Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa May/June 2014 | Page 24

The No. 1 Silo office
development was
South Africa’s second
6 Star green office
building and the first
in the Western Cape

The site is bounded to the north by the Clock
Tower Shopping Centre, to the west by BOE,
the south west by Portnet’s syncro-lift, the silo
complex to the south, Cross Berth to the east
and the Collier Jetty to the north east.
Brief
The Client requested an open plan office
building that promoted interaction, thus

increasing operational effectiveness. The
architects interpreted this with the incorporation of a large atrium connected with stairs
and elevators. Each floor incorporates pause
and/or touch down areas to allow staff to hold
quick meetings without having to formally book
specific remote meeting rooms. Public and staff
areas are located on the podium level at the foot
of the atrium to reinforce the sense of activity
within the building.
At grade, the new building links the podium
level (7.3m) of the Clock Tower shopping centre
with the ground level (4.3m) of the Grain Silo
buildings by means of a broad sweeping external
stair to the south of the BOE building. Two
levels of basement parking are accommodated
below grade, which provides for an additional
650 bays.
Design
The internal arrangement of the 1 Silo building
consists of two parts, a west wing and east
wing, with a central void containing circulation
elements and access to the atriums. The central
void recalls the alignment of the previous grain
conveyor belt to the Collier Jetty, thus providing
visual continuity from the public square to the
Jetty. By keeping the cores on the outer edge
of the wings and the circulation / fire escape
routes to the perimeter of the floor plates, an
egalitarian approach is enabled as it ensures
that no matter where you sit on the floor plate,
you are entitled to a view.
Challenges in creating a fully glazed façade
were enormous as the climatic influence created
all sorts if issues with the working environment.
The resultant façade of the completed building
is a ventilated double skin glass system with
mechanically controlled blinds on day light
sensors, thereby creating an energy efficient

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No.1 Silo