frameless glass doors are repeated in the lift lobbies on each level .
The continuation of the granite flooring throughout the building creates a cohesive experience of quality finishes throughout .
Three lifts located in the reception area serve all floors . The carrying capacity of Lift A is 21 persons / 1,600kgs , with Lifts B and C 13 persons / 1,000kgs each .
The office spaces have high ceilings and services that are contained beneath a full raised floor . The views over the water and surrounds are panoramic and every office floor receives excellent daylight penetration .
The Edge provides open-plan office accommodation encompassing more than 9,000m 2 of lettable space . The individual floors can be divided into four tenancies per floor , if so desired . Each floor is served by a displaced ventilation comfort cooling system . Each office area has large windows , while the retail units on the ground floor have full-height glazing .
Omnicape is proud to announce PSG and Mercantile Bank as its first corporate tenants in The Edge . The Edge will furthermore also house Omnicape ’ s Head Office , along with various other corporate tenants .
Sustainability The Edge is designed and built to reduce energy usage and is aiming for a 5-Star Green Building of South Africa ‘ design ’ and ‘ as built ’ rating .
The building is equipped with a full range of energy-saving measures including minimising embodied energy in its structure thereby reducing energy usage and carbon emissions , resulting in lower operational costs . In order to minimise carbon footprint , materials were sourced as locally as possible .
The overall insulation is excellent and this is achieved through high-performance double glazing and insulated spandrel panels .
The concrete used contains pulverised fly ash that reduces its embodied energy , as well as material excavated from the site .
An energy recovery system is implemented to recover energy generated by lift car breaking .
All timber on site is either FSC certified , reused , or re-cycled . Where a ‘ timber ’ finish was specified , environmentally sustainable wood composite was used .
The Edge uses water from the quarry for both heat-rejection ( summer ), and heat absorption ( winter ). The HVAC system effectively runs on ‘ free ’ cooling for extended periods of time .
The lighting system is adaptable to various levels of daylight and occupancy and is a major contributor to the energy efficiency of the building .
The Edge utilises a rainwater harvesting system and all taps and toilets are water efficient .
Structural Engineering The structural system consists of 9 levels reinforced concrete frame with 1 semi-basement . Basement construction was in soft to hard rock and required a sub-surface drainage system to control ground water ingress and reduce hydrostatic pressures on the lower level slabs .
The basement envelope was constructed with a combination of full-height reinforced concrete retaining walls and low-level cavity reinforced brick retaining walls .
Columns were founded on conventional pad bases in rock and a combination of min-piles and rock anchors were introduced in the vicinity of the shear walls and concrete stability cores to mitigate the seismic effects on the lateral stability of the structure .
A centrally located movement joint was provided through the length of the structure resulting in the need to provide separate means of lateral restraint to each half of the structure .
Floor and roof slabs were generally 245mm thick conventionally reinforced concrete with drop panels at columns . Thickened edge strips were provided to assist with minimizing deflections of the 8.4m spans . 3.5m Cantilever slabs were achieved by thickening the slabs locally to 415mm where required .
The boardwalk structures proved challenging as a 5m cantilever was required . This was achieved by a combination of built up plate girder beams and conventional steel sections .
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