Overview

The western side of Johannesburg is dominated by the Fairlands Office Building, home to FNB and Wesbank. It was designed by a consortium of four architectural firms to tell a story as much as it was designed to be a benchmark in energy efficient and ergonomically sensitive office space.

The final work of art is a three-storey structure with canted columns, supporting corner pod office units and sweeping elliptical features. The exterior is covered in swathes of earthy colours inspired by the site and the local geology, with green glass (chosen for its low solar heat gain properties) adding splashes of 'water' and vertical sunscreens honouring the reeds that would be found at a waterfall. Energy efficiency was a key driver behind the building's design, as was keeping its carbon footprint as small as possible.

These imperatives led Kim Fairbairn of Continuum Architecture to specify Gyproc building products for office partitioning and ceilings.

"Because it is relatively lightweight in comparison to bricks and mortar, GypWall* products have a low embodied energy as they are less energy intensive to produce and easier to transport. GypWall* is also manufactured from sustainable resources. We used GypWall* wherever we could in the structure, to keep the embodied energy of the final structure as low as possible," says Kim.

"These products also allow a tremendous amount of design flexibility, something that was very important to us in the context of the stories we wanted to tell with this project. Our design story had many water elements, and GypWall's* flexibility allowed us to honour the waves and motion that were so intrinsic to the design."

The use of Gyproc products also meant that the Continuum Architects team completed the project in a tight two-year timeframe.

"Construction with Gyproc walling products is extremely time-efficient, with specialist teams taking far less time to build partitions than they would if those elements were built using conventional construction methods," says Kim. The comfort of the working environment was also a key driver in the design of this building, with no workstation being further than 15 metres away from natural light. "GypWall* walling systems offer good insulation values as well - in terms of both heat and sound," the architect says. "Where appropriate, we applied the sound insulation products offered by Isover, which, when properly used, offer a better sound insulation rating than bricks and mortar. Isover Aerolite ceiling insulation was also the order of the day, helping us achieve an overall energy U rating of 2.0 for the entire building."

Highlights

• GypWall* has a low embodied energy rating, which contributed to reducing the carbon footprint of the Fairlands complex.
• GypWall* is manufactured from a sustainable natural resource.
• GypWall* offers architects a great amount of design flexibility, and it allowed the full interpretation of the design's inspiration found in the shapes of nature.
• Construction with GypWall* is time-efficient. This meant that one of the biggest construction projects in recent times could be completed in two years. - GypWall* offers good thermal and sound insulation values, key considerations when creating an office environment.
• GypWall* offers good thermal and sound insulation values, key considerations when creating an office environment.

* Gyproc RhinoBoard® 12.5mm, Donn UltraSTEEL™