Modular Building: Tsogo Sun hi Hotel
In 2019, construction giant, Tiber Construction, joined forces with Ohlhorst Lightweight Building Solutions as Tiber Ohlhorst Modular, working together on an innovative new project that redefines building practices.
The Tsogo Sun Hi Hotel is the first of its kind in South Africa, utilising a modular building system with most of the building work taking place in an off site modular factory. The rooms were constructed with all services installed, finished and furnished, then transported to the site and stacked to build the hotel.
The project consisted of 138 modular units: 123 rooms and the rest modular staircase units, office units and back-of-house service units. The first modular room unit was placed onsite on 6 June 2019 and the last unit was placed on 11 October 2019. The short time span for completion of the hotel is a major advantage of the modular system, as well as being able to meet the stringent hotel chain requirements for sound insulation and fire proofing.
The hotel was built on an existing two-storey car parking area that was underutilised space. Due to the lightweight nature of the modular system it was possible to place an additional 3 floors onto the existing car park structure at Monte Casino.
A finalist for innovation in the Construction World 2019 Best Projects Awards, the project has broken new ground in technique and started a partnership with great opportunities.