Architect and Builder February 2017 | Page 78

INTERIOR FEATURE

AIG HEAD OFFICE

INTERIOR DESIGN : TETRIS | PHOTOGRAPHY : ELSA YOUNG

AIG is a leading international insurance company , with offices in over 100 countries . Tetris ’ s brief for AIG ’ s new South African offices was to create a working environment that follows the international corporate standards for the company .

Site and Fit Out The site consists of 4,600m ² split over 1st and 2nd floor in a 5-floor building . The building was in use during the entire fit-out , with site access limited to one fire escape route – rubble was removed on a weekly basis . Noisy work was limited to certain times only due to considerations for the activities of other tenants in the building . Existing access flooring was modified to suit the client ’ s acoustic requirements . Loads on the existing access flooring presented some challenges with regard to the UPS , server room , CRAC HVAC units and racks etc and the Tétris team worked closely with consultants to overcome the limitations of the building ’ s slab . Creative solutions and out of the box thinking were required . For example , Rivonia Road was closed one Saturday morning to get cranes onto site .
Design Concept AIG is an international client with international standards , which requires a lot of work to meet their requirements . Engineers , consultants and suppliers were required to comply with strict specifications and international standards .
Tetris designed the workplace with their new global standards in mind , making the new offices part of their global real estate strategy . The Tetris team worked closely with AIG ’ s global corporate real estate strategy , transactions & projects team .
The client wanted a new way of working - namely Neighbourhood Working . This is a concept where each employee can sit anywhere within their departmental neighbourhood , but not in other neighbourhoods . Neighbourhoods are linked by collaborative spaces with screens and plug and play functionality . In the open plan workspace , there is a 10m long whiteboard : a collaborative working white wall used for brainstorming .
The client wanted smaller , private meeting rooms , which offset the open plan seating . Various collaboration areas with incorporated technology were created to meet that brief .
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