Deloitte Corporate Head Office
CORPORATE OFFICE DEVELOPMENT AWARD
The Deloitte African headquarters is located on a prominent site at the Allandale interchange on the N1 highway . It has extensive highway frontage and is highly visible to commuters who travel daily between Pretoria and Johannesburg .
Deloitte was previously located in a campus-style development where various different business units occupied a number of separate stand-alone buildings . The brief was to accommodate Deloitte ’ s extensive space requirements in a way that improved company culture by allowing for greater interaction and collaboration between staff while at the same time improving efficiency , reducing costs and eliminating the duplication of services .
The building comprises 42,500m 2 of workspace , with a development cost of some R1.5 billion and was designed to allow for a maximum occupancy of close to 5,000 people . It consists of a superstructure of seven levels and a semi-basement structure of four levels which houses almost 2,000 parking bays .
The design of the building had to be informed by , and respond to , the Master Plan of Waterfall City which called for a building that was completely integrated with the future urban fabric of the city . In keeping with the philosophy of the City as well as a very specific brief from Deloitte , the architect created a large , low building with generous floorplates ( roughly 6,000m 2 each ). At the heart of the building , a large , multi-volume atrium allows natural light to penetrate deep into the building whilst also creating a strong visual link between floors which facilitates a sense of connection between staff and a single company culture .
The steep fall across the site was resolved by creating a podium of naturally ventilated semi-basement parking levels with access at various levels , which alleviates traffic congestion . The podium creates a plinth which enhances the building ’ s sense of prominence while , at the same time , resolving potential security issues without having to hide behind high boundary walls .
The building is made up of two ‘ wings ’ on either side of its main axis allowing for logical and easily legible movement . To mitigate the challenges of the east-west orientation , the building is broken up into a series of ‘ fingers ’ orientated in a north-south direction , which forms the essential shape of the building . The form was then refined by carving away at the corners to create a distinctive , sculptural form that gives the building its unique and recognisable architecture .
A combination of glass and aluminium were used to create a liquid appearance which emphasises the form of the building and adds to its sophistication through well resolved detailing . High-spec double glazing was used throughout to maximise visibility and natural light from the inside while minimising the heat load . In areas that were particularly exposed to harsh light the architect made use of sandwich-insulated aluminium panels in strategic areas which also gave the building its distinctive patterning on the façade .
The importance of smart buildings that have the ability to make use of Proptech and sophisticated artificial intelligence systems to react and adapt to a number of variables is more important now than ever . Deloitte were always adamant that they wanted a smart building . In this respect , the building has been future-proofed in terms of the digital antenna systems , fibre conduits and other technology that will give Deloitte the ability to upgrade their technology as they go .
Client : Atterbury Property Developments Architect & Principal Agent : Aevitas Architecture Studio Quantity Surveyor : NWS Quantity Surveyors Civil & Structural Engineer : DG Consulting Engineers Electronics Engineer : Claassen Auret Inc Mechanical Engineer : Adaptive Resource Engineers Wet Services Consultant : Wat-Sol Design Technology Fire Consultant : WSP Green Building Consultant : Ecocentric Landscape Architect : Daniel Rebel Environmental Consultant : Seaton Thomson & Associates Safety Consultant : Cairnmead Industrial Consultants Main Contractor : WBHO Construction
72 SAPOA Awards