The multi-million rand extensions and upgrades to various CPUT buildings, expected to add both prestige and value to the landscape of CPUT’s campuses, are drawing to an end. The Administration Building on the Bellville Campus, the Caledon Street Residence on the Cape Town Campus, and the Food and Technology Building on the Bellville Campus are already complete.

Construction on the state-of-the-art R41m Food Technology Building was finished in October 2010 and the building is now widely considered the premier facility of its kind on the entire continent. The refurbished laboratories and classrooms now form part of a world-class training facility,  incorporating a 1500m² Pilot Plant with 6 major processing areas. These include dairy, meat products, bakery, spray-drying, extrusion & milling, heat processing and an area for manufactured foods.

The Caledon Street Residence was developed by a private developer on CPUT-owned land. It was handed over for occupation at the end of January 2011 and will accommodate a total of 577 students. The basement has communal facilities for students and 190 undercover parking bays in a secured parking garage.

Meanwhile, work on the Administration Building in Bellville has allowed for the building of much-needed meeting rooms to hold a capacity of 20 to 50 people and a Senate Hall with a capacity of 140 people. A new Council Chamber, new office space for the Secretariat, and Archival space has also been created.

Also on Bellville campus, work on the Engineering Building, which will eventually house the Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and the Mechatronics Departments, is scheduled to be complete in May. According to Andriana Hornea of the Infrastructure Planning and Estates Department at CPUT, delays arose as a result of the contractor not being able to access the site because of examinations. The Matriculation marking process that took place at the CPUT Bellville Campus also caused hold-ups in construction. The project is within budget with total project cost allocation standing at R51 million.

The entrance to the new Engineering Building which will house the Mechanical-, Industrial Engineering and Mechatronics Departments.

Taljaard Van der Schyff of the Mechanical Engineering department said after its completion, the building will house about 1500 Mechanical Engineering and about 400 Industrial Engineering students. Some equipment from the Cape Town Campus has already been moved to Bellville and it will take a further two months to put all the equipment in its rightful place. Van der Schyff added that the new extensions will also cater for a Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Strengths and Material Laboratory, a 33-seater laboratory for Masters Students and a 50-seater laboratory for BTech projects. There will also be two areas set aside for Industrial Engineering laboratories and a separate office space for technicians.

The new 200-bed Student Residence on Bellville campus is scheduled for completion in late April 2011. Hornea said, “The project is progressing well, and is within the budget of R40m. The roof is being erected and internal furnishings are well underway, while the procurement of furniture is being discussed with the residence management.”

This new 200 Bed Student Residence will be completed by the end of April.  The roof is currently being erected while internal furnishings are well underway.

Staying on Bellville campus, the ABC Building is also expected to be complete by the end of February 2011. Part of the consolidation process at CPUT, alterations to this building concern mainly extensions to the lecturing staff offices and amenities. The building will eventually be occupied by the Civil Engineering, Building Surveying, and Cartography Departments. The internal alterations on level two and level three of the Engineering Department on the Cape Town Campus, also part of the consolidation process, are being made to house the Retail Management, Public Management and the ICT Departments.

By: Thami Nkwanyane

Written by CPUT News
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Construction work on the Administration Building at the Bellville Campus has begun. At a cost of R36.5 million, the Administration Building will be extended in order to accommodate a Senate Hall, Council Chamber and several other offices that are vital for operations at a higher education institution.

Stanley Dennis, Director of Infrastructural, Development and Estates at CPUT said the existing building will be extended on either side.

The ground level on either side of the building will feature undercover parking, while the first level will boast several halls, conference rooms and offices.

Of the new facilities currently under development, the Senate Hall and Council Chamber are the most prominent.

The 200sqm Senate Hall will seat 130 people, while a 150sqm Council Chamber will accommodate 50 people.

Dennis said these two areas will be fitted with state of the art recording rooms and equipment, ranging from electronic voting stations to desktop microphones.

The rooms will be acoustically treated and fitted with modern furnishings.

The new extension will also feature several conference and breakaway rooms.

Archive space will also be provided for various departments in the new extension.

“Additional offices will be built but at this moment it has not been allocated to any specific department,” said Dennis.

Interior changes will be made to certain offices that are currently located on the first floor in order to accommodate walkways leading to the new extension.

Dennis said the extension is a “huge project”, and will measure 2 700sqm on completion.

Builders have already started demolition work on the parking areas adjacent to the Administration building.

He said strategies have been put in place to ensure that operations in the Administration Building are not unnecessarily disrupted.

“We had acoustic engineers give us advice on how to deal with the noise and vibration on the site,” he said.

Dennis said the project is earmarked for completion in December 2010.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News

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First year students who plan on registering this week are urged to be cautious about accepting assistance from strangers on any CPUT campus.

Registration is exclusively for students who have received an acceptance letter for a place in one of our programmes.

To keep you and your money safe remember the following:

1. Registration payments can only be made when you register online or at the cashiers in the Administration building of the Cape Town, Bellville and Wellington campuses. Do not pay any stranger purporting to be a CPUT staff member or student.
2. Take care when paying a stranger for accommodation. Make sure you are getting what you pay for.
3. No staff member or student is able to ‘save’ you a place in a programme. Remember no acceptance letter means no place.
4. Registration Assistants will be well placed across campuses to direct you and answer any questions you may have.

First year registration opens on 16 January 2017 and most students will be able to do so online at http://www.cput.ac.za/study-at-cput/undergraduate/register. Also check the page for a registration booklet which explains all the necessary information and may save you unnecessary time queuing at a campus. 

Walk-in applications will open on 16 January 2017. Prospective applicants can report to the relevant faculties as from 16 January 2017 for further details.

NSFAS applications are open until 20 January. Find out more at: https://www.cput.ac.za/study-at-cput/undergraduate/financial-aid-funding/nsfas-funding

Written by Lauren Kansley

Tel: +27 21 953 8646
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.