Architect and Builder February/March 2019

STELLENBOSH UNIVERSITY BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FACILITY Architects, Roelof Rabe Architects, received a brief from the client, Stellen- bosch University, to take their existing, ageing Biomedical Research Facility at their Tygerberg Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, redo and revamp the existing building, doubling the size from ±14,500m² to ±30,000m², and turn it into one world class research facility. The work was to be carried out whilst the various research departments and laboratories carried on functioning. The parameters within which the architects had to develop the design principles were very clear and rigid. Sustainability is not purely a buzz word in this project. Due to the type of work taking place inside, including a Biosafety Level laboratory sustainable design had to be taken to the next level. This project has taken growth up to 2030 into account and with technology changing so fast, an ideal grid was developed to enable one environment to grow into another environment’s space with very little impact. In other words a grid that would be the same for laboratories and offices. For instance, Bio Informatics is a fast growing sector in Biomedical Science and is computer driven. It is therefore possible that laboratory work benches could be turned into computer workstations in future. Older institutional buildings never really allowed for collaboration spaces except for formal meeting spaces. They normally have huge, empty corridors. International research showed that scientists need spaces to meet spontaneously and even write on a wall if they have to, to share information. The architects hope to bring Project Watch life to the corridors by creating collaboration spaces throughout the building. To comply to sustainability goals, it was important to centralise as many functions as possible. Many of these functions are currently fragmented throughout the building. Centralising the functions meant centralising the services. This includes chemical stores, breakout spaces, meeting facilities and a state of the art Biorepository. In fact, the aim is to achieve a design Greenstar rating of four. Needless to say the definition between public and private in a facility like this is extremely important. Stringent access control ensures clear separation between public lecture facilities and specialised labs for instance, where contamination of the experiments could set the experiment process back for years. Context in this project brought another layer to the complex brief. The architects had to add in a new building to a fairly old, institutional environment. After completion the existing building and the additional new building must function as one. Client: Stellenbosch University Architect: Roelof Rabe Architects Principal Agent and Project Manager: GladAfrica Quantity Surveyor: HKQS Industrial Engineer: LTS Health Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic, Fire: NAKO Triocon Structural, Civil, Wet Services: Ekcon Acoustic Consultant: SRL Health & Safety: ComPrac Landscape Architects: Terra Main Contractor: WBHO Construction 3D Render: Render Rebels 15 d4-leading-architecture-1-4page-vertical-2019-pths.indd 08 Feb 1 2019 11:18:10

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