Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa March/April 2014 | Page 57

BROWNFIELD SITE

SCIENCE CAMPUS

Opportunities
Initiating a new laboratory design process
allowed a review of the existing facilities and
the opportunity to design a laboratory based
on global best practice for laboratories of
this nature.

laboratories. The contractors lay down area
and site offices were located 200m from
construction site.
Off-loading of trucks was only possible
by tower crane reaching over an existing
operational laboratory and from temporary
delivery and loading bays.

The Site
The site selected presented numerous
challenges which included a 2 storey high
Tension Transformer station with 11KV
underground cables requiring to be exposed
and suspended, while a new concrete culvert
was constructed to protect the cables.
On the south east corner, a 5m wide services
rack needed protection from falling objects
during construction. The site was bound on all
sides by active roads, and existing (operational)

The Design
A modular laboratory floor plate design was
developed over six levels providing for maximum
flexibility to accommodate the changing
laboratory needs expected to take place over
the serviceable life of 25 years for the building.
A column-free laboratory zone provides an
unobstructed area for laboratory benches to be
placed and relocated without modifications or
major building alterations.

NEW LABORATORY WITH EXISTING LABORATORY IN THE FOREGROUND BEFORE REFURBISHMENT

Sasol Infrachem

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