Construction World November 2017

Henning Rasmuss (ABOVE) and Anthony Orelowitz .

New and existing talent For Paragon, its people are its best selling point. Paragon actively recruits at universities. It competes for the top talent and makes available places for new graduates in its Design Incubator. For all staff, it offers continuous software training, autonomous team training, and business skills and people management training. “We have a 360-degree review system, with full performance reviews three times per year. All of this gives us active working relationships with team members, and fosters trust and career growth,” explains Rasmuss.

"The pursuit of national styles is old hat and unimportant. Buildings should be reflective of their micro-geography: they should if possible respond only to the immediately local."

growth, as we are always ‘open for business’,” Rasmuss maintains. Word has spread Essentially the Paragon Group is a business partner for design excellence. “And word has gotten around that we are consistent in what we do,” Rasmuss adds. Current project highlights are the Sasol Head Office in Sandton, and the Bowmans Head Office on Alice Lane. The entire Alice Lane precinct, with Bowmans and Sanlam/Santam and Barclays Capital and Norton Rose and Marsh Head Offices, was designed by the Paragon Group over a period of eight years for four different clients. “It is a unique assembly of work,” Rasmuss says proudly. Earlier successes were the Creative Counsel on Corlett Drive, AFGRI in Centurion, the Alexander Forbes Head Office in Sandton, and a JV participation in the Cape Town Stadium for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. “On the interior design side, we are currently completing Discovery Health’s new campus, which is in excess of 110 000 m 2 . We have shaped working environments for Sasol, Alexander Forbes, IBM, Redefine Properties, ABSA Bank, Barclays, Tronox, Credit Suisse, Norton Rose, Delta Fund, General Electric, Stanlib, Shell, and many other corporates,” Rasmuss highlights. Currently in construction are the Hilton Hotel in Mbabane, the Crystal Rivers Mall in Nairobi, the Habitat Apartment Tower in Nairobi, and three housing projects in other countries. “‘The Modern’ is a very interesting mixed-use project in Cape Town. There is a building being completed on Scott Street in Houghton, opposite Melrose Arch, and we have started on the Katherine Street Towers in Sandton. Internationally, we are looking forward to two new office buildings in Accra, and the construction of a 22-storey apartment tower in Nairobi,” Rasmuss lists. Design philosophy “We like to describe our architecture as one of integrity and optimism; and of its time, here and now,” Rasmuss says. “Our architecture is not defined by stylistic preferences, but by

the complex dialogue that evolves between client, architect, and members of the professional team, influenced by market demands, societal trends, local conditions, and external forces. We focus on critical decision-making early in the design process. "We continually push both design and construction boundaries: Our design strategies are flexible, and our design process is sculptural and craft-like.” The design continuum Rasmuss argues that good design should represent a continuum. “Briefs are often quite sketchy, and high-level. We define the project scope in discussion with clients, as often there are very few initial parameters, other than the planning rights, a tight programme, and a basic business case. There is much freedom that accompanies this process, and with our numerous repeat clients, a high level of trust in our capabilities,” Rasmuss comments. Design is carried out entirely using an iterative 3D modelling process to best simulate the completed building. “Form emerges out of a continuous reworking of the basic DNA of the building. The mass is refined, and the façades are crafted like a skin over the armature of the floor plates,” he reveals. Value engineering starts early, and continues throughout the construction cycle. Many elements are documented multiple times in order to comply with buildability and time and budget constraints, but always with an eye towards innovation. The unimportance of a local style Rasmuss states emphatically that one should not refer to a uniquely ‘South African’ architectural style. “There is no ‘British’, ‘German’ or ‘American’ style as such. The pursuit of national styles is old hat and unimportant. Buildings should be reflective of their microgeography. They should, if possible, respond only to the immediate locale. That way, they are most likely to be appropriate to the place where they are built. Style is the result of a value-driven working process. Style is an end result – it should not be a starting point,” Rasmuss concludes. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2017