the office accommodation ‘ floats ’ in a brick-clad box spanning the length and width of the footprint , separated from the solid base by a layer of glass that encloses the communal facilities such as the canteen and the 3-storey high glazed entrance atrium that fronts onto the busy De Villers Street .
While the building generally represents an interpretation of its earlier more traditional industrial cousins as a robust enclosed box form , the architects wanted to offer something back to the street . This takes the form of the triple volume , glazed entrance atrium . Here , instead of continuing the solid stone base around to the front of the building , it returns before the edge of the building and continues under the bulk structure , defining a portion of the lower level as part of the streetscape . As it penetrates this area , it diminishes in height to reveal some of the inner workings of the ETV operations .
Security , reception and the communal canteen areas can all be seen in the atrium from within . Enclosing this atrium in glass allows the viewer to engage the building from the outside and , thus , the very front door to the ‘ people ’ s favourite TV station ’ becomes an interactive part of the environment it occupies .
At the very top level , the architects have introduced a more playful element in the cranked form of the floating Rheinzink roof . Enjoying the best 360 ° views , the 6th floor is fully glazed all round and is setback to allow the roof to float above the massing below . The center of the roof form is eroded and lowered to accommodate the station ’ s satellite dishes that remain concealed
from view but retain their required lines-of-sight to the source of the digital signals .
Intended as a contemporary expression of the more traditional roof forms , the folded shapes mimic the undulations of the iconic white cloud ‘ table cloth ’ over the majestic mountain which forms the backdrop to this building and has become a recognisable symbol of the building itself .
Planning The building has 4 basement parking floors below ground level and can accommodate over 500 cars . The uppermost parking level , accessed
ETV Head Office 357