Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa March/April 2015 | Page 50

PROJECT

Atrium on 5th

Atrium on 5th proves that existing buildings can be sustainable
and an example of how an ageing building can be reinvented
as one of the most eye-catching buildings in Sandton

CLIENT
Liberty Properties
Pareto Limited
ARCHITECTS (in a JV)
MDS Architecture
MMA Design Studio
PROJECT MANAGERS
GHC Africa
QUANTITY SURVEYORS (in a JV)
MLC Quantity Surveyors
Crane Construction Consultants
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS
Aurecon South Africa
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS
CKR/Nala Consulting Engineers
MECHANICAL HVAC ENGINEERS
WSP Group Africa

P

reviously known as the Sandton Twin Towers, this 32 year old building in the
Sandton CBD has undergone a major reconfiguration. The once aging 11-storey
building has been given a new lease of life as Atrium on 5th, a virtually new building
which is 4-Star Green Star Rated and which also received the Best Quality Submission
Award from the Green Building Council of SA in 2014.
ARCHITECT’S REPORT
The Atrium on 5th reconfiguration was designed by MDS Architecture for Liberty
Properties and Pareto Limited. The project involved changing the footprint of the
floorplates, adding a new double glazed skin beyond the new building edge, removing
the old façade and creating a new full height glazed atrium and lobby linking the the
two towers.
Pat Henry, the partner at MDS Architecture leading the project, says that although
the new building has been given a new identity, the entire original structure was re-used
adding to the sustainability of the project.

(Previously RPP and SPN Consulting Engineers.

Now amalgamated with WSP Group Africa )

FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERS
Building Code Consultants
LIFT CONSULTANTS
ALC Lift Consultants
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CONSULTANTS
Aurecon South Africa
SAFETY CONSULTANTS
Pinnacle
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
Landmark Studios
MAIN CONTRACTOR (in a JV)
Sandton JV:
Aveng Grinaker-LTA
WBHO Construction
PHOTOGRAPHY
Mike Pawley

Pat Henry, the partner
at MDS Architecture
leading the project, says
that although the new
building has been given
a new identity, the entire
original structure was
re-used adding to the
sustainability of the project.

50

The Brief
The original building boasted a proven central location and an influential international
address and the Atrium on 5th reconfiguration was envisioned as a significant part of the
future vision for Sandton City commissioned internationally, a number of years ago, by
the owners. The owners wanted the building to be reconfigured into one of the finest
workplaces in the Sandton precinct, they wanted the building to be energy efficient
and rated by the Green Building Council of South Africa and they wanted to enable
international as well as national tenants to create desirable offices for themselves with
access to all the latest technological frameworks possible.
Response to the Brief
MDS Architecture decided to sheath the building with a unitised double glazed
performance façade. The original building façade had been set back from the edge
of the floor-plates and the building was relatively column free. With the new, all glass
façade, the design enabled an additional GLA of approximately 380 m2 per floor bringing
the new building to a total GLA of approximately 22,400 m2.
The office building sits on top of Sandton City and did not have an identity of its own.
It was accessible only from the shopping mall by way of two small and separate lobbies
each accessing its own tower, East or West. “We needed to correct this,” says Pat Henry,
“and this is why the new central atrium was conceived. It was brought down to the mall
with one point of access and it links the two original towers as well as all the floors. The
new external cladding was also taken down to street level so as to create a street address
as