Construction World December 2021

AFRISAM INNOVATION AWARD FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

RADISSON RED OXFORD PARKS

T he Radi sson RED hotel in Rosebank , Johannesburg – the second in the group’s RED brand in Af rica – embraces key themes of art , fashion and mus ic, reflect ing thi s fashionable suburb’s character of des ign f reedom and explorat ion. Concor, through i ts profess ional approach, met iculous planning and resourcing capabi l i ty, converted the Radi sson RED vi s ion into real i ty between October 2019 and Apri l 2021, despi te delays caused by the countr y’s COVID-19 lockdown. Si tuated in the vibrant Oxford Parks mixed-use precinct in Rosebank , the contemporar y 222 room hotel was des igned to meet a minimum 5 Star Green Star Custom Hotel rat ing. The bui lding basements were completed as part of the fi rst two phases of the Oxford Parks Precinct , enabl ing Concor to immediately begin construct ion of the superstructure f rom ground floor up. At the peak of construct ion act ivi t ies , thi s fast track project had over 500 people including more than 45 di f ferent subcontractors on s i te. The base bui ld spec was provided by dhk Archi tects , whi le the interior des ign spec was by Source IBA. Concor took the project through to furni ture, fi tt ing and equipment (FF&E) stage including beds , chai rs , televi s ion sets and the phys ical backbone for Wi -Fi connect ivi ty. Accommodat ing 222 rooms on a l imi ted footprint translated into an archi tectural ly sophi st icated yet compact des ign which incorporates funct ional i ty on an opt imi sed footprint . Ensuring the comfort and safety of guests , most of the internal part i t ions are constructed us ing dr y-wal l ing materials wi th high acoust ic and fi re- rated propert ies . The speci ficat ions for these part i t ions are highly technical , el iminat ing noi se transfer f rom room to room. Compri s ing seven levels on top of

a ground floor, as wel l as a roof level for plant and ser vices , the bui lding i s a concrete structure based on convent ional and post-tens ioned slabs wi th grids to sui t the room s i zes . Concor ’s work was guided by two sets of des ign speci ficat ions , one for back-of-house and another for f ront-of-house. The base bui ld spec was provided by dhk Archi tects , whi le the interior des ign spec was by Source IBA. To accommodate the compact des ign, majori ty of the plant inf rastructure i s located on the roof ( the eighth level ) . Thi s includes water tanks and al l heat ing, vent i lat ion and cool ing (HVAC) systems . The ut i l i ty area has been cordoned of f us ing art i ficial fol iage screens making i t aesthet ical ly pleas ing. Enhancing the modern appearance and funct ional i ty of the east and western ends of the bui lding are double glazed glass curtain wal ls wi th of fset vert ical aluminium cladding. The north- and south- facing s ides have an attract ive, yet pract ical face brick patterned façade wi th punch-out square windows . The bui lding i s moni tored us ing both a Bui lding Management System (BMS) and a Guest Room Management System (GRMS) system. Thi s fol lows the trend in smart bui lding development where automat ion i s used enabl ing greater funct ional i ty and an enhanced user experience. Radi sson RED i s commi tted to sustainable des ign and the hotel contains numerous elements underpinning i ts 5 Star Green Star Custom Hotel rat ing. Thi s rat ing recogni ses that the bui lding demonstrates ‘South Af rican excel lence’, and i s a step above the Best Pract ice level . Us ing both a Bui lding Management System (BMS) and a Guest Room Management System (GRMS) faci l i tates s igni ficant energy savings as those ut i l i t ies when not in

86 20 th Best Project Awards 2021