ATRIUM ON 5TH
CLIENT Liberty Properties Pareto Limited
ARCHITECTS IN A JV MDS Architecture MMA Design Studio
PROJECT MANAGERS GHC Africa
QUANTITY SURVEYORS IN A JV MLC Quantity Surveyors Crane Construction Consultants
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Zutari
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER CKR / Nala Consulting Engineers
MECHANICAL HVAC ENGINEER WSP in Africa ( Previously RPP and SPN Consulting Engineers . Now amalgamated with WSP in Africa )
FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEER Building Code Consultants
LIFT CONSULTANTS ALC Lift Consultants
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CONSULTANT Zutari
SAFETY CONSULTANT Pinnacle
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Landmark Studios
MAIN CONTRACTOR IN A JV SANDTON JV : Aveng Grinaker-LTA WBHO Construction
PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Pawley
Pat Henry , the partner at MDS Architecture leading the project , says that although the new building has been given a new identity , the entire original structure was re-used adding to the sustainability of the project .
Previously known as the Sandton Twin Towers , this 32 year old building in the Sandton CBD has undergone a major reconfiguration . The once aging 11-storey building has been given a new lease of life as Atrium on 5th , a virtually new building which is 4-Star Green Star Rated and which also received the Best Quality Submission Award from the Green Building Council of SA in 2014 .
ARCHITECT ’ S REPORT The Atrium on 5th reconfiguration was designed by MDS Architecture . The project involved changing the footprint of the floorplates , adding a new double glazed skin beyond the new building edge , removing the old façade and creating a new full height glazed atrium and lobby linking the two towers .
The Brief The original building boasted a proven central location and an influential international address and the Atrium on 5th reconfiguration was envisioned as a significant part of the future vision for Sandton City commissioned internationally , a number of years ago , by the owners . The owners wanted the building to be reconfigured into one of the finest workplaces in the Sandton precinct , they wanted the building to be energy efficient and rated by the Green Building Council of South Africa and they wanted to enable international as well as national tenants to create desirable offices for themselves with access to all the latest technological frameworks possible .
Response to the Brief MDS Architecture decided to sheath the building with a unitised double glazed performance façade . The original building façade had been set back from the edge of the floor-plates and the building was relatively column free . With the new , all glass façade , the design enabled an additional GLA of approximately 380m 2 per floor bringing the new building to a total GLA of approximately 22,400m 2 .
The office building sits on top of Sandton City and did not have an identity of its own . It was accessible only from the shopping mall by way of two small and separate lobbies each accessing its own tower , East or West . “ We needed to correct this ,” says Pat Henry , “ and this is why the new central atrium was conceived . It was brought down to the mall with one point of access and it links the two original towers as well as all the floors . The new external cladding was also taken down to street level so as to create a street address as well as reinforce its identity as part of but also separate from Sandton City ”.
Unique Frameless Glass Façade The atrium has a unique suspended cable tensioned frameless glass façade which stretches over 11 floors . It is suspended on tensioned cables from an enormous ‘ boat ’ shaped , post-tensioned steel truss which also supports the glazed atrium roof .
288 Atrium on 5th