressed –
"Probably because the community structure is not very legible and the terrain is so
flat and featureless," commented Robertson Swift. The children’s love of playing
on sand dunes and the community’s need to be kept informed about any proposals that
are being mooted became evident.
"In
essence, you are a facilitator, gleaning information about what others want and working
within those parameters. Everything you design in this context has to be flexible and
multi-functional," said Robertson Swift. She noticed children drawing on the road
surface and felt that it would be appropriate to have concrete tables in parks which would
serve not only as picnic tables but provide a facility for outdoor drawing classes and
would be marked out as chess/draft boards for an additional recreational use. An exercise
that she gave the children during her research was to draw their home and garden so that
she could gain understanding of their concept of private open space.
When the 9ha
KERIC park (named after the RDP Forum: Khayelitsha Education Resource and Information
Centre - part funders of the project along with Tygerberg municipality) was at design
stage, Robertson Swift called a meeting of young people from the surrounding areas - the
site is bounded by five schools - and presented them with a model of the park, which has
an interesting bowl shaped topography and serves as a stormwater attenuation pond, and she
explained the concept, including the park’s role in stormwater drainage, looking at
the site analysis, all the environmental issues and the function of windbreaks. They
showed great appreciation of the educational experience and helped to clear the litter
before the contractor came on site.
Robertson
Swift said: "This is not just about the end product, it is about true participation
with the focus on the educational value of process. It is about identifying people’s
real needs, and they benefit because they’ve been included in the process and exposed
to something totally different. They are really facilitating their own environment.
Innovative design concepts are all very well," she went on to say, "but it is
the socio-economic aspects that really matter." The contractor was awarded the
contract on condition that he used local labour Š even though he had his own labour
force. This was a relatively costly process because it involved the training of unskilled
people and restricted funds meant that most of the training had to be done ‘on-the-job’.
Robertson Swift was of the opinion that, with time and the evolution of different methods,
the training procedure could be streamlined and the costs reduced. She said that no matter
how restricted the funds were, the capacity building of emerging contractors and unskilled
workers was essential on projects such as these. After the completion of KERIC, the
contractor gave one of the labourers permanent employment.
KERIC has
been plagued by a number of problems, not least of which is the continual influx of goats
into the park even though, because the community identified cows as a problem (immediately
after the initial tree planting ceremony, a cow ate the tree), the park has been fenced on
three sides, with wire mesh and a robust concrete fencing post system, and cattle grids
have been installed at the various entrances. The third side is closed off by the
vibrocrete fencing of an adjacent school ground but the goats always find a way in and
damage the newly planted vegetation. Another on-going problem is the theft of fittings in
the ablution block, the back wall of which doubles as a backdrop to the stage of the
small, grassed amphitheatre. The toilet block has been stripped of its fittings three
times, even though every effort was made to design a vandal-proof facility - and with a
guard on site. As a result of this, the Council has provided two guards and 24 hour
security.
The pathways
across the park have been constructed with a cost-effective cement stabilised laterite and
the more costly, exposed aggregate paving blocks have only been used to define areas such
as the terrain around the much used drinking fountain. The ‘jasmine’ colour of
ablution block and the gateway walls has been achieved by using a pigmented cement slurry
chosen for its low maintenance value. The entrance gates are imposing and this has been
done to provide landmarks in the horizontal terrain of the Cape Flats, to give the park an
identity and to highlight its importance.
School
children make good use of these robust pathways and use the park as a gathering place. The
stage of the amphitheatre is being used as a tricycle track. Robertson Swift commented
that this was a good example of people finding their own uses for amenities. Even though
the park is well used, it seems as though the surrounding community has not taken
ownership of it and, therefore, they are not policing it, much to the delight of both
goats and vandals. Robertson Swift says that this is probably because the park is largely
surrounded by the grounds of schools and few houses abutt onto the site, which also means
that there is little surveillance, at night, particularly. Although she points out that
vandalism is minimal in comparison with the park’s previous history of politically
motivated vandalism - it was first instated as a park in 1984, when the ‘top/down
approach’ was in use, and almost completely destroyed. This ownership issue is,
however, the major difference between this larger, so called, regional park and the
smaller pocket park at Macassar.
Robertson
Swift was able to motivate the rezoning of the smaller Macassar Park site from a school
site to public open space because it borders on a wetland. A study into wetlands along the
Kuils River, called the Khayelitsha Wetlands Project, is, at present, being conducted by
environmental consultants Ninham Shand and it is on the cards that the park’s wetland
will be cleaned up and dredged, with trails demarcated and a bird hide built on its edge.
An environmental education centre is also envisaged.
Macassar is
in the southern part of Khayelitsha which is less urbanised and the smaller community in
the vicinity of the park comprises largely shack dwellers. Again, it is the Tygerberg
Council that is responsible for the funding and the community facilitators are the
Macassar Development Forum. The same design concept was used, although scaled down to suit
the size of the park and the smaller budget. Robertson Swift said that not only were the
people in this more closely-knit community more friendly and easier to work with but they
were keeping an eye on the park. Surveillance is facilitated because people are living
there - the shacks border on the park.
Another
vitally important factor is Theunissen Gqira, the self-appointed caretaker of Macassar
who, literally, hunts down offenders, such as children who tamper with the irrigation
system. Theunissen collects litter and cares for the plants. He knows his plants, stating
his opinion about those that he likes or dislikes. He is concerned about the lack of
fencing and voiced his opinion about this to Robertson Swift, saying that it was risky to
do further plantings before this was in place. On Sundays when he is at home, he sits and
worries about the well-being of his park and goes to see that everything is as it should
be. He is well-respected and liked by the community.
Robertson
Swift says that ‘ownership needs leadership’ and that the strong community
interest in this park is indicative of that fact. "Public open space should be
directly linked to a residential component, and this is something that we have certainly
proved in Khayelitsha."
To date,
Phase 1 of both parks has been completed with excellent support from the Tygerberg
Council, in particular Johan de Villiers and Councillor Vuyani Nguka, and a budget has
been allocated for Phase 2. "The Tygerberg officials have been very supportive,
making sure that what is needed is forthcoming and paying the contractors timeously,"
says Robertson Swift. A major Open Space Awareness Campaign was launched in Khayelitsha on
the first of August and nine youths have been trained to relay the message of
"sustainable open space". |
