August 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
48
The newBridge Park development is the epitome of
contemporary architecture andwill be located in
the heart of the new Bridgeways Precinct.
shopping malls & office development
ITWILL OFFER
18 700 m² of prime office space in its striking Century
City location. Designed by dhk Architects for developers, Rabie Prop-
erty Group and Growthpoint Properties, the site will be a new focal
point for the area.
Construction on the new office buildings is due to commence at
the end of 2013 and the completion thereof scheduled for early 2015.
The four storey buildings, located on an attractive green podium,
will dominate the view from both Ratanga Road and Bridgeway with
their striking glazed and aluminium panelled facades, large balconies
and enclosed private forest spaces. The focus has been on both aes-
thetic and functional aspects of the space so that it truly is a wonderful
place to work.
“The design seeks to leverage the position of the site so that the
views are unparalleled. Design ethos is carried throughout, with each
New focal point in Century City
building receiving generous lobbies, a full height central glazed atrium
and a private enclosed forest, creating a powerful design statement.
The communal spaces within the buildings provide meeting points
and spaces for collaboration, while, the tranquillity of the forest areas,
provide places for contemplation,”says Derick Henstra, executive chair-
man of dhk Architects.
The design of the façades and of the glazed atriums ensures
optimum light penetration throughout the office spaces, while
carefully controlling both glare and heat gain, ensuring the comfort
of the occupier.
The large floor plates promote efficiency, flexibility and connectivity
for prospective tenants. Secure basements provide parking at a ratio of
3,5 bays per 100 m² of GLA, while visitors parking and cyclist facilities
are provided on the green podium.
Bridge Park East and West are designed to provide a healthy and
productive working environment for occupants. “The project is reg-
istered for a Green Star SA Office Design v1 rating. We recognise the
importance of sustainability and ecological responsibility within our
designs and have worked hard to ensure that our buildings achieve
these ratings,”says Henstra.
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(if they all come tomarket at the same time) to
take a large slice of the construction capacity
out of circulation for a few years very similar
to what the stadium building programme did
before 2010.
Who are your strategic building partners?
In South Africa they are the major developers
who are mature and looking at building de-
velopments for the long term. They demand
consistency of delivery and demand quality.
These include Growthpoint, Eris, Abacus, Re-
define, Atterbury and Zenprop – companies
that we have delivered for in South Africa and
as theymove into Africawewant tomovewith
them. It is also about havinggood relationships
with the funders of projects in the rest of Africa
because our biggest driver as a contractor is
obviously surety of payment. Once we have
this suretywe can approach the other agendas
in a confident and proactive manner.
What is Murray & Roberts Construction’s
African agenda?
As a company we have five values: care,
respect, integrity, accountability and commit-
ment. We want to live by those and take them
with us into Africa and create a sustainable
cross border business. As a consequence we
want to work in politically mature countries
that have a system of stable law that will help
in part to de-risk our momentum into the
continent. As more countries mature, become
politically stable and focused on delivery,
corruption will slowly be weeded out of the
system. While all countries have different
cultures and different political structures there
are certain base criteria that will satisfy us in
terms of confirming that we will be welcome
and can operate efficiently in the host country.
What are the major projects that you are
currently working on?
In Cape Town we are building the
Portside building, a flagship development
for Eris and Old Mutual. It is that city’s tallest
commercial building.
In Johannesburgwe are building 102 Rivo-
nia another flagship project for Eris for Ernst &
Young.There are other projects running at the
same time – the already mentioned Wonder-
park Shopping Centre, we are finishing work
for Zenprop in Bryanston and the shopping
malls in Klerksdorp and Port Elizabeth.
In Namibia we are working with Atterbury
Properties on The Grove Shopping Centre in
Namibia and reconfiguring the Maerua Mall
for Oryx Properties.
In Botswana we are building iTowers One
(we have just been awarded iTowers Two,
a commercial and residential development
which at 30 stories will take over the brag-
ging rights of the first tower as the tallest in
Gaborone). Botswana is one of those countries
where there is a backlash against the manner
in which the Chinese have conducted their
construction operations in Africa. This will as-
sist us in proving that there is a differentmodel
of engagement driven by African companies.
We have to address local issues, create local
partnerships with local contractors, and see
where we can add value – all done on a basis
of mutual trust looking for solutions that cre-
ate win-win outcomes for all the stakeholders.
Realistically, how proactive can contrac-
tors be?
The market in South Africa, in my view, is very
traditional. Contractors get involved in the
process only after the building’s design has
been completed. In that situation contrac-
tors can add very little. That is why our focus
is changing to being customer-centric and
solutions focused in order to generate trust
that will allow the customer to involve us
early in the project and to use our expertise
to unlock the solutions to address and solve
certain project challenges.
I believe we can potentially challenge and
change the South Africanmodel by engaging
differently in Africawhere they aremuchmore
open to new ideas. By being proactive we
will be able to demonstrate our value to our
clients as contractors and part of a team early
in a project cycle.
As previously stated the skills base across
the industry has been depleted and while we
need to address this, the only way to counter-
act this loss in the short term is to start working
as integrated project teams. If you work in
isolation and double teameach other at every
turn, toomany holes are left and opportunities
lost.When different skills are brought together
in a focused manner usually an ideal solution
is found.
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