PROJECT
Where dock levellers and scissor lifts dominate the façades, selected bays have been deliberately omitted and replaced with protected glazed shopfront elements. These are set back beneath external canopies, allowing daylight and outward views without introducing direct glare into operational aisles. Their placement is carefully coordinated with racking layouts to ensure that forklift and vehicle operators are never exposed to blinding light when travelling down aisles.
The glazing interacts with workers indoors.“ Through these glazed areas, staff have clear visual connections beyond the apron to landscaped berms and established tree planting, reinforcing a sense of place and orientation without compromising operational safety.”
Ventilation strategy
Ventilation is another key design feature that Atkinson says follows the same functionfirst philosophy that underpins the broader architectural and operational approach.
“ Our primary design objective was to maintain a safe, comfortable, and resilient internal environment within an exceptionally deep warehouse footprint, while avoiding unnecessary mechanical complexity.
“ Ventilation to the new western and eastern extensions of the distribution centre is achieved via variable-speed, ducted, low-noise extraction fans located at high level along the eaves. Under normal daily operation, these systems draw fresh air into the building through the northern and southern door interfaces and extract it continuously beneath the gutter line. This strategy is critical in a warehouse environment extending up to approximately 120m from north to south, densely occupied by fixed and mobile equipment.”
Operations within the structure inevitably generate heat and disturbed air, compounded by warm ambient air entering from the apron zones. So, the extraction of high-level air is conducted at a controlled rate. Heat build-up is reduced and some passive cooling is achieved through constant air turnover, without compromising operational safety or comfort.
Safety in addition to ventilation
Importantly, the installed extraction systems are dual-purpose. In the event of a fire, they automatically switch into emergency smoke-extraction mode, operating at significantly increased capacity. When activated, the system extracts potential smoke volumes from two depths per duct length, facilitating clear escape routes and efficient evacuation.
“ The result is a robust, low-maintenance ventilation strategy that supports day-today operational efficiency while seamlessly transitioning into a life-safety system when required – reinforcing the building’ s emphasis on resilience, performance, and long-term operational assurance,” Atkinson adds.
... modifying existing structures presents significant challenges.
The use of steel
The primary function of a warehouse is to provide a large, unobstructed space for the storage and organisation of goods, while maintaining flexibility for future expansion.
The Steel Awards 2025 judges, headed by SAISC CEO Amanuel Gebremeskel, noted the exceptional nature of the project.
To achieve spans of nearly 120m across the warehouse’ s width, steel was selected instead of suspended reinforced concrete It offers noteworthy span capabilities and reduced foundation requirements, resulting from its inherently lower load bearing material weight.
The structure’ s steel roofing and cladding was supplied by Global Roofing Solutions( GRS) and based on the durable AZ150 prepainted substrate( Colorplus) in a high solar reflectance colour, facilitating the natural cooling design feature.
www. tobuild. co. za | autumn 2026 23