Another milestone for the new building – the roof is on!

I returned to Malawi on 31st January following six weeks spent in the UK. Shortly after arriving back, I visited the construction site of the new Dental School / Integrated Teaching Facility at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and was astonished to see the progress that had been made since my last post on the project. The concrete roof structures are now all in place and many of the supporting scaffolding poles in the lower levels have been removed.

The building is truly beginning to take shape now that the concrete superstructure is completed:

Attention has now turned from concrete to brickwork. In the basement, partition walls are flying up and the individual rooms and facilities are emerging within the previously open space.

Some of the supporting scaffolding is still in place in the atrium, but nevertheless the concept of this multi-functional central space, that can be used for either formal lectures or as a communal social environment, is now very much in evidence.

Two significant concerns during the earlier stages of the build had been the potential impact of the rainy season and the possible challenge of procurement of building materials. Fortunately, the rains in Blantyre have so far not been sufficiently heavy to interfere with the construction work and now the roof is in place, work can continue inside the building regardless of the weather. There have also been no serious problems of building material availability to date, with the added advantage that items such as cement can now be stored undercover in the dry.

As well as the work underway inside the building, various ancillary items required by the specialist tradespeople working on the project are being constructed on site. This will include a large number of galvanised wire ties for use by the bricklayers.

During my visit it was possible to reach the newly constructed roof which incorporates a concrete pod at each corner that will house various items of plant to service the building.

Back to ground level, and work has begun to infill the deep trench running alongside what will be the underground basement wall on the north elevation of the building, where it is built into the natural gradient of the site.

The soil that is used has been carefully chosen from the material removed during the original earthworks on the site, and is graded through a sieve, prior to compacting.

The bricks that are to be used for the outer skin of the building are produced by a Malawian company called Terrastone. In an earlier post we described visiting the factory where the bricks are made. The dimensions of the concrete superstructure have been determined based on the unit size of the chosen bricks.

The architects have provided a detailed specification for how the bricks are to be laid and pointed. A sample section is currently being constructed which will be inspected by Leon Grobbelaar, one of the John McAslan + Partners architects, before the main programme of bricklaying begins.

I share an office in the KUHeS Library with Peter Chimimba, from where we have a very clear view of the building:

Suddenly, with the roof now in place, the model is coming to life …!

Many thanks are due to Mango Tree Construction Company and all its staff team for the relentless push towards a timely completion of the building. Exciting times!