Architect and Builder August/September 2019 | Page 66

1 Discovery Place, Sandton
OVERALL AWARD WINNER | CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS
1 Discovery Place in Sandton is the new home of South
African medical and financial services giant, Discovery.
Known for its innovative approach to its product offerings
and focus on wellbeing, its new Head Office encompasses
those key tenets.
Developed jointly by Growthpoint Properties and
Zenprop Property Holdings, there were two key factors
within Discovery’s brief.
The first was to create an architectural statement that
captured the essence and core values of the Discovery
brand that it could be identified with going forward.
Discovery required a new building designed with their
way of working in mind and offering flexibility for future
growth and operational changes.
The Discovery building was conceived from the inside
out. At the core of its design concept is the creation of
a rich internal environment within and around which
the Discovery community can thrive. At all times the
architectural design considerations are centered around
the human experience of the space. This concept resolved
itself into two large, sun filled internal atria around which
the open floor plates were arranged. The atria are
enclosed by 2,800m 2 of glazed roof, with all pause areas
and agile spaces opening into them. Connecting these
atria to one another is a central concourse, within which
a stack of escalators links double volume bridges that
stitch the floorplates together. The concourse space was
conceived as a ‘grand central station’, a literal and figurative
interchange between the company and its clients. The roof
of the building is a landscaped retreat, accessible to all
employees, where the philosophy of an holistic approach
to health, an integral part of the company’s core values,
is physically expressed.
The building’s form is defined by an external ‘camisole’,
a projecting portion of the façade articulated by white
powder coated vertical aluminium fins. The sensuous
shape in plan, combined with the undulating vertical
expression, creates a simple, monolithic statement that
gives the building a unique and powerful visual signature.
The project team, client, and developers have all came
together to create a building and working environment
that not only epitomises Discovery, but is very much a
21st century workspace. The care and attention to staff
welfare and comfort makes working at 1 Discovery Place
a world-class experience.
Owner & Developers:
Zenprop Property Holdings and
Growthpoint Properties (JV)
Project Manager: Morta Project Management
Architects: Boogertman + Partners;
Urban Design: studioMAS
Quantity Surveyor: RLB Pentad Quantity Surveyors
Civil & Façade Engineer: Pure Consulting
Structural Engineer: Sotiralis Consulting Engineers
Electrical Engineer: Claassen Auret and
Conscius Electrical Consulting Engineers (JV)
Mechanical Engineer: Aurecon
Wet Services: Sutherland Engineers
Fire Engineer: TWCE
Traffic Engineer: Kantey & Templer
Acoustic Engineer: SRL South Africa
Health & Safety: Comprac Holdings
Lift Consultant: Solutions for Elevating
Kitchen Consultant: KDH Catering Design Concepts
Commissioning Agent:
Shared Energy Management
Interior Architect: Paragon Interface
Landscape Architect: African Environmental Design
Main Contractors: Tiber Construction
and WBHO Construction (JV)
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SAPOA Awards