Page 9 - EngineerIT October 2021

GREEN ENVIRONMENTS

The most important category in the interior rating is from the roof of the building over Johannesburg are remarkable.
the selection of materials for the fit-out, not only from an This is again to make it so that people really enjoy being there.
aesthetic point of view, but also the fact that the materials It is one of the buildings that has really pushed that design
selected are certified by third party eco-certifiers. “Just to envelope towards occupants’ health and well-being,” says
give an understanding of the scale of the undertaking, we Raytcheva-Schaap.
had about 50 000 pieces of furniture installed in the building, While the Covid-19 pandemic did not have any impact on the
of which about 35 000 were reused pieces. That is largely rating process, the mechanical services implemented definitely
what contributed to the high score in the category of material contribute to the building running in a mode where the air quality
usage. It was really a very good decision for Discovery to is as high as possible and fresh air is well-circulated throughout.
reuse existing furniture and refurbish wherever possible,” “That makes it possible for the building to function under
says Raytcheva-Schaap. Covid-19 conditions, with less risk to the people working there,”
“It is a landmark project that has become an icon. I think it says Raytcheva-Schaap.
has been very sensitively handled in terms of environmental “It has definitely set a benchmark that has been used as
reuse and budgeting, for example. The perception is that it an example for so many other projects as well,” says Jacques
was a costly fit-out, but it is important to note that there was Prinsloo, senior project interior designer at Paragon Interface.
a lot of frugality where it needed to be, offset with some new “If you consider the large number of people who worked on
items in certain areas. Obviously bringing people together this project over the years, it was a major learning curve for all
from five different buildings is a financial cost-saving model. involved. I do not know if we had the luxury to consider the actual
Hence the interior rating really reflects how well thought-out scale of the building when we embarked upon the project; we just
the project was and what the team managed to achieve,” had to embrace it and work through the process to get to where
says D’Adorante. we are today.”
As a major player in the health insurance industry, it was And that is a point no one could have foreseen at the outset
vital for the client to have the building fully activated from a of the project: 1 Discovery Place being transformed into a mass
physical point of view. In terms of the base build, this includes Covid-19 vaccination site. “That has been very interesting to
people using the striking staircases rather than the elevators. The see, as the large atrium spaces are ideally geared for that. They
interior, on the other hand, has been designed to encourage a were originally designed as spaces for people to come together,
continuous flow of people around the different functional areas. and now look at what is being achieved, with the building
The roof level, as well, includes a running track and other providing a social service. It is a wonderful conclusion to the story
sports facilities such as yoga decks and mini courts. “The views of this project.” n

Discovery Place as a building has pushed the design envelope in term The in-use interior rating means Discovery Place is functioning the
of occupants’ health way it was intended

EngineerIT | October 2021 | 7