Page 6 - Landscape SA 103

PROJECT

Entrance walkway to the public realm

THE RIDGE, V & A WATERFRONT

The Ridge building at the V & A Waterfront is Cape Town’s newest 6-star Green Star rated
commercial development. A mixed use project comprising office and retail space, its
sustainable building technology has been accredited by the Green Building Council of
South Africa (GBCSA).

he project embodies key principles
of environmental performance
Twhich promote a healthy work
environment, help to combat sick building
syndrome and promote low carbon modes
of transport. These include pedestrian
footpaths, bicycle routes, outdoor, greened
relaxation areas and food gardens.
The Waterfront’s development
director and project leader Mark
Noble, says that The Ridge was
designed to be a “living, breathing
building” by incorporating the
following features:
• air quality: the building operates
on a mixed mode, interior climate
control system, which includes natural
ventilation and an atrium. In the first Western façade of The Ridge with stone-clad basement wall and Syzygium guineense to
case, this raises the indoor air quality and soften the lower façade
is controlled by the occupants, meaning
that office workers can open windows
to let in fresh air. In the second case, the through the building, in through the energy consuming) temperature control
atrium, referred to as the ‘central street’, windows and out through the roof lights. mechanisms;
runs from the ground floor to the third • minimal HVAC (air conditioning) usage: • fenestration: the zigzag shaped timber
level of the building. It helps to pull air
the building incorporates passive (non- façade orientates the glass windows

4 Landscape SA • Issue 103 2021