Unique Opportunity
Working on the three phases offered Paragon an
opportunity to explore the interstitial quality of
the three buildings and challenge the notion that
Sandton’s pavements are alienating.
The rare opportunity to work on an entire city
block allowed them the scope to extend their
contribution from architecture through to urban
planning and design. Important in the creation of
this urban jigsaw puzzle was to constantly bear in
mind how these buildings would work together
and how those working in the precinct would
experience the environment.
There are common threads that run throughout
the precinct, but each building has a subtle change
of evolutionary design. The design language used
throughout the three phases ties the buildings
together whilst the individuality of the buildings
is expressed through the use of different materials.
The glazing showcases the latest glass technology
Alice Lane
and expression in terms of light and dark and also
day and night experiences.
Phase 3 Design
In this final phase of the Alice Lane development,
the butterfly-shaped plan allows for the generation
of two wings. Working with generated site line
analyses and sun studies, the conceptual design
was specifically created to allow sunlight into
the public space, essentially using sunlight to
chisel form.
The operational needs of the tenant, Bowmans,
were carefully considered. Typically law firms
require a higher cellular office to floor plate
ratio. Further requirements included external
views and windows in each cellular office. An
optimised H-shaped floor plate serviced by a
single, centralised core allows for easy subdivision
of the floor plate and offers panoramic views of
Johannesburg. There are 1,500 parking bays
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