PROJECT FEATURE
THE GREEN
BUILDING
THE GREEN BUILDING
Karl Bremer Hospital, Bellville
CLIENT
Western Cape Government, Department of
Transport & Public Works
ARCHITECTS
Jacobs Parker Architects
QUANTITY SURVEYOR
LWA Quantity Surveyors
COMMISSIONING AGENT
Aurecon
CIVIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
BSP Consulting Engineers
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
Element Consulting Engineers H/O
MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Bosch Projects with input from Spoormaker &
Partners Inc
FIRE AND WET SERVICES
Bosch Projects with input from Aurecon
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CONSULTANT
AGAMA Energy
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Earthworks Landscape Architects
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT
Ecosense
HEALTH AND SAFETY AGENT
Frontline Safety Health and Environmental
Consultants
MAIN CONTRACTOR
Aveng Grinaker-LTA
T
he Western Cape Government has a mandate to drive environmental and socio-
economic sustainability, through the delivery of infrastructure projects. The
design and construction of new buildings is therefore an opportunity to deliver
real, material and meaningful benefit to the communities that these buildings serve.
This mandate was the driving force behind the design and construction of the new
5-star Greenstar rated office and training facility on the Karl Bremer hospital campus
in Bellville, Cape Town.
The Department of Transport & Public Works required a facility which merges various
administrative offices and training facilities into a single new building. This included
office accommodation, conferencing, meeting, research and other support facilities. The
building was to be located on the Karl Bremer Hospital campus, situated 20 minutes
from the Cape Town CBD.
The larger Karl Bremer site currently houses a hospital (established in 1956), various
offices in prefabricated structures, a lecture hall, workshops and other support facilities.
The new Green Building consolidates several functions from various other locations into
a new, purpose-built facility measuring approximately 8,000m 2 .
The portion of land earmarked for development was the southern edge of the site,
which borders Frans Conradie Drive. Locating the building away from the hospital’s
primary entrance ensures easy access and operational independence from the larger
campus. Situating the building in this location also allows for future expansion, reduces
the disturbance of greenfield areas, allows for optimum building orientation, creates an
appropriately scaled edge to the street, and allows the maximum volume of stormwater
to be collected, as it is the lowest part of the site.
The design concept proposed two wings: The taller, southern wing relates to the
scale of the busy Frans Conradie Drive, and creates an identifiable landmark along an
otherwise nondescript street. The north wing is lower, in order to create a pedestrian
scaled entrance and to allow natural daylight to penetrate the taller, southern wing.
Between these two masses, lies the central atrium space, which houses the primary
PHOTOGRAPHY
Adam Letch
58
The Green Building