Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa May/June 2014 | Page 6

T EDITORIAL he elections are now behind us and, as we settle in for the next 5 years, I wonder what the ramifications of the results will be. It is no real surprise that the ANC has reclaimed the top seat, as it were, but with the advances made by the DA and the introduction of the EFF, I am sure that there will be waves aplenty. Will the results affect the building industry? An article in a recent newspaper seems to signify that politics certainly does have an impact. A giant in the construction industry has indicated that they are no longer prepared to make any major investments in South Africa. Politics, policy uncertainty and a complicated labour environment are just a few of the reasons they have put forward. Worryingly, two years ago this firm was generating revenue in the region of R12 Shelley Woode-Smith billion in SA. Last year, it was down to R7 billion. The failure of the government to OUR TEAM get their R847 billion infrastructure project up and running needs to be addressed. EDITOR Shelley Woode-Smith [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR Louise Fenner-Solomon This isn’t the forum for it, but I am not alone in hoping that something is done very soon so a company such as this one continues to invest in this country. Winter is settling in now and, with it, the ‘promise’ of rolling blackouts and load shedding. It is, therefore, increasingly important that the building industry [email protected] prioritises sustainability measures in its current and future endeavours. We CONSULTING EDITOR Diana Woode recognise how essential green building is and the projects in this issue reflect that. No. 1 Silo at the V & A Waterfront is only the second development in the [email protected] country to receive a 6 star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of DESIGN Peter Fenner-Solomon South Africa (GBCSA) and is the first in the Western Cape. The second project [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES Shelley Woode-Smith Louise Fenner-Solomon ACCOUNTS being featured is 1 and 3 Bridgeway, Century City. Century City is booming with R4.3 billion worth of developments in the pipeline and this forms part of that phenomenal investment. Perhaps an indication that previous statements regarding the withdrawal of investment are media hype rather than fact? This is certainly very positive though. We feature Phase 2 of the KPMG building in Bonnie Ah Shene [email protected] PUBLISHER Peter Fenner-Solomon [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS We welcome articles, photographs and news it