most efficient way of moving large masses of people whilst encouraging informal interaction and animating the central hub of the building . The building is so transparent that this dynamic escalator spine becomes an attribute visible from miles away . Furthermore the high speed powersaving escalators monitor the passenger load to ensure the most efficient use of the motors and motion sensors allow the escalators to slow down to a crawl when not in demand .
Various water saving measures will reduce the building ’ s water dependency by up to 50 %. A large underground harvesting tank collects groundwater from the basement subsoil drainage system , as well as rainwater from the atriums ’ glass roofs , to be re-used for irrigation and other non-potable applications . All sanitary fittings were selected to meet the highest water efficiency criteria . Standard Bank ’ s commitment to on-going environmental awareness is also reflected in the installation of a dual waste pipe system , future-proofed for a potential black-water plant in the basement .
The air-conditioning makes use of a combination of 40 % air-cooled and 60 % watercooled chillers to provide the best balance between efficiency and water dependency . A high performance system ensures the best air quality through higher ventilation rates and significantly more fresh air than the accepted standard . Pre-cooled air is further conditioned and delivered via FAT ’ s or Floor Air Terminals in the access floor void where temperature and airflow can be adjusted by occupants . This is a significant advantage in terms of the comfort of individual users within such a large open plan office environment . In addition the warmer façade zones are flushed with a curtain of cool air from the skirting panels and rising hot air is extracted from the atria .
At lower ground level a ‘ service village ’ houses the bulk of the project ’ s support areas such as plant and tank rooms , facilities management , engineering services and storage . This is also where the building ’ s critical operating systems and consumption of resources is measured by the BMS or Building Management System , to report faults and provide data to continually improve efficiency . The roofs of the office blocks are populated by the air-conditioning and electrical plant , as well as water storage tanks .
180 Standard Bank