CATEGORY WINNER: CORPORATE OFFICE DEVELOPMENTS
Multichoice City
MultiChoice, South Africa’s premium broadcast
provider, recently extended its primary campus in
the Randburg CBD, with the result being a brand
new facility boasting a Green Building Council 5 Star
Design Certification.
Sited on the prominent corner of Bram Fischer and
Republic Road, the contemporary design comprises
four parking basement levels and four office levels
of approximately 35,000m² generously arranged
around a striking central atrium. A subterranean
tunnel links the new and old parts of the campus,
alleviating traffic pressure on the local road network,
and a bold angular pedestrian bridge still under
construction, will connect internal pedestrian traffic
around the campus over Bram Fischer Drive.
A noticeable feature of the new building is the
curvilinear façade on an element of the scheme on
the Bram Fischer frontage nicknamed ‘the bean’. It
is easily distinguishable with its swooping glazed
brise soleil providing sun control to this elevation.
The edge of the bean morphs the rectilinear urban
edge of the street block, and draws in pedestrians
from the street. Indigenous gardens at the entrance
enhance the sense of arrival, and provide both
human scale against the backdrop of the new
building, and a much welcome breath of green relief
in the cityscape. Once inside the building, a visitor is
struck by the central heart of the scheme: a multi-
storey atrium covered with a long span ETFE roof
flooding the space with daylight.
Around the atrium, several pause areas and
breakaway zones where staff and visitors can
interact animate the space, and dynamically
planned bridges and stairs criss-cross the atrium
at different angles and levels connecting the
various departments. This approach emphasises
the flexible ways of working required in a modern
work environment, by increasing the places where
SAPOA Awards
casual exchange of ideas and discussions can occur.
From the early design stage, MultiChoice wanted
to create a place where they could have large
staff gatherings to launch new products or make
exciting announcements, and the atrium design
is purposefully flexible to allow such performance
and events. At the ground floor a coffee shop spills
out into the atrium beneath the bean, and trees
planted level with the atrium floor further reinforce
the impression of the outdoor connection of the
atrium street. A gym on the fourth floor is open to
staff of the MultiChoice group which has wonderful
views across the city to both the Johannesburg and
Sandton CBDs.
Developers: NMSCom Properties
Architects: GLH Architects
Project Managers: M Studio Consulting
Quantity Surveyors:
BTKM Pretoria Quantity Surveyors
Town Planners: Steve Jaspan & Associates
Civil, Structural & Façade Engineers:
Pure Consulting
Electrical Engineers: OneZero Consulting
Mechanical Engineers:
C3 Climate Control Consulting Engineers
Wet Services: IZAZI Consulting Engineers
Fire Consultants: TWCE
Land Surveyors: Insite Group
Acoustic Engineers:
Pro Acoustic Consulting Engineers
Landscape Architects: Insite
Interiors: dsgn design
Environmental Consultants:
Solid Green Consulting
Lift Consultants: KONE South Africa
Bulk Earthworks: Zero Unlimited Earthworks
Main Contractor: Group Five Building
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