3/2017 – School seating with the 4×4 Step block system
Attractive and affordable school seating with Terraforce
When it comes to sitting down, we all want to do so comfortably. Unfortunately, public or community seating solutions are often expensive and time consuming to install, leaving such spaces underdeveloped due to lacking funds. Contact us for more information on the 4×4 Step Blocks.

As a result, there is considerable demand for durable seating arrangements, which can be installed in a cost-effective and easy manner, while still meeting all statutory requirements with regard to comfort and safety.
Consequently, a locally developed product, the Terraforce 4 x 4 Step block system, a combination of an accessory stair/seating block and any standard Terraforce retaining block, has become popular in South Africa and other parts of the world, and is used successfully at recreational or educational facilities.
The system requires low hardware input for manufacture, low transport costs and low inventory requirements at sales outlets. As an added benefit, the completed seating arrangements also offer a high-quality aesthetic finish.
Recently two such installations were installed by Decorton Retaining Systems, Terraforce recommended civils company, at two schools in the Western Cape, South Africa.


The first, at Fish Hoek High School, seats 1100 students comfortably. Says Steve Mitchell, educator at the school: “The embankment next to our sport field was too steep for anyone to sit on, as you would just slide down the grass. It was a wasted area and an eyesore, as cutting the grass on that slope is quite a task. Also, with the steps placed strategically at intervals, it naturally allows for our four school houses to be split without issues of rope or barrier tape.This is convenient for our athletics, cross country and annual go-cart race. This now all happens on our sport fields. It also allows for our rugby and cricket supporters to have comfortable seating as spectators.”

Mitchell emphasises that the school is particularly happy with the way the seating pavilion looks: “We love that it does not look like a bare concrete structure. the blocks have been slightly coloured, so it blends in with the environment, and the edges are rounded, so you don’t get this sharp edge eating into the back of your legs when you sit on it, and visually it just looks so much better than edged concrete. Thank you Decorton for making it happen!”


The second installation, at Reddam House, Clara Anna Fontein lifestyle estate, Durbanville, is possibly the largest pavilion type seating, in South Africa, built with the 4×4 seating system. Bordering the 400 metre athletics and events track, the pavilion was built, also by Decorton Retaining Systems, against the embankment in front of the school and above the sports field, with a staircase in the centre and both ends for easier access. Says SP van Blerk, Co-Founder, Decorton: “The seating platform accommodates 1600 spectators comfortably, and up to 2000 at a push, and we have just been given the go-ahead to four meters of seating space on either side.”
Contact us for more information on the 4×4 Step Blocks.