CONCOR has made substantial headway on the Fourways Main Roof Works Project, a pivotal component of the ongoing Fourways Mall Repositioning Project. As the largest shopping centre in Africa, with a Gross Lettable Area (GLA) of 178 000 m², Fourways Mall is undergoing significant upgrades to improve functionality and ensure future sustainability.
Martin Muller, contract manager at Concor, emphasises the importance of this initiative.
“This project is significant not only for its sheer size—covering 50 000 m² of roof—but also for the complex logistical and technical challenges it presents. Despite these challenges, we are on track for completion by June 2025, a testament to Concor’s expertise in managing fast track projects in live retail environments.”
The project involves constructing a roof over the existing rooftop parking on Level 7 to provide covered parking for visitors while enabling the future installation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system. As part of the scope, a steel structure is being constructed to support an 10 200 m² PV installation on the Northeastern rooftop parking area, further enhancing the mall’s sustainability.
Additionally, Concor is rehabilitating the access ring road, ensuring it meets the demands of the future.
Construction of the roof involves the installation of 550 concrete columns, ranging from 2,1 m to 4,8 m in height, to support a structural steel roof with sheeting. Rainwater drainage systems are being installed as part of the roof design.
Muller explains that the methodology requires the existing concrete surfaces to be prepped before drilling and dowelling the new columns into the mall’s current column structure. This ensures the load from the roof is transferred safely through existing columns and beams down to the foundations.
“Lightweight construction methods are being employed due to load restrictions on the rooftop, with spider cranes and dumpers used for erection activities,” he says.
