Projects
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Oxford is an 8-storey premium grade office
development in the heart of Rosebank. The design
incorporates many environmentally sustainable initiatives in
line with the Green Star SA Office v1.1 certification from the
Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).
These include zoned lighting, energy-efficient building
services and systems, water efficient fixtures, rainwater
harvesting for use in toilets and landscape irrigation,
water-wise landscaping, abundant fresh air and low volatile
organic compound (VOC) interior finishes to ensure high
level of indoor air quality. The performance glazed façade
will let in generous natural light and offer views to the
exterior. The façade is made up of full height glazing with
insulated spandrel panels at low level to leave 1.8m of
viewing panels. “These are coated and baked with a variety
of different chemicals which improve thermal performance.
So, you allow natural light in, but at the same time
reflecting different wavelengths of the light, which is heat,
back out of the building. The façade is double glazed (made
up of two glass panes with a vacuum between), which gives
much better thermal properties than you would get with
normal low-e single glazing,” explains Brandon Huddle,
technical director in the Built Environment Unit at Aurecon.
One of the 17 AHUs that serves a dedicated thermal zone of the
building.
CLIENT BRIEF
Aurecon worked closely with Growthpoint Properties,
Paragon Group as architects, and the professional team
through the various iterations of the building’s design to
ensure that the mechanical services and the sustainability
objectives were aligned seamlessly with the ultimate
design. Aurecon was appointed in 2015 for the mechanical
and environmentally sustainable design (ESD) consulting
services.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
The key sustainability aspects of the building include:
• Energy and water efficiency strategies,
• Indoor environment quality features,
• Environmental and waste management commitments,
• Use of environmentally-friendly materials, and
• Transport and GHG emissions reduction.
Variable speed secondary pumps circulate chilled water to
satisfy the building load.
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RACA Journal I May 2020
While the design of the building incorporates various
sustainability strategies and features, it is imperative
that the building is managed and operated in a way
which achieves and even outperforms the sustainability
targets set out during design. Improved environmental
performance of the building during the entire life cycle
yields benefits to occupants, owners, and ultimately to the
neighbouring communities.
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