Beetech Building -Krizevac Project

Chilomoni, Blantyre

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“Our building facility truly reflects who we are and what we stand for regarding the service we provide - great design and high quality workmanship. Every little detail has been thought of and executed.”

(May E. Bikoko, Beetech Manager)

Location

Beehive Main Campus, Chilomoni, Blantyre, Malawi

Type

Office and Workshops

Year of Construction

2017 – 2018

Design Architect

Donn Ponnighaus

Project Architects

Donn Ponnighaus and Keith Banda

Design Engineer

Zedi Nyirenda

Geotechnical Engineer

Zedi Nyirenda

Project Engineer

Hendrix Mgawana

Total Building Area (Approx. GEA)

673m²

Number of Storeys

Construction Cost

256,859,000 MWK
(£260,834 GBP – rate correct as of 25th August 2020)

Cost per m²

381,663 MWK/m²
(£388 GBP/m²)

“Malawi’s economic growth has not been inclusive partly because it is driven by an underdeveloped agricultural sector, and it does not create enough decent jobs for the rapidly growing number of people joining the labour market.”
(‘Malawi Economic Policy Brief’, AFIDEP, 2016)

The Beetech building was constructed at the Beehive Main campus, in order to house two of Beehive’s social enterprises; ‘Beetech’ and ‘CoG’. The Beetech enterprise offers a data entry service to assist larger, established companies in digitising historical records and accounts. Many of Beetech’s employees are former students of Beehive’s JPII IT Institute. The Cycle of Good (‘CoG’) employs local women who upcycle waste products, such a bicycle inner tubes and used coffee sacks, into new products available for sale in the UK.

In order to accommodate a potentially wide range of different enterprises, the Beetech building is formed of a series of six open-plan workshops, set over 3 storeys. Originally envisaged as two-storey, an additional storey was added to the building half way through construction due to the rapid growth of the Beehive enterprises it would house. The building utilises a reinforced concrete frame, in order to achieve wide spans and therefore column-free, flexible workshop spaces. The building is clad externally with Beehive’s site-made Hydraform block system.

Entry to the building is through a double-height lobby, creating an open, light and airy welcome. The void extends through the stairwell to the top of the building, where a large chimney tops the roof, creating natural ventilation throughout. Lighting in the workshops is created through large, regularly-spaces windows which encircle the rooms on three sides – electrical lighting is therefore rarely required during the day. Trunking at desk height is present in all workshops, in order to allow for a range of machines and IT equipment.