SUPPLIERS & CONTRACTORS HVAC
Mixed-use building
HVAC application Mixed-use buildings have increasingly gained popularity within the South African built environment. They combine residential accommodation, offices, retail, and other entertainment as well as recreational facilities. It is therefore crucial to take into consideration the air conditioning load required to meet the occupancy levels and daily needs. Fourways Group One basic example is recreational facilities such as gyms which most often require only cooling, while apartments and offices require both heating and cooling. Building owners and consultants alike must seek the best air conditioning systems to ensure comfort whilst eliminating local emissions and saving energy and operational costs. Most buildings in the Cape Town CBD are multi-layered and as complex as their history. The majority of these historic buildings have been converted into mixeduse buildings with careful consideration not to decimate the entire building and also maintain their beautiful facades. In the bustling city’s financial district sits Foreshore Place, a 34-storey historic
landmark built in the 1970s with majestic views of both Table Mountain and the city centre. This iconic building has marked a shift in exigencies of developers and consumers, from the previous officescombined-hotel, into a mixed-use and ultra-modern luxury development, thanks to KMH Architects. This high-rise building features a Samsung DVM system to meet several demands, including air quality, eco-friendliness, comfort, smart controls, and energy consumption savings, just to name a few.
A strategic partnership
Speaking to Andrew Kinnel, Mechanical Engineer with Spoormaker & Partners as well as Leon Crause, Head of Business Development & Sales Engineer of
Samsung DVM outdoors installed neatly on the roof of the Foreshore Building.
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Fourways Group, they give a brief insight into the project’s success. Spoormaker & Partners, a renowned engineering company with numerous accolades, approached Fourways Group to collaborate on the Foreshore Place HVAC project. Fourways are HVAC experts and the accredited sole distributors of all Samsung air conditioners in South Africa. “We were appointed as the MECs for this project and the brief was to convert the CBD’s iconic landmark into luxury accommodation, offices, and retail stores. Thus we looked at various options and recommended Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems to meet the specification requirements and budget”, says Kinnel. During the first phase of the project, the 6th to the 13th floor consisted of hotel space, which has now been remodelled and replaced with 11 floors of luxury apartments. As part of the second phase, the focus was on upgrading the offices and retail stores. Fourways Group tendered an option for Samsung HVAC equipment to Spoormaker and Partners, namely the Samsung VRF (termed ‘DVM’) Heat Recovery System for phase one, the apartments. Esteemed air conditioning contractors and a top dealer of Fourways Group; Coastal Airconditioning, were awarded the project.
