A project which has caught the attention of Laurence Grigorov is the new head office for South African medical and financial services giant, Discovery, called 1 Discovery Place in the Sandton CBD.
Developed jointly by Growthpoint Properties and Zenprop Property Holdings, there were two key factors within Discovery’s brief. The first was to create an architectural statement that captured the essence and core values of the Discovery brand that it could be identified with going forward. Following on from the first was the aim to improve efficiencies in the day to day working of the company. Staff were spread over 4 disjointed buildings around Discovery’s original 155 West Street offices and this was starting to impact on the way that they did business.
Discovery required a new building designed with their way of working in mind and offering flexibility for future growth and operational changes. The site is on the corner of Katherine and Rivonia in Sandton. It sits at the highest point in Sandton, which gave the building a visual dominance without having to create a tower, which suited Discovery’s corporate structure.
The Discovery building was conceived from the inside out by architects Boogertman + Partners. At the core of its design concept is the creation of a rich internal environment within and around which the Discovery community can thrive. At all times the architectural design considerations are centred on the human experience of the space. This concept resolved itself into two large, sun filled internal atria around which the open floor plates were arranged. The atria are enclosed by 2,800m2 of glazed roof, with all pause areas and agile spaces opening into them. Connecting these atria to one another is a central concourse, within which a stack of escalators links double volume bridges that stitch the floorplates together. The concourse space was conceived as a ‘grand central station’, a literal and figurative interchange between the company and its clients. The roof of the building is a landscaped retreat, accessible to all employees, where the philosophy of an holistic approach to health, an integral part of the company’s core values, is physically expressed.
The building’s form is defined by an external ‘camisole’, a projecting portion of the façade articulated by white powder coated vertical aluminium fins. The sensuous shape in plan, combined with the undulating vertical expression, creates a simple, monolithic statement that gives the building a unique and powerful visual signature. The project team, client, and developers have all came together to create a building and working environment that not only epitomises Discovery, but is very much a 21st century workspace. The care and attention to staff welfare and comfort makes working at 1 Discovery Place a world class experience.
Laurence Martin Developments is a luxury residential development company based in Johannesburg, South Africa and is led by Wits University graduate, Laurence Grigorov.
Photo and words courtesy of Architect & Builder magazine.