CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS: WINNER
PwC Tower, Waterfall City, Johannesburg
The new head office for PwC at Waterfall City is an
iconic addition to the Johannesburg skyline. The tallest
structure by far in the Waterfall and Midrand area, the
building is home to 3,500 employees in over 47,000m 2
of ultramodern offices. Its distinctive twisting façade is
an expression of innovative architectural and structural
collaboration in creating a world class building.
The construction process saw the core of the structure
going up first to the full height of the building, prompting
curious early onlookers to ask the question, why is the
building so thin? It was only once the rest of the floor
space on each storey was added from the bottom up,
that a fuller picture emerged of the silhouette of this eye-
catching building, with its dramatic twist design.
The core of the building was constructed using a
method called slip forming, where the concrete is poured
continuously within the steel shutters. By erecting the
core in one operation early in the project, it speeds up
construction of the rest of the building, since you can
then just build the floors and columns, rather than waiting
for construction of the walls. Internationally this method
is relatively common for buildings over ten storeys, but
in South Africa it has most recently only been used for
forming chimneys and cooling towers.
The spiralling geometry of the building creates unusual
forces on the tower. Rather than putting all of this load
on the central core which would be very inefficient, the
columns were sloped along the façade of the building in
the opposite direction. This generates two twisting forces,
SAPOA Awards
which cancel each other out. The structural engineers
reviewed many iterations to get the optimal balance and
to ensure that this was closely coordinated with the overall
geometry and the façade design.
The unique façade of the building creates a striking
first impression. The 3D geometry and unique aluminium
profiles. The frames are warped to accommodate the
twisting imposed by the rotation of each floor relative to
the floor below. Arup believes that this is the first curtain
wall in South Africa with twisted unitised panels.
The building is designed to conform to the internationally
recognised LEED Silver Standard rating, emphasising
its environmental performance and sustainable design.
The tower is connected, social and dynamic in form and
arrangement of spaces, with occupiers benefiting from
its proximity to a 1.2 hectare park, the Mall of Africa and
several residential areas. The PWC Tower is a worthy
inclusion among the best spiral buildings in the world.
Developer: Attacq; Atterbury
Owner: Attacq
Architects & Project Managers: LYT Architecture
Quantity Surveyors: Brian Heineberg & Associates
Civil & Structural Engineers: Arup
Electrical Engineers: Claassen Auret
Mechanical Engineers: WSP
Green Consultants: Ecocentric
Fire Consultant: SFT
Main Contractor: WBHO Construction
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