project profile
external envelope gridding was large in pro-
portion thereby reflecting the large space that
was the atrium itself. Because of steel’s supe-
rior stiffness and strength over aluminium it
was possible to use nearly a full standard stock
sheet of glass in the gridding of the façades.
This gridding is also successfully applied in the
eastern and western atria.
The building has achieved a Five Star
Design ratingwith the Green Building Council
and intends on achieving a similar rating for
its ‘as built’operation. The building generates
its own power with a tri-generation plant and
has many innovative features.
New Alexander Forbes Head
Office wins Architectural
Category
The new Alexander Forbes head office has
won theArchitectural category at Steel Awards
2013. The judges said that the building con-
firms a newmaturity in the South African built
environment. It was important to Alexander
Forbes that the design of the new building
reflected the values of the company.
These include: transparency, which is
reflected in the huge volumes of natural
light and glazed layering; and trust, which is
portrayed throughout the design elements
of the building revealing not only the mores
of the company but also enriches the lives of
its employees.
Since the health and well-being of staff is
one of the central design mandates, it com-
bines plant-filled outdoor areas, natural light,
and energy efficient lighting.The circulation of
fresh air and temperature control were also key
considerations. As such, numerous pause or
break areas are incorporated into the design.
It was therefore natural that environmental
sustainability was crucial to the design of the
building, which has been accredited by the
Green Building Council of SA as a four-star
Green Star building.
ing the Association of Steel Tube and Pipe
Manufacturers of South Africa, the category
sponsor, said this project used tubes in an
aesthetically pleasing and effective manner
both from an architectural and engineering
point of view while the quality of fabrication
also impressed.
The architectural vision was for an ‘institu-
tional building’with a transparent exterior that
reflected Standard Bank’s desire for transpar-
ency with its client base. To this end steel and
glass played an instrumental role in ensuring
that this was achieved. Although open web
sections were used in the construction of
the roof elements that form a modern take
on a traditional ‘saw tooth roof form’, tubular
steelwork in the form of principally square
hollow section tubular members were used
extensively in the construction of the façades
and atria.
For the façade the structural engineers
wanted to incorporate very large panes of
glass in the end walls of the atria so that the
The NTT Audi New Showroomwon the Light Steel Frame Building Category.
November 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
24
King Edward VII School New
Library and Museumwas the
joint winner in the Refurbishment
and Extensions Category.
