35 Lower Long
COMMERCIAL OFFICE DEVELOPMENT AWARD
An elegant 86m glass-clad office tower , 35 Lower Long , has invigorated Cape Town ’ s emerging financial and hospitality district . The building is characterised by a singular sculpted massing which is transformed via dynamic glazed planes that extend seamlessly over the office and parking levels . The two main corners of the building are chamfered towards the roofline and soar upwards , forming a striking wing-like effect – resulting in a distinctive , non-orthogonal addition to Cape Town ’ s skyline .
The site is located in Roggebaai ( Cape Town ’ s growing financial and hospitality precinct ) and was previously occupied by an eight-storey 1980 ’ s office building which prior to that was part of the now-demolished Long Street Power Station site . While the peninsula site has three street frontages and the public domain experiences high levels of pedestrian traffic , it previously suffered from extremely limited street activation . A fundamental component of the design concept involved maximising the activation of the street edge with retail to improve the quality and safety of the public realm , as well as to take advantage of the high levels of pedestrian traffic passing the building .
While fundamentally a solid building mass , the appearance of a dynamic , non-orthogonal sculpted mass was created via tapering or cranked façade planes which extend seamlessly over the office and parking levels . This was achieved by chamfering both the southeast and southwest corners of the building at the top of the orthogonal parking base and widening them towards the roof . The technique articulates the façade and defragments the solidity of the corners of the building as the wings shape the elevations and extend past the top office floor . By extending the wing-shaped façade screens beyond the roof level with parapet sloping , the appearance of soaring shards is created opposed to an abrupt utilitarian termination .
In terms of materiality , a glazed façade was selected due to its flush and sculpted reflective form which is able to conceal both the parking levels and solid spandrels . Not only does glass facilitate an exciting play of light but it also allows for an expressive articulation of the building mass in the screen and shard-like elements . The introduction of pixilation on the portions fronting the parking levels , ceiling voids , structure and internal desk height upstands allows the building to conceal both the parking levels and avoid overbearing horizontal bands .
Fortunately , the client championed environmental sustainability . To achieve a 4-Star GBCSA Design rating , a detailed environmental performance modelling study was undertaken . This required a high-performance double-glazed specification with increased internal cill height raised to desk height - to reduce both solar gain and radiant heat which significantly lowered HVAC requirements .
Owner : Ellerine Bros Client , Development & Project Manager : Abland Architect : dhk Architects Quantity Surveyor : DTP Quantity Surveryors Structural & Civil Engineer : Zutari Mechanical Engineer : Ekcon Consulting Engineers Electrical & Electronics Engineer : Converge Consulting Façade , Wet Services , Fire & Lift Engineers : Sutherland Green Consultant : Solid Green Consulting ; Green Direction Greenstar Consultant : Green Direction dhk Specification Consultant : Schumann Consult Town Planner : Headland Planners Land Surveyor : David Hellig & Abrahamse Interior Designer : dhk Architects ( Entrance & Office Lobby Areas ) Geotechnical Contractor : Franki Africa Main Contractor : Stabilid Cape Construction
70 SAPOA Awards