Construction World December 2016

The AfriSam Innovation Award for Sustainable Construction E

WORLD WIDE FUND FOR WILDLIFE, SOUTH AFRICA

The site had the usual inner city restraints in that there was very little access to the building to allow full construction works to proceed without hindrance and that the site was the standard area size of 250 m 2 . Overall the build process took 15 months to complete. The primary focus of the design of the building was centered on the maximisation of the site parameters and the creation of large open work spaces for the WWF-SA staff while still allowing a sense of privacy. The ground floor was given over to a reception space and a future volume for the use as an off-street facility by the WWF-SA for the general public wishing to investigate aspects relating to our planet and the work they do to preserve our futures. in that it wished to preserve as much of the building as possible while giving the façade an up-to-date modern building that allowed the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA). The building was initially built in 1905 and it was necessary for the architect to obtain PHRAG approval – a process which took just over eight months to complete at which time Alive Architecture was given the full go-ahead to proceed with complete site demolition. During the eight-month PHRAG process, Alive Architecture changed their design-minds and that of its clients

The first and second floors were given over to open-plan office volumes but keeping the workspace numbers down so as to assist in the human feel of the spaces. Due to the projected requirements of the client – a building which showcased the WWF as a serious green entity – the green features of the building included a waste water treatment plant, natural ventilation to all offices areas with additional forced air changes (no air-conditioning is done), double glazed fenestration, automated blinds and LED lighting linked to a building management system, the collection of all rainwater, solar geyser for the shower and kitchen areas, reclaimed/re-used materials for building and furniture items, no on-site parking, the inclusion of bicycle racks, main-line gas connection for plug-in heating units, the exposure of base materials to allow for building thermal activation and the use of recycled materials for the construction of the concrete slabs within the building. The feel that the architect wanted to give the end product on the façade treatment, was to showcase the various build-stages of the building over its lifespan. It accordingly removed all the plasterwork, re-grouted all the brick joints, left the old railway sleeper lintels in the walling, relocated the required new openings for the building floors and highlighted them with a plaster band and keystone detail, and finally threw in some plaster and paint to the new concrete and brick segments creating a building which clearly reflects the WWF ethos of re-use and recycle as well as making it an iconic point within the Braamfontein district. On 11 November 2015 the building received a 6-Star GBCSA Design Rating (75 points out of a 100) making it the first brownfields 6-star rated building in South Africa. The building has once again become an iconic hotspot within the Braamfontein district with its unique re-use of materials as well as the show-casing the original structure which has been on this site since 1905. The building stands out for its different

68

aesthetic language compared to its immediate surrounding buildings and within the business district as a whole – there is no other building quit like this one in the entire area and this aspect makes it a unique talk-piece and destination pin-point.

Project information • Company entering: Alive Architecture • Client: WWF-SA • Start date: November 2013 • End date: January 2015 • Main contractor: Guiricich Brothers Construction • Architect: Alive Architecture • Project manager: Bornman & Associates • Quantity surveyr: Russel Irons & Associates • Consulting engineer: HDW Consulting Engineers • Project value: R8,5-million

Construction WORLD

DECEMBER • 2016