We deliver professional expertise, excellent client services and quality construction.
Bespoke office buildings, are often mould-breakers. The speculative development sector tends to be more cautious and certainly less likely to challenge planning constraints, which reduce the potential for innovative design. In this light, Persistent systems comes as something of a surprise.
The building was commissioned by a developer and stands in the Erandwane area, where stereotype design had previously been the norm. The planning negotiations for the project were protracted but the result is a strikingly contemporary structure that enhances the neighborhood.
The site is in the centre of a city block. Neighboring buildings range from 1960s high rise flats to 1980s Post-Modernist office blocks. Into this diverse scenario, the practice’s scheme introduces an element of calm and rationality. By concentrating service cores on the south-east (placed centrally towards the rear) of the block, clear, well-lit and highly transparent office floors are created behind fully glazed façades. Energy efficiency is ensured with maximizing daylight, in conjunction with external shading devices and blinds. The building is set back against a landscaped foreground to enhance its visibility. Basement and ground floor levels accommodate parking – while the areas above house the office spaces. The most distinctive element of the scheme is the triple-height space set below the great central foyer, which is overlooked by office spaces on those respective floors. The top floor of the twin office towers houses common entertainment and dining facilities.
The primary driver of the architectural concept is an unprecedented level of transparency on the upper and lower levels, allowing views through the building. The secondary focus of the concept is the large polygonal triple-height space at the centre of the building. In between these two elements, is the block of clearly expressed large twin open floorplates on either side of the that benefit from high levels of natural light from all four sides.
The building is composed of ‘business space, consisting of the occupied floorplates, and ‘service space which provides essential support to the floorplates in the form of circulation, wet areas and general services.
These elements are distinctly expressed in the architectural composition. The floorplates or ‘business space, are arranged as a stack of efficient, glazed volumes utilizing a simple structural system to create high quality flexible office space allowing for maximum daylight penetration. The facade expresses the clear floor to ceiling glazing, the consistent 1-meter planning grid and the capacity to cellularize the accommodation as required.
The secondary ‘'service' spaces, comprised of lifts, stairs and toilets are placed on the boundary adjacent to the rear wall of the neighboring back road. Service cores are expressed as distinct tower elements on the back road.
We deliver professional expertise, excellent client services and quality construction.
