COEGA
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HEAD OFFICE
COEGA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ( CDC ) HEAD OFFICE Coega , Eastern Cape
CLIENT Coega Development Corporation
ARCHITECTS SVA International Dominic Bonnesse Architects
QUANTITY SURVEYOR Mazwana Maqetuka Peirson Associates
CIVIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Stemele Bosch Africa
FIRE ENGINEER Clinkscales Maughan-Brown
INTERIORS Turnkey Interiors Adendorff Architects & Interiors
MAIN CONTRACTOR Grinaker-LTA Construction Cape
PHOTOGRAPHY Rob Duker
In an effort to attract investors to the Eastern Cape and to broaden its industrial base by establishing an export and trans-shipment service to Africa , the government is in the forefront of developing the Coega Industrial Development Zone and the associated harbour , Ngqura , which are the first initiatives of this kind in South Africa .
ARCHITECT ’ S COMMENT The Coega Development Corporation , a dedicated investment and marketing organisation , commissioned a R115m high-tech head office in the zone , as a benchmark for future development in the area .
Design Framework The site orientation necessitated a building with long façades facing west and east . The CDC required that the building be as energy efficient as possible without any major impact on the original budget .
Façade shading and reduction of solar heat loading was implemented and optimised , resulting in aesthetic language opportunities which were concentrated on the outer shading ‘ layer ’, allowing for a very simple architectural language for the actual building envelope . The east and west street façades are shaded in two dimensions :
• Horizontal shading for higher solar angles : 1-1,5m wide aluminium plate on steel framed structure . This also serves as maintenance walkway for window and facade cleaning essential in an IDZ and coastal environment .
A sandstone-clad , 3m-high podium stair leads up to and celebrates the main entrance , underscoring the building ’ s civic nature and forms a relationship with the urban streetscape
62 Coega