Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa May/June 2014 | Page 37

ADVERTISERS ON THIS PROJECT:
Albert Carpets
Specialist suppliers and
installers of an expansive
range of interior flooring
Arup
Consulting MultiDisciplinary Engineers
Frost International
Leading suppliers of automated
revolving, sliding doors and
acoustic operable walls
Inspiration Office
Bespoke workstation solutions
Mace Management Services
Consultancy and
Construction Company
MLC
Quantity Surveyors
Neil Schwartz Town Planning
Town & Regional Planners
Regent Lighting Solutions
Specialists manufacturers of
customised luminaires For Local
And International Projects

To acquire the 6 star Green Rating that was
achieved required some very specific input
from both the civils and structural disciplines.
Contributing factors included the reuse of
rubble for the complex underfloor drainage
system, as well as the use of re-cycled steel,
while pushing the reduction in cement contents
to above standard industry norms.
SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTANT’S REPORT
As the sustainability and Green Star consultants
on the No. 1 Silo job, the Arup team were
instrumental in bringing the client team’s vision
of a 6 Star rating to fruition. As consulting
engineers, Arup prides itself on good design
principles, and the team looked far and wide for
engineering solutions that would respond to,
and harness the environment of the building.
Seawater from the Atlantic Ocean is one of
the stand-out examples of a green solution;
using seawater to reject waste heat, thereby
eliminating the need for potable water in the
cooling system and resulting in huge water
savings. The system draws cold seawater
(normally between 14 and 16 degrees) from the
harbour through a titanium plate heat exchanger
system in the basement.
Another key to the 6 star rating is the façade
on the building. The largely glass design
presents challenges as it needs to remain as
transparent as possible, whilst eliminated glare
from not only the sun, but the sea as well. Glass
can also add to energy usage due to the need
for extra cooling in summer and heat loss in
winter. To manage this, the building has a
double skin façade on the north east and north
west elevations. These have a clear glass outer
layer, 700mm outside the main façade – which is
No.1 Silo

double glazed. To deal with the glare, there are
automatically controlled blinds, found between
the two façade skins, which tracks the sun as it
moves across the sky. Many other alternative
solutions were sought, including:
• Under floor displacement air conditioning
• Solar thermal panels and heat pumps
• Energy and water sub metering
• Energy efficient lighting and lighting sensors
(only using lighting when required)
• Sub soil drip irrigation and hardy plants used
to reduce landscape water need by 50%
• Sustainable use of materials including a
reduction of cement usage by 60% and virgin
steel to 10% (i.e. 90% of all the structural steel
was recycled steel).
• Intelligent building management system.

Revelstone
The alternative to real stone manufacturers of pavers, tiles,
coping, cobbles, cladding
and landscape products
Rick Brown & Associates
Architects
Sillito Environmental Consulting
Environmental Consultants
SolutionStation
Consulting Mechanical &
Electrical Engineers
Sutherland
Consulting MultiDisciplinary Engineers
Van der Merwe
Miszewski Architects
Architects

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