Construction World November 2018

PROJECTS & CONTRACTS

COMBINED OFFICE AND DEALERSHIP SCHEME Abland, one of South Africa’s leading property developers for over 30 years, hosted a sod turning event for the development of premium A Grade office space uniquely situated above Toyota’s next dealership. The development of Menlyn Maine Towers is in partnership with Tadvest, Namib Gate and Barloworld Motor Retail. Located in Pretoria East, the scheme will boast a proposed 4-star green rating with green building council accreditation.

architects behind the design, explains. “Architecture is the thoughtful making of space for people to live and work in. With this building we have designed and created premium commercial office space and a prestigious new home for Menlyn Toyota in an iconic and affordable building seen in the Menlyn and Pretoria context. The dealership will have a double volume glazed façade showroom facing Corobay Avenue. Prominent individual entrances are provided for the dealership and office building both highlighted by facet lines in the office façade above. Activity is created on the glazed façade of the office building by introducing patios on the office floors with matching ventilation openings on the four parking deck levels, and subtle variances in the tint colour of the thermal performance glass panels used in the unitised glazing system. Facet lines are highlighted at night with led strip lighting installed in the glazed façade. The office floors are designed to accommodate large single as well as multi- tenanted options with easy access from the ground floor entrance, visitors parking area and the parking floors via four elevators.” A critical factor in the building is its sustainable energy use. Achieved through double glazing and thermal storage, water harvesting, energy efficient electrical installations, the building will be truly energy efficient. Notably, the dealership will also utilise water recycling processes allowing up to 75% of water to be reused. 

T he building area will consist of a 16 000 m 2 dealership with 12 000 m 2 premium A-grade office space above, creating 15 floors in total, with potential for roof top or penthouse offices also. The Barloworld Toyota Menlyn dealership is envisaged to trade by August 2019 while the offices are envisaged to trade by mid- February 2020. “We are very excited about this project. Not only will it be the first of its kind in South Africa, where you have a dealership with premium A-grade offices above it, but it will be an incredibly efficient and green building. Additionally, the support from the Menlyn Maine consortium has been very encouraging and this, coupled with its location and design, makes us very confident in the scheme’s success,” concludes Grant Silverman, Marketing and Leasing Director at Abland. Ideally located along Corobay Avenue in Menlyn, Pretoria, the scheme is situated opposite the popular retail heart of Menlyn

Maine providing occupants of the Towers with access to a range of amenities from hotels and gyms to residential units. Moreover, recent infrastructure upgrades ensure that motorists have easy access from both the Atterbury and Garsfontein off- ramps from the N1 freeway. Barloworld Motor Retail has a long relationship with Abland. “We are very excited to venture into this new initiative and we are looking forward to welcoming our customers to this new state of the art dealership in the future”, commented Roland Egger, Chief Executive of Barloworld Motor Retail. Designed with a modern eye, the offices will be enveloped by a seamless glass façade created under a unitised system. Strikingly, while the scheme may be just one building, there will be a clear visual distinction between the dealership and office components, enticing the look of two separate entities. Frits Schuite, director of Boogertman + Partners, the

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2018