Since its commissioning in 2003, the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) has proven to be one of the most popular business facilities in the Mother City and has shown great year-on-year growth.
During 2009/2010, the CTICC hosted some 533 events, including the official draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. With a major upgrade on the cards soon, the convention centre is set for continuing growth, attracting more visitors annually.
BlueScope Steel’s Colorbond® steel roofing was originally selected for the roof of the convention centre and it continues to perform well some eight years on.
Suitable for use in humid, windy and salt-laden marine environments up to a range of 400m from the water’s edge, like that in Cape Town and the Cape Town harbour, the modern version of this roofing material is Clean Colorbond™ steel.
Inspections of the CTICC roof show that the brilliant white Colorbond steel installed originally remains today largely un-faded and free of corrosion. Its paint system still reflects a substantial quantity of inbound sunlight – helping to keep the convention centre and its visitors cooler inside and lowering the carbon footprint of the building by reducing the need for mechanical cooling.
BlueScope Steel Southern Africa, supplier of Clean Colorbond steel, is proud of its association with the CTICC. General manager Wayne Miller says that the roofing material maintains the key attributes of the original Colorbond steel. It provides high resistance to fading, high gloss retention, high infrared relectivity and the superior corrosion performance of its Zincalume® steel substrate.
“This is lightweight steel coated with aluminium (55%), zinc (43.5%) and silicon (1.5%),” says Miller. “Recently launched in an exciting new range of colours as researched in the market, the material also supplies numerous opportunities for the designer to work creatively with curved shapes, due to its lightweight, formable characteristics,” he adds.
“BlueScope Steel has placed great emphasis on sustainability – as demonstrated by the information campaign we have recently launched to architects, developers and building professionals. This is backed by working products that provide extremely long life in service. Isn't that what sustainability is all about?” he asks.
This approach is in parallel with that of the CTICC. Chief executive officer, Rashid Toefy says in the 2009/2010 annual report, “It is my belief that sustainability can no longer be a secondary consideration for any business wishing to remain successful or, indeed, viable for any length of time. For this reason, sustainability is not considered a part of the future success of the CTICC; (rather) it is integral to that success.”
“BlueScope Steel backs its sustainability claims with a highly effective product warranty against perforation,” says Miller. Specifiers and contractors are urged to contact the company’s office to obtain advice and register their projects before works begin. “On site, always check you are installing the original, branded Clean Colorbond steel or Zincalume steel,” Miller adds.
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