COMMERCIAL OFFICE DEVELOPMENT WINNER
90 Grayston Drive
90 Grayston Drive contributes to the vibrant and
constant upgrade of Sandton, ensuring it keeps pace
with other advanced cities around the world.
It is a trendsetting building that creates a new
benchmark for future commercial development. With a
growing focus on green building globally, tenants are
increasingly looking to optimise energy costs and reduce
operating costs with resource-efficient methods that last
throughout a building’s lifecycle.
Developed by Redefine Properties and designed by
GLH & Associates Architects, the concept of the scheme
was to create a functional design which responds to the
site specifics and supporting environment, whilst
creating a remarkable identity with a dynamic multifaceted architectural form.
The challenge of the site proportions was to create a
building within a relatively narrow frontage. This was
achieved by stacking the building volume vertically in a
series of cubes and rectangles dressed in glass, stone
and moving elements of metal, which protrude and
recess, creating an irregular interplay onto the street.
This dynamic façade wraps the sides of the building,
drawing the viewer’s eye in and around and emphasising
the building as a three-dimensional sculptural object in
the streetscape. The architecture on the north-western
edge is modulated to create a dynamic built form
addressing the corner. The architectural expression is
sleek and contemporary. The use of clear glass was
enhanced where possible to ensure maximum natural
light and excellent views. The high-tech, doubleventilated façade utilises automated motorised blinds to
SAPOA Awards
respond to the path of the sun around the building,
controlling the light entering the spaces, morphing the
appearance of the building, and allowing the building to
have full-height highly transparent glazing.
In tune with this approach to representing the context
of the building in its envelope, the glass boxes are
patterned with a fritted design by renowned South
African artist Gerhard Marx which traces the movement
of the wind over and around the building representing
an alternative topography on the building skin, and
making the invisible visible. The integration of this layer
of design elevates the building to a piece of art of interest
to the occupants and the wider community.
At night, the glazed façade is a beacon in the
cityscape, lit up with changing washes of LED light which
continue to express the dynamism of the building, and
which can be programmed to represent the colours of
a specific corporate identity.
Developers: Redefine Properties Ltd
Project Managers: Betts Townsend
Architects: GLH & Associates Architects
Quantity Surveyors: MLC Quantity Surveyors
Civil & Structural Engineers: Sutherland
Electrical Engineers: CKR Consulting Engineers
Fire Consultants: Specialised Fire Technology
Lift Consultant: Solutions for Elevating (S4E)
Environmental Consultants: WSP Group Africa
Interiors: GLH Interiors
Landscape Architects: Landmark Studios
Main Contractor: WBHO Construction
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