8
MERCHANT PLACE
8 MERCHANT PLACE Sandton , Johannesburg
CLIENT FirstRand
DEVELOPER Eris Property Group
ARCHITECT , URBAN DESIGN , LANDSCAPE & INTERIOR DESIGN Boogertman + Partners
PROJECT MANAGER Metrum Project Management
QUANTITY SURVEYOR Vusela Consulting
CIVIL , STRUCTURAL , WET SERVICES & GREEN STAR CONSULTANT Zutari
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS Claassen Auret Inc
MECHANICAL ENGINEERS Adaptive Resource Engineers
MAIN CONTRACTOR Trencon Construction
PHOTOGRAPHY Tristan McLaren Courtesy of Trencon Construction
Situated at the corner of Rivonia Road and Fredman Drive in Sandton , 8 Merchant Place is the latest addition in an almost 30 year history of intervention on the Merchant Place site .
Architects Boogertman + Partners changed the Sandton skyline at the end of the 1990s when 1 Merchant Place , an 18 storey tower , was completed . The firm have been engaged since then with Rand Merchant Bank ( RMB ) and Eris Property Group as the campus has grown and expanded over the subsequent years .
Brief The brief from the client was to consolidate certain employee wellbeing offerings into one integrated building . This was primarily driven to start with by a desire to increase the gym size , which was at the time situated in the 9 Fredman Drive building , and to also introduce a EduCentre for use by staff .
As the project team began looking at the placement of the new building on the piazza site within the campus , they realised that there was a bigger opportunity to also accommodate the existing Wellness Centre , which would have a synergy with the gym , as well as a new venue that could be used for internal and client events .
Design The new building is a relatively modest architectural insertion size-wise , but will be experientially significant in the day to day activities of staff and visitors . At its core it is a building that ensures that the surrounding campus is utilised to its maximum efficiency by pulling non-core functions out of these and rearranging them into one
NORTH WEST ELEVATION
32 8 Merchant Place