boulevard to the east, which links the City and the Zeitz MOCAA building as the focal point, located to the North. All the public areas of the Hotel and the main entrance area have glazed façades which provide a positive interface, not only with the pedestrian boulevard, but also the adjacent No 5 Silo. This was an important design consideration in response to the public realm and the pedestrian environment.
In order to maximise the feeling of space, the ground floor public areas have generous floor to ceiling double volume spaces which are characterised by faced concrete V-Columns which are high quality fair faced concrete. The idea was to expose the concrete structure as much as possible, including the introduction of diamond polished concrete floors, to optimise the industrial character of the building but also to showcase the overall robustness and quality finish of the material. The strict accuracy requirements of these floors were challenging and the design team worked with the contractor to implement additional quality control measures.
Giant industrial wind-up pivot windows designed by Arup have been installed in the restaurant and strengthen the industrial aesthetic with their‘ crittal’ style panes and expressed machinery. Functionally, they allow the restaurant space to open out towards Silo Square while still providing protection during inclement weather.
The roof area on the seventh floor enjoys sweeping panoramic views. The public areas and pool are orientated towards the north-west, to maximise climatic comfort and sun-movement throughout the day, but also shield the spaces from the harsh south-easter. The rooftop also includes a restaurant and gym.
Structural Design The challenge for the design was that it was built on top of an existing basement, with a grid suitable for parking layouts but not suitable for a hotel building. In short, the structural grids were clashing. The architects, in coordination with Engineers Arup, designed around this with V-columns that redistribute the grid so that columns could fall in the walls of the hotel rooms from the second floor up. This also eliminated the need for transfer beams gaining a building height of approximately 1,000mm, which meant the design could include an additional back-of-house level within the 32m above sea level height restriction. The V-Column layout which is visible throughout the ground floor, also supports the corridor which runs the entire length of the hotel from north to south. Post-tensioned floor slabs have been used, resulting in thinner slabs which have contributed to higher floor to ceiling heights.
No 6 Silo 33