Rabie Property Group's new 7 000m² office building in Century City, Cape Town, is ideal for future-focused, environmentally aware corporates looking for stand-out premises.
Situated along Sable Road in Century City, Sable Corner is a A-grade office building containing four levels of commercial office space, a ground floor and two levels of basement parking. The development forms a notable and cohesive gateway to the blossoming Bridgeways Precinct.
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Drawing from local typology, the office floors sit above a landscaped parking podium with an elevated ground level providing high public visibility. Facing Cape Town’s CBD and Table Mountain, the development forms a striking edge to the major road whilst responding to the views and aspect opportunities that the island site provides. The design ethos is driven by the constraints and possibilities of the site, the existing precinct network and the anticipated link to the future Ratanga Precinct.
The irregular shape of the site is highlighted via the building’s double-sided form and striking finned curved face that contrasts a formal dark regular block-like edge. The dual faces of the building not only respond to the site’s views but corroborate the strength of the corner location as an access point to Ratanga Precinct.
The highly original form of the building, designed by award-winning dhk Architects, includes a glazed circulation staircase and lift lobby that link the convex-shaped section of the building to a rectangular appendix, allowing for economical office design without compromising on the spectacular curved facade that opens up unobstructed views of Table Mountain, Signal Hill and Table Bay.
“Underlying this slick design, is of course, the very important Green Building design techniques, smart design principles, clutter-free entrances and exits and direct access to secure basement parking,” says Jason Elley of the Rabie Property. “Sable Corner’s Green Building design isn’t only good for the planet. Fresh air and natural lighting make for a healthier, happier workspace, while water and energy-efficient technology reduces the overall running costs of the building.”
Lighting design
The effective lighting of a facade can turn a building into a real eye-catcher from far away. Lighting can be used to accentuate the architecture and possibly emphasizes the logo and the company name. The interplay between light and shadow can increase the overall impact and can leave a lasting impression.
Curved façade: Regent Lighting Solutions (RLS) developed a new purpose build luminaire called the Echo Leia to illuminate each fin individually with a very narrow beam of light, further enhancing this already fabulous looking facade.
LED signage frame: A first for RLS, the company were tasked to design and manufacture a large façade mounted rectangular signage frame. Measuring around 15m x 8.5m, this was no small task for the company’s designers who had to come up with a solution that gave the desired effect. Each section had to be precision designed to fit perfectly when installed on site. Some of the challenges they had to overcome were a curved wall, the potential water ingress (IP), special LED colour and a custom size profile as requested by the architects. The end result speaks for itself and company believe this landmark feature will be enjoyed by both the customer as well as those driving past for many years to come.
Main entrance: Mounted on the bulkhead in front of the main entrance door, bespoke Linear Mini surface mounted in the shape of a large hashtag. This complicated shape makes a big impression on anyone entering this prestigious building.
The general precinct: Continuing with the rest of the Century City square precinct, the Europa Post Tops mounted on Europa poles as well as Acer surface mounted footlights were utilised.
