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Enacy Mapakame
Zimbabwe has been experiencing power shortages for years now and the Government has been advocating that citizens and businesses invest in alternative sources of energy in order to ease pressure on the depressed power situation.
A new convenient mall in the affluent suburb of Highlands (North Ridge) in Harare, which was opened this week has gone solar and plans to be completely off-grid eventually.
68 Ridgeway is a complex with 11 retail suites, hot seating and a boardroom for those who want to have their conferences and meetings in a quiet place and have state-of-the-art visual equipment.
The mall will soon house Harare’s first English Pub, which will be named the Bishop’s Mistress’
Charles Pickering the owner of the mall said the site had been owned by the family for almost two decades and they decided to develop it as they felt the need for a convenience mall.
“The building took us 10 months to construct and we had to blend in various development partners from Europe in order to bring a new design and a new feel to the country. We also decided to go green and make the mall off the grid in order to support the renewable energy drive,” he added.
68 Ridgeway is designed to be fully off-grid with electricity and a generator playing back up to the solar power, this means each of the tenants will have their own solar and metered utilities.
Commenting on the architectural designs Mr Pickering said the project’s inspiration came from a wonderful collaboration between the whole architectural team and the client’s open mind to explore the continuous possibilities of what could be.
“Sustainability was at the heart of this project from the very start, it was key to be able to harvest as many natural elements as possible, solar and water being at the top of the list. This also played a part in shaping the building’s overall look,” he added.
Further, he said using the roof structure and vertical pergola gardens as flexible eco-friendly tools made them able to create a dynamic design that worked its way into the geometry of the floor space, allowing the function to stand with sustainability and aesthetics.
The mall was constructed by Skyline Project Management who have a reputable track record of building to the architect’s specifications.
“Our salon uses heat exchangers which were supplied by Luke Bartosz through Samsung and they are the first of their kind in the country. With these, we save energy as they suck in 1,3 kilowatts and exert 15 kilowatts which means energy is being used efficiently,” Mr Pickering added.
The development comes as the country will likely experience longer hours of load shedding as power generation at Kariba Hydro Power Station will be suspended for the remainder of the year due to low water levels at Kariba Dam.
Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) chief executive officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa revealed that the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a subsidiary of ZESA Holdings, used more water than it had been allocated, necessitating the closure of the power plant until at least January 2023 to allow the dam to replenish.
Kariba Hydro Power Station is Zimbabwe’s only reliable power plant, as Hwange Thermal Power Station constantly breaks down due to aging equipment while the other smaller thermal power plants, such as Harare, Bulawayo, and Munyati are also unreliable due to coal shortages.
Tenants housed at the convenient mall include Nguni & Co, the renowned Faye Marsh Jewellers, The Apparel Hub, The Pantry and Sue’s Bakery and Delicatessen as well as a pharmacy.
Online Reporter