Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa July/August 2014 | Page 28

KEY TO PLANS

PARKING LEVEL 2
1. FirstRand Jockey Lift Lobby
2. Old Mutual Jockey Lift Lobby
3. Parking Floor
FLOOR 8: SKYPLAZA
1. FirstRand Jockey Lift Lobby
2. Reception
3. FirstRand Office Lift Lobby
4. Sky Plaza
5. Semi-enclosed terrace
6. Welcome Centre
7. Meeting Rooms
8. Wellness Centre (Gym)
9. Kitchen
10. Canteen
11. Outside Terrace
12. Divisible Function Rooms

1.
2.
3.

FLOOR 22: TYPICAL
FIRSTRAND OFFICE FLOOR
Office
FirstRand Office Lift Lobby
Tea Kitchen

FLOOR 28: EXECUTIVE SUITE
1. Firstrand Office Lift Lobby
2. Arrival Area
3. Divisible Function Rooms
4. Bar
5. Semi-enclosed terrace
6. Outside terrace
7. Boardroom
8. Work Café
9. Tea Kitchen
10. Finishing Kitchen
11. Store

LEVEL 2 - PARKING

28

LEVEL 22 - TYPICAL UPPER OFFICE FLOOR

LEVEL 28 - EXECUTIVE SUITE

Due to the height of the building, the HVAC
could not be located entirely in the basement
or on the roof. This would compromise the
system’s energy efficiency. Thus, the cooling
machinery and ventilation components of the
system are at the top, halfway up the building,
as well as in the basement.
Acoustics in the basement were not a top
priority, but care had to be taken higher up the
building where machinery was located near to
offices. Plant rooms were also often no more
than 50m away from the façades of adjacent
hotels and residential buildings. In addition,
consideration had to be given to the fact that
future new building work in the vacinity might
be affected by the HVAC systems on top of
Portside. Therefore, noise control of the
HVAC plant room equipment was very much

required, both for occupants and the public.
The chiller rooms and air-handling units were
insulated, but the challenge was still allowing
airflow without compromising the façade.
As all soil and potabale must descend
to the ground from tanks and sumps, it was
also important to ensure that all unducted
pipe work for water and sewage was suitably
routed and insulated to achieve noise control.
Due to its extent, the glass façade moves
with changes in temperature. Consequently,
the interior floor slabs could not be sealed
horizontally to the glass façade or the spandrel
panelling. Thus, consideration was given to
the fact that noise might travel from above
the slab to the ceiling of the office below. A
good relationship with the façade engineers
was important to resolving these issues.

LEVEL 8 - SKY PLAZA

Portside