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