Architect and Builder Dec 2017 / Jan 2018 | Page 50

Construction
WBHO, the firm responsible for the construction
work on the Zeitz MOCAA and Silo Hotel, was
proud to be a part of the opening in September
2017. The brainchild of Thomas Heatherwick, it
was he who had WBHO on their toes constantly
during the development stages of the atrium space
as no curve was ever smooth enough as he had
the team running their hands over the concrete
surface to find bumps after they had impossibly
polished the surface to a glass like sheen.
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The construction of this project was
definitely a first of its kind for WBHO, if not in
the world and as a result definitely came with
its challenges. Just when you thought you had
resolved one challenge on the contract another
would rear its head and there was no ‘phone
a friend option’. The team had to figure it out
themselves through a process of collective thinking
- the polishing of the scallops being the biggest
challenge of them all. To put it into perspective,
13.6km of concrete had to be cut and 7,100m 3
Zeitz Mocaa