The overall award-winner of one of South Africa’s most prestigious architectural and engineering annual competitions in 2019, highlights the beauty of Safal Steel’s world class Aluminium-Zinc coated pre-painted lightweight steel roofing.

Safal Steel is a proudly South African manufacturer of Aluminium-Zinc coated steel coils and its factory is located in KwaZulu-Natal supplying coated steel coils to local and global markets. It is part of the Safal Group which is the leading supplier of roofing and building solutions in the fast-growing construction markets of Southern and Eastern Africa.

Made from Colorplus® AZ200 in colour Raincloud, the specified Klip-Tite 700 profile was formed by GRS. The smooth and unhindered contours of this 4 000 m2 roof, suspended beneath a series of strikingly large roof arches, catches the eye of the passer-by and covers the 3 500-seat auditorium of the new Durban Christian Centre (DCC).

The new DCC building was commissioned in 2017, to replace the earlier famous domed construction church that was destroyed by fire. In a design reminiscent of the previous church, the new design emulates the shape of the former large dome.

Commenting on the success of this project at the time, the chairperson of the SAISC, Nicolette Skjoldhammer explained that the Durban Christian Centre highlights the use of steel in the building environment and says that this aim was “brilliantly realised by this project”.

For this milestone project, innovation exists in the very tight site access, as well as the geometry of the large roof arches, inclined in different planes, which provide support for the roof.

“The Durban Christian Centre is a very bold project. For the engineer to realise the form the architect envisioned must have been very complex,’ comments Skjoldhammer.

The building’s Colorplus® Klip-Tite 700 roof in Raincloud color is suspended under the three huge arches, from which hangs a primary apex girder in turn supporting the trusses. This design is more than an exercise in setting new engineering design standards – it actually was the most cost-effective option for the roof. Project engineer, Linda Ness says that the internal truss grillage is a simple 6×6 grid, allowing for the easy arrangement of the acoustic lining. Simple IPE purlins set up a bottom flange shelf frame for the acoustic and a platform for the Klip-Tite 700 roofing system.

Look for the trademark. All Safal Steel prime material is branded on the backing coat – insist on Safal Steel material.

Architect: Elphick Proome Architects Inc.
Structural engineer: NJV Consulting
Quantity surveyors: RLB Pentad and Abakali
Project manager: M3 Africa
Main contractor: Steffanutti Stocks Building KZN
Steelwork contractor: Impact engineering
Steel erector: CMGC Projects
Roofing and cladding Roll-former and supplier: Global Roofing Solutions
Cladding contractor: Impact Engineering
Roofing and Cladding material manufacturer: Safal Steel
Completion date of full project: October 2019