Architect and Builder September/October 2015 | Page 21

Design Features
A noticeable feature of the new building is the
curvilinear façade on an element of the scheme on
the Bram Fischer frontage nicknamed ‘the bean’. It
is easily distinguishable with its swooping glazed
brise soleil providing sun control to this elevation.
The edge of the bean morphs the rectilinear urban
edge of the street block, and draws in pedestrians
from the street. Indigenous gardens at the entrance
enhance the sense of arrival, and provide both
human scale against the backdrop of the new

Multichoice City

building, and a much welcome breath of green relief
in the cityscape.
Once inside the building, a visitor is struck by the
central heart of the scheme: a multi-storey atrium
covered with a long span ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoro-ethylene) roof – the largest in Africa - flooding
the space with daylight. This revolutionary threelayer co-polymer system including a layer with a high
density print, creates large free-form pillows which
can be inflated or deflated to control light penetration
by means of adjusting the shading created by the

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