The buildings, which have a total GFA of almost 13,900sqm, were designed in keeping with Abland’s belief that all its developments should be as efficient as possible, to minimise environmental impacts and reduce occupation costs for tenant.

Irene Link Building B, with a GFA of 7,359 sqm, is the second building in the 75,000sqm Irene Link Precinct commercial office park in Centurion, which will extend along the N1 Highway up to the Botha Avenue off-ramp, and will include a 15,000sqm retail and lifestyle centre.

Irene Link Building B. Render credit: Nsika-Architecture.

Westend Building D, with a GFA of 6,800sqm, is part of the A-Grade Westend Office Park located in Centurion. The site is within walking distance of the Gautrain station and is close to Centurion Mall, with easy accessibility to highways and major routes.

Westend D. Render credit: MWLF Architects.

“We work hard to deliver everything a corporate tenant needs, from first-rate security to good accessibility and low cost of occupation,” says Hendrik Van Zyl, Regional Director at Abland.

In line with our aim of being fit-for-purpose and future-focused, both buildings are designed to have efficient floor plates with flexible, open plan work environments that accommodate a variety of tenants and allow for ease of churn.

Makhosazana Mthethwa, sustainable building consultant at Solid Green, explains that both buildings incorporate a number of green building principles that are geared towards user wellbeing. She says, “Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become imperative that the design and management of buildings address users’ health and wellbeing, to mitigate disease and absenteeism and to enhance productivity.”

Irene Link Building B was designed to have its own strong identity and visual impact adjacent to the existing Green Star rated Barloworld Automotive and Logistics building. In keeping with the envisioned architectural language of the precinct, the design employs high performance glazing, off shutter concrete feature elements, textured exterior rendering and aluminium sun screening – contemporary materials that knit the building into its context whilst maintaining a unique architectural identity.

Render credit: Nsika-Architecture.

At Westend Office Park, the concept was a group of buildings that respond to a central design theme, but with each building having its own unique identity. Taking forward a strong diagonal element that was introduced in the precinct’s Building C, Building D’s facades are further articulated with strong, asymmetric geometric forms that allow for an interesting play of solid and void.

Render credit: MWLF Architects.

“Resource efficiency was a key consideration for both Abland and its tenants, and passive energy design and energy efficient mechanical systems were required from the outset,” explains Dash Coville, sustainable building consultant at Solid Green.

Because accurate data is essential to understanding and managing building systems, and to assessing opportunities for resource savings, both projects have sub-metering of major water and energy consuming systems in place.

The buildings make use of water efficient sanitaryware fittings as well as water-wise landscaping and irrigation to support water consumption reduction strategies. In both cases, all lighting used is energy efficient LED; and motion sensors were installed to lighting in common areas. The Irene building also has a thermal energy storage system to reduce the building’s peak energy demand. All paints, adhesives, sealants and carpets have low VOC emissions. And, at the Westend building, an excess of 70% of all building waste generated during construction was recycled or reused. Furthermore, there is space allocated on site for separating and sorting recyclable waste during the building operation.

To encourage activity, Irene Link Building B has an attractive and accessible staircase designed to motivate users to walk rather than using lifts; and Westend has secure bicycle storage for employees and visitors, as well as shower and changing facilities for freshening up.

Both Irene Link Building B and Westend Office Park Building D contribute to driving best-practice principals in the commercial office sector by responding well to their respective contexts, optimising resource efficiency, and offering optimal service provision for users.

PROJECT TEAMS:

Irene Link Building B:

Westend Office Park Building D:

Render credit: MWLF Architects.