Originally developed by a former Namibian resident, Holger Rust, Terraforce retaining block walls are still going from strength to strength in Namibia through the efforts of Namwall, the Terraforce licence holder.
It has been exactly 20 years ago that Namwall took over the Terraforce licence in Namibia. For some five years before July 1993, two other companies had taken on the Terraforce licence and failed, which meant that Bryan Newby and his wife Linda had to overcome the reservations that had built up in the market and prevail against many odds.
The Terraforce blocks were developed 30 years ago by a former Namibian resident, Holger Rust, and are now being produced by various block-makers on five continents, in many countries around the world.
In Namibia, Namwall went from strength to strength and is currently well-established with interesting projects on hand, and a new Birkenmayer block plant has been installed for increased production capacity and even better quality.
Bryan and Linda’s son-in-law, Chris, and daughter, Leanne, are the current owners of the company. Bryan consults on Terraforce contracts and has been involved with several large Terraforce projects in the Persian Gulf region, due to his vast experience with earth retaining and the logistics of installing large projects.
Featured below are a few recently completed projects in Windhoek, which bear testimony to the quality of workmanship being delivered by Namwall.
House Wessels, Windhoek
The owner of the property excavated his backyard to increase its size and needed the cut slope retained, as well as requiring access to the top of the embankment.
The Terraforce system appealed to him because of its superior visual finish and economic feasibility. To add extra reinforcement, a double skin of blocks with soil-crete infill was installed where the wall reached higher than two metres. A spiralling staircase was added to the design, which transpired to be easy to install using the same block as used for the walls.
House Burger, Windhoek
The owner of the property was stuck with exposed embankments in his backyard. To cover up the eyesore, he requested Namwall to create a retaining wall that would define the different levels, curves and stairs in the yard. The project still needs to be landscaped by the owner.
German Embassy, Windhoek
The German Embassy was struggling with large exposed rocky areas on a steep slope that was deteriorating and becoming hazardous to the public and staff. To stabilise the slope, Fred Laker of Terrasafe designed a wall with a double skin of blocks and Y16 reinforcing rods from the foundations up, as well as 25Mpa concrete infill in all the blocks up to three metres high.
University of Namibia, Windhoek
The University of Namibia needed to stabilise exposed embankments, and Namwall was called in by Murray and Roberts to supply and install a Terraforce retaining wall. The wall consists of a basic foundation and gravity wall not exceeding two metres.
Terraforce
Tel: (021) 461 4939
Website: www.terraforce.com
