DESIGN WITH A TWIS
The horizon of Midrand,
north of Johannesburg, is set
to change forever with the
construction of the new PwC
Tower, which will be widely
visible and a focal point in
the up and coming Waterfall
City development. It is set to
become a structure of iconic
proportion due to its distinctive
twisted form designed by
LYT Architecture for Attacq
Waterfall Investment Company
and their developer Atterbury,
and realised through close
collaboration with Arup
- one of South Africa’s
leading design engineering
consultancies.
T
o achieve the
building’s twist, each
floor of the 28-storey
office tower rotates
1.2 degrees relative
to the floor below.
This posed a variety
of design challenges
for both the structure
and façade, many
of which Arup was able to solve
creatively and efficiently using
parametric modelling.
“We needed to ensure our design
solutions met the architect’s
intent and that a creative concept
could be successfully applied,”
Richard Lawson, buildings
associate at Arup says. “At Arup
we are fortunate to be able to
share cutting edge research and
technology within our global
network. It enables us to tap into
the latest scientific knowledge
and creative thought, which when
combined with the utilisation of
software, allows us to push the
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africandesignmagazine.com
“We needed to ensure our d
solutions met the architect
intent and that a creative
concept could be successfu
applied” – Richard Lawson
buildings associate at Arup