Architect and Builder February/March 2019

PROJECT FEATURE ELECTRICITY HOUSE ELECTRICITY HOUSE Cape Town CLIENT City of Cape Town PROJECT MANAGERS Alwyn Laubscher & Associates ARCHITECT Ebesa Architects HERITAGE ARCHITECTS Arcon QUANTITY SURVEYOR Narker & Associates STRUCTURAL, CIVIL, MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS NWE Consulting Engineers COMMISSIONING AGENTS SEM Solutions FAÇADE ENGINEERS Integrate Consulting Engineers GREEN BUILDING CONSULTANTS Sillito Environmental Consulting T he brief from the client, the City of Cape Town, to Ebesa Architects was to design a depot and office building for the Electricity Department to service the electrical needs of the City Centre. The previous depot building was going to be redeveloped and they needed to move. The Electricity Department owned the land and buildings that were to become the new site for the building. The building needed to accommodate around 200 staff, both office staff as well as field workers. The building had to be functional and practical for the movement of trucks, vehicles, office workers and field workers. The building also had to be a green building in line with the City of Cape Town’s drive towards more sustainable buildings. Concept and Planning The concept of the building was largely driven by its functional requirements as well as the Green Building requirements. There was a huge input from Heritage and CIfA with regards to integration into the inner city fabric. The building took a lot of planning as the architects had to accommodate a number of different departments within the building. There was also the demolition of an existing building that had to be considered as well as excavation and foundation restraints on such a confined site. Each floor had a very specific function and very specific circulation routes had to be co-ordinated. ACOUSTIC ENGINEERS SRL South Africa LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS ARG Design GREEN BUILDING ENERGY MODELLING Green Plan ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONITORING ACO Associates MAIN CONTRACTOR Group Five Coastal Western Cape PHOTOGRAPHY - INTERIOR & EXTERIORS Inspiral Design PHOTOGRAPHY - AERIALS SkyPixels Photography & Video Productions The two main architectural features are the striking white composite aluminium screen walls and the vertical green garden on Buitengracht Street 28 Electricity House

Architect and Builder February/March 2019 | Page 28