Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa January/February 2015

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 25

Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa January/February 2015 | Page 25