Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa July/August 2014 | Page 68

COMMERCIAL OFFICE DEVELOPMENT WINNER
Alice Lane Phase One

Abland, together with Standard Bank and Pivotal
Property Investment Fund, opened the doors to
Phase One of the triple A grade offices in August
2013. Triple A grade is reserved for only the most
prestigious buildings with high quality finishes and
state of the art systems.
This building was designed to form an important
piece of an urban puzzle. The building is one of three
office blocks that sit on a landscaped piazza. The
intention behind the piazza is to create an open public
space that links the offices to each other and to the
surrounding streets and buildings, providing office
tenants and the public with a pleasant environment.
The building was designed to frame views from
the piazza of the surrounding vistas and to terminate
views on the piazza. It allows a transparent view
through the building’s arched underbelly whilst
framing the gardens and defining the public space’s
relationship with the sky and the views.
The east façade ‘leaping-horse’ structure with its
corresponding west façade balcony openings are
innovative elements which clearly define the lines
of this building. This leaping-horse is essentially a
bridge structure that spans 25m at third floor level,
with three levels of offices above. This sculptural

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bridge was designed to form part of the opening to
the views of Bryanston and to allow the piazza to flow
through the ground level of the building.
Green Aspects
The building boasts green features such as energy
efficient lighting and air-conditioning systems, and
is designed in such a way that a maximum amount
of natural light is let into the building.The project
included elements such as double glazing and
performance glass, careful monitoring of R- and
U-values of materials, recycling of water, green parking
bays and passive heating and cooling systems.

Developer: Abland
Architects: Paragon Architects
Quantity Surveyors: Quanticost
Civil and Structural Engineers: L&S Consulting
Mechanical Engineers: C3 Consulting Engineers
Electrical Engineers: Taemane Consulting
Façade Consultant: Andrew Riley & Associates
Fire Consultants: IFESA
Landscape Architects: Insite
Main Contractor: WBHO

SAPOA Awards