SASFA supplement May 2017

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DELOITTE HEAD OFFICE

The Steel Awards 2012 judges broke with tradition and combined the historically distinct ‘Architectural’ and ‘Light Steel Frame Building’ (LSFB) categories, presenting the combined award to the Boogertman + Partners Architects- designed Deloitte Head Office, which is situated at the Riverwalk Office Park in Pretoria. The unprecedented move was motivated by the unique qualities of the building, which unites excellence in the use of architecturally exposed steel with cutting-edge applic- ation of the Light Steel Frame Building (LSFB) method in commercial buildings. Judge Lemaseya Khama, representing the South African Institute of Architects, said that “having understood the material makeup of the envelope” the judges’ particular interest was to “see how it stood up to its application. The product outcome is one of high quality. “The design details were simple yet achieved complex and pleasing forms, while the detail resolution belies a concerted

team effort. With the knowledge that the LSFB product is relatively new in South Africa, this is laudable.” The site of this development slopes severely from west to east, where it connects to the Wolwespruit River, which separates it from the existing three office buildings in the complex. “The fact that this year a LSFB project has reached the point of excellence where it can also be an ‘Architectural’ category winner, sends a very strong message about the LSFB industry and how much it has developed in this country,” the project team said. The eye-catching deep-orange exterior was achieved using 60 mm-thick EPS (expanded polystyrene) lightweight cladding, fixed to a light steel framework which is bolted to the reinforced concrete structure. These façades, which simply could not have been built with more conventional building methods, ensure excellent insulation, providing comfortable temperatures all year round and so reduce the demand on air-conditioning for cooling in summer and heating in winter. “What has been left in the minds of the judging panel,” concluded Khama,“is the extraordinary potential of this system to be used in a highly aesthetic, all-steel superstructure, with all the attendant benefits of precision and time-saving, not to mention the environmental considerations.”

EXCELLENCE

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SASFA SUPPLEMENT 2017