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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
AUGUST
2015
ENVIRONMENT
The building sets a South
African benchmark in sustaina-
bility and collaboration as the first
AAA grade commercial
office development and tall building in
South Africa to achieve a 5 Star Green Star
rating from the Green Building Council of
South Africa (GBCSA) – and is currently
also being assessed for a 5 Star Green Star
as-built rating.
Portside is a joint venture (JV) devel-
opment between FirstRand Bank and Old
Mutual. Situated in Cape Town’s central busi-
ness district and emerging regional economic
hub and financial district, the JV called for
the creation of an office development that
would serve as the regional headquarters of
FirstRand Bank’s three divisions as well as
rentable office space.
According to Charl de Jager, one of
WSP’s structural engineers on the project:
“With an investment value of R1,6-billion,
the client placed significant priority on
meeting the deadline for completion of
this project for occupancy. Construction
therefore commenced in August of 2011
and an extremely fast-tracked construc-
tion programme was implemented to keep
everything on track, which enabled us to
deliver on the majority of the project within
34 months.”
No sacrifice on quality
Despite the tight construction deadline,
however, there was no sacrifice on quality.
“As the first tall building constructed in
Cape Town in the past 20 years, Portside
towers at 139 m tall. It’s successful comple-
tion was underpinned by a commitment
to responsible and sustainable develop-
ment. Therefore, the structural engineering
expertise required on this project was of the
highest calibre as far as high rise commercial
building projects are concerned,” says
De Jager.
The design team was involved in
providing the preliminary and detailed civil
and structural design for the Portside devel-
opment and all the structural and civil tender
and construction documentation. WSP Africa
also provided full time construction moni-
toring for the project.
“Overall, the complex nature of the
project presented several major challenges,”
notes Sebastian Dockter, WSP Africa regional
director in structures. “The sheer size and
height of the Portside building, for instance,
constituted a challenge simply because not
many buildings of this size have been built
in South Africa, and especially not in Cape
Town. As such and to ensure the highest
quality design, we sought advice from our
New York office with the aim of capitalising
on their expertise in high-rise buildings.
“The origin of the majority of challenges
experienced on this project was its extremely
fast-paced nature; from conceptual design
to construction completion,” adds De Jager.
“However, constant collaboration within a
driven and dedicated project team ensured
that any challenges were addressed in a
professional and timely manner.”
Sustainability
De Jager further indicates that all parties of
the professional team were committed to a
responsible and sustainable development.
“Although this originated with the clients’
decision to pursue GBCSA accreditation, as
being beneficial to both the environment and
their investment, this commitment filtered
through all disciplines and stakeholders and
constant cognisance was given to the various
GBCSA requirements that needed to be
taken, right from the project’s inception.”
“We are tremendously honoured to have
been part of the team that delivered such
a remarkable new addition to Cape Town’s
skyline. The structural design
was delivered in time and
aligned with the client’s brief
and architectural intent, while
being built to an acceptable
degree of quality and accuracy.
The success of the Portside
development was the product
of extensive professional collab-
oration with all stakeholders,
patience, long hours of hard
work and constant commitment
– certainly a project to be proud
of,” concludes De Jager.
Photographs by Raphael Helman
Part of
ICONIC PROJECT
WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is proud to have been involved in
Cape Town’s iconic Portside building, which received a merit award
at the SAPOA Innovative Excellence in Property Development
Awards this year.
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CONSTRUCTION ORLD
AUGUST
2015