A stunning new mixed office and retail development in Port Elizabeth is using MiTek’s Posi-Rafter for its roof truss system – making it among one of the first applications for this new product in South Africa. We talk to Brian Basson, senior designer at MiTek South Africa to find out more about this exciting new development known as The ELVEE…
The project, which now complete comprises a mix of office and retail space, and has been designed by DMV Architecture and was overseen by STANCE Consulting Engineers on behalf of ELVEE Property Investments.
Images courtesy of ELVEE Property Investments
Jean Jacques Kriel, the founder of STANCE, got in touch with MiTek as they were looking for support with the project’s roofing load data. They sent over the plans and once I saw the roof configuration, I knew that our Posi-Rafter product would be a perfect fit.
We’ve worked with Jean-Jacques before, and we discussed how Posi-Rafter could work really well with their vision for The ELVEE’s internal aesthetics and design. Jean-Jacques is very open to new ideas and agreed that we put together a preliminary design so he could see what we had in mind.
Built in 3D first
I think it’s fair to say that Jean-Jacques and his team were impressed with what they saw in the MiTek 3D digital model, which also allowed them to easily present the roof design to the client and architect – who liked the approach so much, that they asked for costings.
It turned out that using Posi-Rafters over a certain section of this project was cheaper given that fewer of them can be used compared to the closely spaced 76×228 alternative.
The Posi-Rafter appearance is also aesthetically pleasing, an important consideration as the design called for the roof section to be exposed. So, with the pricing agreed we got the go-ahead.
A simple manufacturing process
C&T Truss Solutions were apponted by the contractor to manufacture the Posi-Rafters. This was one of the first Posi-Rafter projects in South Africa, so we visited the component manufacturer C&T Truss Solutions, to take their team through the manufacturing process. It is a testament to its simplicity and straightforward design that within an hour they had begun manufacturing the Posi-Rafters.
The process is very quick as there is little cutting involved. Essentially, we worked with them to build one Posi-Rafter and once they pushed it through the roller – that was it – then they were flying. It is very straightforward to manufacture, easy to handle, and the Posi-Rafter has a very quick turnaround time from design to delivery to site.
Digital support
While Posi-Rafter and Posi-Joist is being used extensively across the US, UK and EU it is still relatively new in South Africa, so helping clients to understand what the structure will look like is key. This is where our 3D software really comes to life.
Our MiTek 3D can help clients to understand what their project will look like. Of course, you can show clients a flat picture and try and explain things, but when you provide them with a link to a 3D model that can be opened on any computer or smartphone and then be rotated or manipulated, I think it raises the bar for communication between professionals.
While anyone can view our 3D models, component manufacturers that want to benefit from MiTek’s 3D design must be running our PAMIR software. C&T Truss Solutions were already using our PAMIR software, so it was easy for them to start utilizing the Posi-Rafter capabilities.
Retail therapy
Now completed, The ELVEE has already secured some major tenants including sports brand PUMA, luxury food emporium – Off the Menu and artisan café Banneton Bakery, to name but a few!
This has been a great project to be involved in, and an interesting way of showcasing the benefits of not only Posi-joist, but also MiTek 3D.
We’re looking forward to seeing The ELVEE open and finding out what people make of the Posi-Rafter roof section. For us, at MiTek we hope this is going to be the first of many applications of our Posi-Rafter system that we are going to see here in South Africa.
And remember if you’re in the Port Elizabeth area make sure you pop by The ELVEE, grab a coffee and don’t forget to look up!
