SPECIAL REPORTAFGRI 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 im-

maculate 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-

tects – 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 contrast-

ing colour and large glass curtain walls, the AFGRI

head office is an immaculate floating apparition.

Located between the John Voster and Botha Avenue

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

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

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

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

opportunity. With the environment being the big-

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

case an image of a forward-thinking company,

through the visible architecture of the building.

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

a building that would take full advantage of the ex-

posure to the highway, while maintaining more pri-

vate external seating and landscaped areas. The build-

ing we designed turns its louvered North façade

towards the highway – it is striking and sculptural.

The curved louvers seem to flow with the movement

of the traffic, while screening the occupants in the

building from the noise and any direct sunlight. Pri-

vate seating areas were also created on the South

side of the building, taking full advantage of the

wetland area,” says Estelle Meiring, Project archi-

tect & associate, Paragon Architects.

AFRGI Head Office comprises two square-shaped

basement levels and four office levels, all supported

by columns. The basement is dedicated to parking

and effectively lifts the levels of office space off the

site. Pushing the basement out of the ground meant

that the ground level had to be raised higher than

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

tremely light. The lightness was achieved by weaving

curved glass walls along the slab. The glass itself

only has fins, rather than an aluminum structure,

which would have weighed the façade down.

Post-tensioned slabs from the first floor to roof level

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

sioned structures in order to speed up the construc-

tion process. Conventional slabs were however

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used on the ground level and for the basements.

The gable walls were then constructed as in situ

concrete structures and the curtain walls installed

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

work for each completed wall slab was most critical

for successful construction of the gables and had to

be specifically engineered. The engineers designed

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

the weight if the shuttering and rebar. A platform

was built from the ground floor to the beginning of

the wall being cast. Support work is then erected

from the platform up to the curved shuttering. As

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

over the platform. The support work is then shifted

and realigned to support the next wall slab until it

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

gable walls, top and bottom slab edge and soffit,

were then cladded in white broken tiles. This broken

ceramic tile facing, known as azelejos quebrados, was

made popular again by Santiago Calatrava in recent

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

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

with the outcome.”

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

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

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

angle, are cocooned in a curvaceous concrete skin.

They sit above the lifestyle zone spread on the ground

floor. The glass line follows a different tune of its

own, shielding compressed and expanding spaces

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

is too indecently exposed to the sun, a curvaceous

second skin of laser-cut shimmering aluminum lou-

vers, tailored to suit, covers the denude areas.

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

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“All the materials that were used are standard and

readily available, however, they were used in innova-

tive 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 appear-

ance, due to the performance glass used, and the shells

are covered in crisp white tiles. The internal colours

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.

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were also, in general, quite simple, with flashes

of colour to give interest.”

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

our palette and the implementation of the different

design elements that makes for an utterly unusual

Paragon-designed building, which boasts an overall

floating effect. Leaning to the more sculptural side

of Brazilian Modernism, the building’s distinctive

silhouette has already made waves in the architec-

tural industry.

Obstacles overcome

After a geographical investigation of the site, the

team realized that piling, instead of a conventional

raft foundation, had to be used due to the dolomitic

conditions. “The soil conditions meant that we had

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

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

says Estelle. When discussing other challenges,

she comments: “The East and West in situ concrete

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 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

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

telle. She continues: “We achieved a highly efficient

plate by placing the bathroom core and lifts in the

atrium space, linked with bridges from the two office

plates.” Another factor to consider when designing

for an office is good communication. As Estelle ex-

plains, “people from different departments need to

be able to reach each other without passing through

long corridors. This was achieved by the central

atrium, with its link bridges, allowing natural light to

filter into the floor plates, while creating a covered

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 in-

viting and offers a lot of lifestyle components,

while still retaining privacy and quietness where

needed,” says Estelle. Fulfilling its purpose as a work

environment, the building also has a basement park-

ing, canteen area with internal and external seating,

meeting rooms and training rooms.

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

parison. What makes AFGRI interesting, according to

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

compared to anything else built in South Africa up to

now. We really enjoy the fact that the general public

seems to be noticing and discussing the building; eve-

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

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