HOT SEAT
HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Corobrik products ideally suited to municipal projects Corobrik’s range of bricks and pavers has always been a popular choice for its relevant applications in the municipal environment. Richard Jansen van Vuuren speaks to Dirk Meyer, Corobrik’s managing director, about these products as well as a new brick developed for government housing projects. Which Corobrik pavers are suited for infrastructure projects such as the recent Umhlanga Promenade and other urban regeneration projects? All clay pavers in the Corobrik range are well suited for infrastructure projects and have been widely used for such projects throughout South Africa. Typically any one colour paver in our range is manufactured in two formats: the thicker pavers with their greater flexural strength being more suited to the heavier commercial vehicular trafficked surfaces, and their thinner counterparts that are used for light vehicle and pedestrian areas. This affords continuity in the context of the overall landscape design with the combination of different colours and textures being used to emphasise different areas and transition points. What makes Corobrik a popular choice in these applications? Maybe this is a question better answered by those who specify our pavers. Feedback we have received from specifiers, however, includes the enduring and timeless qualities of fired clay, the rich colour fast natural hues and textures that successfully lift and bring life to urban landscapes and the quality consistency of our pavers to defined standards. Corobrik’s ability to plan and meet delivery commitments on the bigger projects subjected to tight completion schedules has also been a factor. Then there are the more generic functional benefits clay pavers provide – skid resistance being a good example. What landmark projects have seen Corobrik pavers used? We have been most fortunate to be part of virtually all the urban renewal programmes
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and have enjoyed specification in the major new development nodes as well. Some of the more high-profile projects where our pavers have been used include the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, Green Point Stadium, pavement surrounds and pedestrian areas linking into the city centre, Hillbrow in Johannesburg, the roads and pavements of George in the
The CoroJem was developed and the colours extended to offer a maintenance-free alternative to the concrete block at a very competitive built cost and lower life cycle cost. Dirk Meyer, managing director of Corobrik Southern Cape, Thesen Island, the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, Govan Mbeki Avenue as well as the Port Elizabeth city centre and beach front promenade. In Durban the paving around the Moses Mabida stadium, along the entire beach front promenade from Blue Lagoon to the Point, the sea front promenade along Umhlanga Rocks and Florida Road are some that come to mind. This excludes the many new urban developments such as Melrose Arch and Century City, and one cannot overlook the compelling landscape of the One and Only Hotel and Resort complex.
Which Corobrik bricks are suited for housing projects in the middle to lower end of the housing market? Within our comprehensive range we have face bricks of different prices, the more economically priced of which find the greatest application in the middle to lower price ends of the residential market. During the past two years
we set ourselves the objective to grow our market share and have introduced a variety of new face bricks that include new colours in the standard brick format – these are now very popular in the mid priced and affordable segments. Then we have the maxi 90 range which competes aggressively in the affordable segment down into the government subsidy/ RDP arena and lastly the CoroJem, a through the wall face brick that competes head on with concrete block in the government subsidy/ RDP segments.
Why was the CoroJem brick developed? With our traditional markets in the residential sector feeling the pinch of these tough economic times and the government’s move from the provision of houses to the creation of human settlements, scope opened up for Corobrik to take a fresh look at the opportunity of the low-cost segment that had long been