Engineering firm WSP Consulting Engineers and Ubunye Engineering Services have been jointly appointed to carry out all of the civil, structural, mechanical and electrical work on the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg.

Ubunye Engineering Services is a black economic empowerment company in which the WSP Group has a minority shareholding.

The Sci-Bono Discovery Centre is a R150-million project under development at the Electric Workshop in Newtown, Johannesburg. It is part of an urban renewal project within the historical precinct of Newtown and is an initative by the Gauteng Department of Education to promote mathematics, science and technology.

The centre aims to raise learners’ enthusiasm and capacity in the areas of science and mathematics by offering hands-on experience, using a wide variety of interactive displays, exhibits and experiments, to enable learners and educators to test and experience scientific phenomena they read about in text books.

The double volume industrial building formerly housed the workshops of the municipal electricity departments and comprises: 6 000 m2 of interactive exhibition space; a career centre; an education centre; commercial and retail facilities, offices, restaurants and science shops.

The scope of work involved the refurbishment of the complex, including expanding the existing structure to a five-storey building.

WSP Structural Engineers had to cut out filled-in arches without compromising the integrity of the building. Screening was erected to divide the huge volume inside the structure, which comprises an open volume that is several storeys high. This had to be divided up for the various phases that the project was split into. WSP also had to ensure that the building’s structure could support hanging exhibits.

The offices had to be refurbished, which included the installation of air conditioning.

WSP Mechanical Engineers were responsible for the conditioning of the air. The company introduced innovative underfloor heating via a piped water system whereby hot water is pumped through a piping network so that the terazzo flooring is warmed during winter.

In summer, remote controlled louvres in the roof open to allow the hot air to escape.

WSP Electrical Engineers were responsible for the electrical design from the power source/bulk feed, lighting layouts and power distribution.

WSP IT Engineers had input into the centre’s access control system, data network and telecommunication system for administrative areas.

According to Tervor Pierce-Jones, a director of WSP Facilities Management, the appointment of WSP Facilities Management as a facilities management consultant to the project was somewhat unusual.

"It is rare for a facilities management company to be invited to participate in the design process of all of the above-mentioned aspects, as well as architectural, to ensure that the design results in an easily and cost effective maintainable result. Assisting in the design process will result in a maintenance-friendly result for the final operators. WSP is using its experience in terms of access and finish specifications to make the building as user-friendly as possible," he said.

The centre will be built in phases, with the first phase already open to the public. The whole development is to be completed by the end of 2005.