Architect and Builder January/February 2016 | Page 8

GRAIN SILOS BENEFIT FROM INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING INPUT
Arup, through both its South Africa and
UK offices, has been extensively involved in
the development and ongoing sustainability
credentials of the Silo District in the V&A
Waterfront, Cape Town. When the district
is complete in 2017, each building will have
a distinctive style, underpinned by best
practice in terms of sustainability, building
engineering and security.
Zeitz MOCAA
The focal point of the Silo District has to
be the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art
Africa (MOCAA) project, led by renowned
architectural firm Heatherwick Studio for
client, V&A Waterfront.
Arup provided resilience planning to
the project, concentrating on the specific
requirements for a world class museum
within a working harbour. The development
has to meet international lenders’ and
insurers’ best practice requirements for
artefacts, without compromising the multiple
uses of the building. Arup considered the
manpower and response provisions offered
by the V&A Waterfront to provide a security
concept backed by physical and electronic
protection specific to the Grain Silo and
its unique location and history, resulting
in secure galleries while retaining required
flexibility of public and common spaces.
HVAC
Arup’s HVAC teams provided international
best practice design to deliver precise
environmental control for a new museum
that aspires to hosting loans from
international art institutions. An emphasis
was placed on energy efficient design to
reduce power consumption and the buildings
demand on municipal infrastructure. A two
stage environmental control was adopted,

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with a single system dedicated to filtering
and purifying the outside air and multiple
smaller systems dedicated to conditioning
each gallery space. The galleries will be a
mixture of ASHRAE Class A, B & C types
of environmental control, with Class A being
the highest level.
Wind Studies
A challenge to the development was the
notorious southeast wind during summer
and its impact on usability and safe access
to the gallery. Arup undertook a series of
qualitative desk-studies to advise the design
team on wind avoidance strategies in critical
areas, such as entrances and main pedestrian
routes, and on ventilation arrangements and
door types suitable for these conditions.
Lighting
Lighting, both natural and artificial, will play a
vital role in defining visitor experience. Arup
followed a 24-hour lighting philosophy for
the project, developing a holistic solution
for the atrium space that carefully balanced
and combined daylight and electric lighting.
Daylight studies explored how sunlight
could animate the space through the
seasons, as well as creating a dynamic
and visually engaging environment for
museum visitors. These studies informed
the geometry and material selection of the
atrium glazed apertures.
The electric lighting approach aimed to
work with and not against the daylighting
condition within the atrium, and have the
ability to provide a subtle transition to the
electric lighting only once the sun sets. Arup
worked closely with the architect to develop
the architectural lighting scheme to achieve
this, ensuring that visitors have a memo Ʌ