CATEGORY WINNER: COMMERCIAL OFFICE DEVELOPMENTS Ridgeview Office Development
The Ridegeview commercial office building, developed and owned by Growthpoint Properties Ltd, was completed in December 2015. It is prominently positioned alongside a busy traffic circle near the Gateway Theatre of Shopping and located in the prestigious Ridgeside Office Park – a soughtafter node in Umhlanga.
It is one of two buildings on a shared site, designed with a shared super- basement and common facilities to maximise efficiencies in capital and operating costs and minimise the impact on the environment. Ridgeview consists of four basement levels, with four levels of offices above. The total GLA of the building is 6,650m 2, of which about 50 % has been let to key tenant, AECOM.
Ridgeview is the first building in Durban to achieve a 5-star Design Rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa and the AECOM interior fit-out is currently being assessed for an official 4-star Green Star Interiors rating v1 rating. The building is designed using current technologies and innovative methodologies to deliver costeffective high grade work space.
The architectural expression of the complex is characterised by a suite of crafted façades which contextualise the construct in its sub-tropical environment. The design solution maximises usable floor area ratios whilst still maintaining a human scale and high grade architectural quality.
The most remarkable feature exhibited by the buildings is their filtered façades on the south west and north west façades in response to the sites’ urban interface and solar orientation. Highly tuned and carefully shaped fritted glass solar fins are suspended off curtain wall office fenestration on these key facades. These elements are both visually permeable and view friendly, providing a constantly variable and unique, functional building skin which delivers beautifully controlled light into internal spaces.
Entrance to both is gained off an indigenous landscaped central parking courtyard via voluminous atria. Transparent entrance articulation announces the reception foyers and the spaces are warmly treated in timber clad ceilings and crafted reception joinery. Internally, the office floor plates are arranged over four levels above the entrance space. Visual connection to the courtyard, busy urban condition towards Gateway, to distant ocean and to Durban’ s CBD views is achieved on all workspace levels. Careful consideration in respect of capturing external views, balance of work functionality and communal spaces have certainly delivered an outstanding workplace environment in these buildings and have set a new paradigm for Umhlanga’ s office park offerings. Rudolf Pienaar, Growthpoint Properties Divisional Director: Offices, comments.“ Growthpoint’ s Ridgeview development has created unique and leading-edge offices on an excellent site in a sought-after business precinct of Umhlanga. It has created an excellent asset for our portfolio, the greater Durban area and the environment. Receiving this award from SAPOA is testament to the work of all our people in making Growthpoint’ s offices amazing workplaces where businesses and their staff can really thrive.”
Developer: Growthpoint Properties Architects: Elphick Proome Architects Project Managers: AECOM Quantity Surveyors: FWJK Structural Engineers: Aurecon Civil Engineers: Hatch Goba Fire Consultants: Aurecon Sustainability Consultants: AECOM Main Contractor: WBHO
8 SAPOA Awards