Construction World December 2018

Site The site is located in Centurion, on the corner of John Vorster Drive and Lenchen Avenue. It lies adjacent to Centurion Mall and falls within a short distance of the Centurion Gautrain Station and numerous multi- occupant modes of public transport, making it easily accessible and highly visible in the surrounding urban fabric. Locating the building on the site presented many challenges due to the dolomitic conditions of the Centurion area. There were two large category 7 sink hole areas on the site that are located close to the main road intersections of John Vorster & Lenchen Avenue as well as Lenchen Avenue & South Street. This forced the building to be located towards the back of the site and informed the angular geometries of the plan as the building ‘wrapped’ itself around these sink hole zones. The remaining portions of the site allowed for pockets of parking to be separated into visitor and staff parking areas which in turn informed the entrance locations to the buildings. Design Concept & Strategy The building is a contemporary corporate environment encompassing the efficiencies and social workplace lifestyle required of a highly innovative tenant as well as those of a commercially savvy developer. The footprint is derived from these design drivers. The offices and public areas are located on a raised podium with two semi-basement parking levels below. The fall across the site, from John Vorster towards Lenchen Avenue, allows for on grade staff access on the higher end of the site and dramatic visitor access through a mutli- volume lobby on the lower end of the site. The design concept for the office building was to create very efficient and rectilinear office floor plates contained within two five storey buildings linked together with a social highstreet at podium level and a multi-volume public interface atrium. The social high street & public atrium also links the Function Room and Auditorium as well as showrooms & labs to the main buildings. The high street and public interface atrium encourages formal & informal interactions between clients, staff and visitors and contains the staff & visitor entrances & receptions, vertical circulation including lifts, stair & escalators, coffee shops, informal meeting spaces, staff restaurant and seating as well as the pause areas for each office floor plate. There are a series of outdoor spaces accessible from the high street that allow for staff break away spaces and outdoor functions, adding value to both the client and BCX user. All the other lifestyle elements expected of a futureproofed workplace such as a gym and convenience retail are provided for on the podium level. The architecture is derived from a ‘folded atrium façade’, perhaps

reminiscent of origami paper folding techniques’ allowing for a somewhat organic set of linking spaces containing the social and interactive elements of daily use including the multi-level escalator and lift banks clustered around the coffee and pause areas. The folded architecture allows for ingress of natural light from the south while screening the internal environment from hot northern and western sun. The façade folds adapt themselves to acknowledge entrance, branding and user experience. Careful use of materials; aluminium panels and performance glazing enhance the iconic brand value of the public atrium element. In essence BCX is a set of highly efficient working footplates connected by an interwoven network of user pathways providing a stimulating, comfortable and respectful environment to its many diverse users. Sustainability aspects The decision to go green for the new BCX headquarters was emphasised at the conceptual stage of the project. The multi-benefits of Green Buildings such as occupant comfort, reduced operational cost and reduction of negative environmental impacts associated with the construction industry further encouraged the managerial decision to construct a green building and pursue Green Star Certification. Sustainable aspects of the building include such as energy and water efficiency, improved indoor environmental quality delivered to occupants and careful selection of construction materials and internal finishes. The building is designed to perform better than a conventional building; it raises the bar in that some aspects such fresh air rates exceed industry benchmarks. Tremendous commitment and effort from the multi-disciplinary project team has ensured that a high quality and aesthetically pleasing development with sound green building principles is delivered. The development achieved a 4 Star Green Star Certification in March 2017 and is currently pursuing an As Built certification by year-end. 

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