Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa January/February 2015 | Page 25
BELOW: The three
phases of Alice Lane
are clearly shown here.
Alice Lane 1 in the
distance, Alice 3 under
construction and the
interior of Alice Lane 2 .
demolition could not take the form of an
implosion; instead, the building had to be
carefully dismantled. The safety of the building
tenants and the workers on site has been
an important factor, as is ensuring that the
construction operations interfere minimally
with the operation of Phase One.
Design Language
A common design language binds the three
buildings. Materiality, however, has been
varied across the buildings. Unitised aluminium
panels are used predominantly on the facades
of Building 1 and 2 but Building 3 will be a full
glass façade. The north and south elevations
of Building 2 are glazed to introduce more
natural light into the working spaces. The
glazing specification comprises Platinum grey
double glazing on all the office facades and
single glazing on the ground floor, which is
shaded by the oversailing upper levels. The
champagne-coloured aluminium cladding Alco
panels appear to change shade in various light
conditions, giving the building a life-like quality.
Alice Lane Phase 2
The ground floor of Building 2 extends to the
exterior as a floating platform above the public
piazza, with spill out spaces for the tenant’s
canteen and auditorium. This interacts visually
with the street. The relationship with the street
is further explored with the idea of surfaces that
peel away to provide vehicular and pedestrian
access. Once the vegetation has matured, it will
appear as a layered opening.
Design Requirements
From the outset, Paragon was aware of the
requirement for cellular office space. To ensure
that all offices were exposed to natural light, two
wings were generated so that external offices
and internal offices were equally exposed, thus
ensuring that every office is a perimeter office.
There is also a central atrium with clerestorey
light to introduce more light into the work
spaces. The design of the atrium was generated
in the software, Revit, to create curvaceous
and organic forms that link the east and west
wings. Façade lighting is a combination of cold
cathodes and LED fittings that accentuate the
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