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 6,650m2, 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
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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
SAPOA Awards