The result is that all internal spaces have visual
connections to the outside, which greatly enhances
the feeling of spaciousness and transparency.
This creates a more people-centred environment,
offering opportunities to pause and appreciate the
surrounding context. Internal finishes comprise of
a restrained palette of neutral colours, with darker
tones to accentuate key elements. This results in
clean, uncluttered spaces in which the building
always recedes and allows the external views to
be appreciated.
The Green Building’s materiality was guided
by contextual and pragmatic considerations.
Aside from acknowledging the existing buildings
on the campus, the use of red facebrick also
minimises the maintenance requirement over the
lifespan of the building, and contributes to the
building’s refined and tactile quality. Facebrick
is also a labour intensive construction material.
This allowed employment, skills training and
apprenticeship programmes to be implemented
during the construction of the building, in line with
the Department’s EPWP mandate. These training
programmes resulted in recognised qualifications
for participants and will unlock further employment
opportunities beyond the construction of this
individual project.
The result of these considerations is a building
designed around standard construction methods,
which facilitated the use of semi-skilled labour, and
reduced dependency on highly specialised service
providers. The quality of the project was in no way
compromised, and the Department, professional
team and contractor are justifiably proud of this
The Green Building
achievement. Building materials were sourced
from local suppliers where possible. This yielded
two significant benefits: a reduced embodied
energy for the project, as well as substantial
support for the local economy.
This holistic strategy led to this being the
first building in Africa to achieve a socio -
economic impact certification as part of its 5-star
GreenStar rating. This demonstrates that the
design and construction of the project not only
addressed environmental sustainability, but also
successfully and rigorously addressed issues of
socio-economic sustainability.
61