Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa May/June 2014

The No. 1 Silo office development was South Africa’s second 6 Star green office building and the first in the Western Cape The site is bounded to the north by the Clock Tower Shopping Centre, to the west by BOE, the south west by Portnet’s syncro-lift, the silo complex to the south, Cross Berth to the east and the Collier Jetty to the north east. Brief The Client requested an open plan office building that promoted interaction, thus increasing operational effectiveness. The architects interpreted this with the incorporation of a large atrium connected with stairs and elevators. Each floor incorporates pause and/or touch down areas to allow staff to hold quick meetings without having to formally book specific remote meeting rooms. Public and staff areas are located on the podium level at the foot of the atrium to reinforce the sense of activity within the building. At grade, the new building links the podium level (7.3m) of the Clock Tower shopping centre with the ground level (4.3m) of the Grain Silo buildings by means of a broad sweeping external stair to the south of the BOE building. Two levels of basement parking are accommodated below grade, which provides for an additional 650 bays. Design The internal arrangement of the 1 Silo building consists of two parts, a west wing and east wing, with a central void containing circulation elements and access to the atriums. The central void recalls the alignment of the previous grain conveyor belt to the Collier Jetty, thus providing visual continuity from the public square to the Jetty. By keeping the cores on the outer edge of the wings and the circulation / fire escape routes to the perimeter of the floor plates, an egalitarian approach is enabled as it ensures that no matter where you sit on the floor plate, you are entitled to a view. Challenges in creating a fully glazed façade were enormous as the climatic influence created all sorts if issues with the working environment. The resultant façade of the completed building is a ventilated double skin glass system with mechanically controlled blinds on day light sensors, thereby creating an energy efficient 24 No.1 Silo

Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa May/June 2014 | Page 24