During the drought in 2017, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville Campus announced that all their existing green spaces were being irrigated with recycled water that is collected and pumped into an on-site lake. In August 2020 – to comply with City of Cape Town’s by-laws and regulations for storm-water management – this lake was extended and upgraded to increase the capacity of the existing retention pond as well as refurbish the existing outlet and inlet structures. (more…)

Nhoxani Beach, meaning ‘Peaceful Place’, is a prime waterfront private housing estate on the bay of Maputo, situated on the magnificent Santa Maria peninsula, Mozambique. (more…)

Looking back

It’s been a tough year. Getting through hard lockdowns and building industries at standstill has been challenging, however we can thankfully announce that sales have stabilised and mostly returned to pre-lockdown levels. Some regions even presented with an increase in sales. (more…)

Herolds Bay is a small, quaint seaside village in the southern Cape Province. It is known for its sheltered location and idyllic beach, that occasionally comes under attack by the sea in winter. During these months, the homes built closely to the beach need protecting from the waves reaching all the way up their front doors, causing flooding and damage. (more…)

Wetland rehab with Terraforce

In 2005, Steyn Swanepoel, from Steyn Swanepoel Landscape Design, and Luis Jordaan, his experienced project manager, were faced with complex site conditions when devising a remedial solution for an overgrown wetland located on privately owned land within the city bowl below Table Mountain. (more…)

By Holger Rust, Founder, TERRAFORCE

The “why” part is easy to answer. We want to protect our valuable possessions and infrastructure, such as houses, tourist destinations, pipelines and harbour entrances against the dynamic forces of wave action. (more…)

L13 blocks were used to rehabilitate the trail, improving it visually and providing residents with a rehabilitated leisure area:

Planners of the Liesbeek Trail were faced with serious erosion problems alongside this river, confined in a narrow corridor through the densely built-up suburb of Newlands. The aim of this project was to rehabilitate the trail, improving it visually and to provide residents with a rehabilitated leisure area

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An overgrown wetland located on public open space below Table Mountain, South Africa, presented the Landscape architect Steyn Swanepoel, from SSLAD and Luis Jordaan of Force Ten, the Terraforce contactor, with complex site conditions in devising a remedial solution. The wetland is fed by a natural spring and runs continuously throughout the year with the water being left to drain into the surrounding soil. (more…)

Infrastructure challenges solved with local retaining block

The Swaziland Electricity Board (SEB) of Mbabane was faced with an infrastructure rehabilitation/maintenance question that had to be attended urgently, in a sustainable and cost-effective manner. Says Holger Rust, CEO of Terraforce: “A feeder canal in the Sigangeni community, that is feeding water to two hydro-electric power stations was being undermined by an adjacent stream, which caused cracks, with consequent leaks compounding erosion/collapses on the embankments.”

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Riverbed get a new life with Terrafix blocks

Formerly a farm with a tranquil stream running through it, this site was finally given permission  to develop erosion control – subject to stringent environmental by-laws and other constraints – residential units and surrounding grounds. Considerably increased storm water run-off from 148 new houses, paved yards, driveways and roads had to be catered for.

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