AFGRI Head Office

SPECIAL REPORT AFGRI Head Office

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AFGRI HEAD OFFICE

Architecture that floats

By Stacey Rowan

When it comes to the AFGRI Head Office, the architects – Paragon Architects – can be seen as magicians. They have waved their architectural wand and have defied gravity, creating a building that holds the illusion of levitation. With its stark white contrasting colour and large glass curtain walls, the AFGRI head office is an immaculate floating apparition.

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LEFT: The basement levels and four office levels are all supported by columns.

RIGHT: As an immaculate floating apparition, the building holds the illusion of levitation.

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When it comes to the AFGRI Head Office, the archi-

The curved louvers seem to flow with the movement

tects – Paragon Architects – can be seen as magicians.

of the traffic, while screening the occupants in the

They have waved their architectural wand and have

building from the noise and any direct sunlight. Pri-

defied gravity, creating a building that holds the

vate seating areas were also created on the South

illusion of levitation. With its stark white contrast-

side of the building, taking full advantage of the

ing colour and large glass curtain walls, the AFGRI

wetland area,” says Estelle Meiring, Project archi-

head office is an immaculate floating apparition.

tect & associate, Paragon Architects.

Located between the John Voster and Botha Avenue

AFRGI Head Office comprises two square-shaped

off-ramps in Centurion, the AFGRI head office, the

basement levels and four office levels, all supported

first building in a future office park complex, is nes-

by columns. The basement is dedicated to parking

tled next to the N1 highway. As the site is visible

and effectively lifts the levels of office space off the

from the highway, this, for the client, gave rise to an

site. Pushing the basement out of the ground meant

opportunity. With the environment being the big-

that the ground level had to be raised higher than

gest influence of design, this was a chance to show-

the usual office floor, which in effect, made it ex-

case an image of a forward-thinking company,

tremely light. The lightness was achieved by weaving

through the visible architecture of the building.

curved glass walls along the slab. The glass itself only has fins, rather than an aluminum structure,

“The brief, from M&T Development, was to design

which would have weighed the façade down.

a building that would take full advantage of the exposure to the highway, while maintaining more pri-

Post-tensioned slabs from the first floor to roof level

vate external seating and landscaped areas. The build-

were used. Concrete slabs were cast as post-ten-

ing we designed turns its louvered North façade

sioned structures in order to speed up the construc-

towards the highway – it is striking and sculptural.

tion process. Conventional slabs were however

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The building, in its design, is striking and sculptural.

used on the ground level and for the basements.

ceramic tile facing, known as azelejos quebrados, was

The gable walls were then constructed as in situ

made popular again by Santiago Calatrava in recent

concrete structures and the curtain walls installed

years. “The broken tile cladding that was used is, we

on the edges of the slab. The design of the support

believe, a first in South Africa and we are very pleased

work for each completed wall slab was most critical

with the outcome.�

for successful construction of the gables and had to be specifically engineered. The engineers designed

The atrium, at the centre of the kappa-shaped struc-

the support work for 2m-high wet concrete with all

ture, houses the lift and the toilet core. Two pavil-

the weight if the shuttering and rebar. A platform

ions of offices, joined at the hip and set at a rakish

was built from the ground floor to the beginning of

angle, are cocooned in a curvaceous concrete skin.

the wall being cast. Support work is then erected

They sit above the lifestyle zone spread on the ground

from the platform up to the curved shuttering. As

floor. The glass line follows a different tune of its

each new section of the wall is cast, it juts out further

own, shielding compressed and expanding spaces

over the platform. The support work is then shifted

from the sun, weather and noise. Where the glass skin

and realigned to support the next wall slab until it

is too indecently exposed to the sun, a curvaceous

cures. This process is repeated six times per wall. The

second skin of laser-cut shimmering aluminum lou-

gable walls, top and bottom slab edge and soffit,

vers, tailored to suit, covers the denude areas.

were then cladded in white broken tiles. This broken

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LEFT: An external view of the building at night.

CENTRE: Where the glass skin is too indecently exposed to the sun, a curvaceous second skin of laser-cut shimmering aluminum louvers, tailored to suit, covers the denude areas.

RIGHT: Two pavilions of offices, joined at the hip and set at a rakish angle, are cocooned in a curvaceous concrete skin.

“All the materials that were used are standard and readily available, however, they were used in innovative ways. It took lots of faith from the client, lots of planning from the main building contractor, lots of inspection and feedback time for us on site and, lastly but most importantly, a very skilled and dedicated tiling subcontractor,� adds Estelle.

Considering the colour palette used, externally and internally, Estelle explains: “the external colours were kept simple. The curtain walls have a dark grey appearance, due to the performance glass used, and the shells are covered in crisp white tiles. The internal colours

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were also, in general, quite simple, with flashes of colour to give interest.”

Obstacles overcome After a geographical investigation of the site, the

It is through the use of all these materials, the col-

team realized that piling, instead of a conventional

our palette and the implementation of the different

raft foundation, had to be used due to the dolomitic

design elements that makes for an utterly unusual

conditions. “The soil conditions meant that we had

Paragon-designed building, which boasts an overall

to use a special type of pile in certain areas and this

floating effect. Leaning to the more sculptural side

caused quite a large delay to the start of the project,”

of Brazilian Modernism, the building’s distinctive

says Estelle. When discussing other challenges,

silhouette has already made waves in the architec-

she comments: “The East and West in situ concrete

tural industry.

shells were also quite a challenge, both structurally and from a building contractor’s point of view. The construction of the scaffolding alone was quite a process and it ended up looking very much like a skate boarding half pipe.”

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The atrium, at the centre of the kappa-shaped structure, houses the lift and the toilet core.

The difference between mediocre and great Although the building is owned and developed by M&T Development, the building was also designed according to AFGRI’s requirements. In terms on designing for an office, one thing that distinguishes between a mediocre office building and a great one, is “how usable the office plates are; how many people

link between the different areas.” When designing for any development, the purpose of the building and its future function takes top priority in terms of the list of things to keep in mind. “AFGRI is well suited to its function. We have created a building filled with natural light, that feels spacious and inviting and offers a lot of lifestyle components, while still retaining privacy and quietness where needed,” says Estelle. Fulfilling its purpose as a work

can be comfortably fitted onto one plate,” says Es-

environment, the building also has a basement park-

telle. She continues: “We achieved a highly efficient

ing, canteen area with internal and external seating,

plate by placing the bathroom core and lifts in the

meeting rooms and training rooms.

atrium space, linked with bridges from the two office plates.” Another factor to consider when designing

When it comes to AFRGI head office, there is no com-

for an office is good communication. As Estelle ex-

parison. What makes AFGRI interesting, according to

plains, “people from different departments need to

Estelle, is that “…it has an aesthetic that cannot be

be able to reach each other without passing through

compared to anything else built in South Africa up to

long corridors. This was achieved by the central

now. We really enjoy the fact that the general public

atrium, with its link bridges, allowing natural light to

seems to be noticing and discussing the building; eve-

filter into the floor plates, while creating a covered

ryone has an opinion about it,” concludes Estelle. <