August 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
43
The interior has to reflect and lend itself to
that,”says Steenekamp.
“Parts of the building have been ‘lifted’
off the ground – this has created a transpar-
ency through the building at street level and
from the building looking outward. The way
it relates to the precinct is very special,” says
Steenekamp. “It is a tremendous value-add
to the urban fabric of Melrose Arch. We have
been very careful to create a sense of trans-
parency to ensure that there are views down
the principle axis of the building and the way
the public spaces are configured.”
Pragmatic design
Pellegrini elaborates on the importance of
spaces for interaction. “For the interaction
we have had to design interactive areas.
While everyone is going to have their own
workspace there is a need for coffee/pause
areas, meeting rooms, quiet rooms (where
people will meet with clients as well as with
colleagues to bounce ideas off). WorleyPar-
sonsTWP puts teams together – these need
to interact with one another and with other
teams.The design reflects this need. Our cur-
rent building does not allow for this as it was
not designed in that way.”
Seamless design process
The design was done as a three-way col-
laboration between LYT (as the designers),
WorleyParsonsTWP (as the end user – the
building had to reflect their brand image) and
Amdec who are the owners of the precinct
and for whom the building had to enhance
the Melrose Arch aesthetic. “During the pro-
cess,”says Steenekamp,“all the parties bought
into the process.
had a culture of having a community spirit.
“In a building with public spaces you create
much more of a community spirit among
the workers.”
WorleyParsonsTWP was assisted by
architectural company LYT (formerly TPS.P
Architects) in creating this ideal building.“We
have been consultants toWorleyParsonsTWP
for about five years on different project op-
portunities – some in Rosebank and latterly
here in Melrose Arch. The designing process
on this particular project started in earnest
three years ago when (the then TWP) moved
into their current offices in Melrose Arch. It
was therefore a logical extension to build
new premises at Melrose Arch as everyone
was already used to the precinct.We assisted
with identifying the particular site that it is
being built on – which is the best available
site in the precinct.Together withNigelTown-
shend, Franco Pellegrini and Digby Glover
(CEO of WorleyParsonsTWP) we developed
the scheme which is roughly 20 000 m
2
of
office space and that will accommodate 1 400
people,”says Guy Steenekamp, director of LYT.
Construction of the new head office
started on 1 May 2012 and is scheduled to
be completed at the end of March 2014.Wor-
leyParsonsTWP will then vacate its current
offices to move into the new building. The
current and newoffices are ownedby Amdec.
Design consideration
Guy Steenekamp says there were three
drivers with the design of the building.
“The biggest driver was the need for a
well-designed, efficient, and modern build-
ing to effect cultural transformation. With
modern office buildings, corporations like
WorleyParsonsTWP have a realisation that
the premises they are in – particularly their
corporate head quarters – has a fundamental
impact on the brand value. Its siting, location
and visibility are extremely important factors
for a corporation building a newhead office –
this was the second driver. ”The third driver,
says Steenekamp, was the need for greater
operational efficiency.
The reason why WorleyParsonsTWP
moved to Melrose Arch initially was a co-
location driver – the company was scattered
around the city which, according to Town-
shend, is a dysfunctional model. “That is
what happens when companies expand by
acquisition or organically.”
“Cost is also a driver,” adds Steenekamp.
“The new building, in the way that it has
been designed, is not necessarily more
expensive than the current rentals. The
building does not come with enhanced cost,
but with its modern design it comes with
enhanced efficiency.”
Exterior and interior reflecting
the brand
“The new building’s architectural theme
is about an ‘engineered building’,” explains
Steenekamp. “It looks like it has been con-
structed out of components; the forces
that hold it together are clearly defined
and expressed in the structure that you see.
That notion is expressed in the external
architecture. The internal spaces carry the
external theme through: the common
spaces, the central atrium, the ability to see
out of it, and the provision of large internal
and external spaces where people can get
together. It is a large company of people that
do need to get together. The inhabitants of
the building need to interact, share idea, etc.
December 2012.
May 2013.
“The biggest driver was the need for a well-designed, efficient, and
modern building to effect cultural transformation. "
Continued on page 44
