Architect and Builder November/December 2018

PROJECT FEATURE ABSA RIDGESIDE ABSA RIDGESIDE Ridgeside Office Park, Umhlanga CLIENT Growthpoint Properties PROJECT MANAGERS & PRINCIPAL AGENTS Key Projects ARCHITECT Elphick Proome Architects QUANTITY SURVEYORS FWJK CIVIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS Escongweni BPH Engineers MECHANICAL ENGINEERS Spoormaker & Partners Inc ELECTRICAL, FIRE & WET SERVICES AECOM SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CONSULTANTS AECOM LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Land Art Studios INTERIOR DESIGNER Boogertman + Partners MAIN CONTRACTOR WBHO Construction PHOTOGRAPHY Karl Beath Courtesy of Geze (Pages 58 & 59) I n 2006 ABSA undertook a major refurbishment of an existing building they acquired in Durban’s CBD. EPA designed this project which involved a make-over of the somewhat nondescript 1958 mid-city office block, the addition of a 14 storey atrium and 300 bay multi-storey parking garage. A distinctive element in this building which differentiates it in the urban grain is a glass corner tower, foiled by a steel skeleton and capped with a large disc overhanging into the street space. This addition was created to capture harbour views and provide a corner landmark relating to civic buildings across the city square. 10 years later, ABSA outgrew this building and saw the need to consolidate this facility and a number of satellite offices in the city and suburbs into a single office building. Brief Having procured a site in Umhlanga’s Ridgeside Office Park and after a short bid process, Growthpoint were selected to deliver a new office building for ABSA on a turnkey basis. This methodology was successfully deployed by Growthpoint in the development of a new Head Office for Illovo in the same precinct and the core professional team on this project was then engaged to design and deliver the new ABSA Regional Head Office. Stringent design guidelines and precinct controls govern this development environment and with this framework in place, the team undertook a series of design iterations and options to derive an efficient and impactful corporate office building. Over the decade since the inner-city vertical office solution was completed, ABSA’s attitude to both the work environment and operational methodologies shifted considerably, notably from a conservative ’cellular office’ mindset to an open, flexible approach to space-planning promoting the integration of a broad range of staff facilities. Contrasting the narrow floor plate and verticality of the city building, ABSA directed the new requirement to accommodate up to 700 people over a maximum of two deep office floor plates. This shift generated a significantly different design model which has precipitated a powerful presence and landmark in the office park. EAST ELEVATION 52 ABSA Ridgeside

Architect and Builder November/December 2018 | Page 52