36 TFG Design Centre. In keeping with the spirit of TFG s (The Foschini Group) vision of becoming a leading clothing PROJECT

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1 PROJECT TFG Design Centre The modern box office space is set out on a simple grid to enable efficient parking in the semi-basement and offer well-lit open plan office space on three floors above THE FOSCHINI GROUP (TFG) DESIGN CENTRE Parow CLIENT The Foschini Group (TFG) ARCHITECTS Rick Brown & Associates QUANTITY SURVEYORS MLC Quantity Surveyors CONSULTING STRUCTURAL & CIVIL ENGINEERS Aurecon CONSULTING ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL ENGINEERS Triocon Consulting Engineers MAIN CONTRACTOR Group Five Coastal In keeping with the spirit of TFG s (The Foschini Group) vision of becoming a leading clothing retail manufacturer/supplier in Africa, the Design Centre is a bold architectural response to the industrial and commercial nature of the site and surrounds, while still meeting the clients brief. The white box set on piloti, overlooking Voortrekker Road, enters into a dialogue with the adjacent historically relevant Lefic Building designed by Max Policansky. This is coupled with the modern shed façade facing Hugenot Street which, in turn, took inspiration from the industrial shed buildings of the area. The end result is a building which helps tie the two disparate sides of the precinct together through architectural juxtaposition and by making the desired movement routes manifest within the building s spatial organisation. One of the key architectural challenges was to create a building that inspires while maintaining a flexible footprint and is able to cope with the inherent churn of a company of this nature. TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY Rick Brown & Associates BUILDING SIZE: CONSTRUCTION AREA 10,900m 2 which includes 400m 2 alterations within existing Hugenot Street TFG buildings INTERNAL ROOM AREA 10,500m 2 INCLUDES Storage, plant, Carton store mezzanine & Hugenot Street alterations EXCLUDES External & internal walls & columns 36 TFG Design Centre

2 LEFT: Site Plan Linking the various companies and departments was achieved through the use of the three different atriums which provide drama and light while visually interconnecting the spaces and aspects of the business. KEY COMPONENTS Brief The brief was to create 10,500m 2 of new flexible office space and associated parking spaces for TFG. The building comprises mostly open plan space, pause areas on each floor, a new canteen, meeting rooms, interview rooms, entrance lobbies, a new entrance on Huguenot Street, a series of show rooms and fabric storage areas. It is located between Huguenot Street and Voortrekker Road, Parow Process In 2010, Rick Brown and Associates (RBA) was commissioned to design a new office building which needed to be flexible and open-plan. During the early design stages, the building grew in size in order to meet the increasing space TFG Design Centre 37

3 The atriums are formalistic elements in the building which connect and orientate people within the spaces requirements of TFG. It was then formalised as the new design centre for the well-known TFG retail brands. Heritage TFG, as an enduring retail manufacturer and distributor, has a long and historic involvement in Parow, when they first moved into the original I L Back building designed by landmark avant garde SA architect, Max Policansky. Plan The new plan of the building formalises the movement route from the Stanley Lewis Centre (on the Parow Shopping Centre site) through to the Huguenot Street building and is punctuated by a series of atriums at key nodal points. The atriums are formalistic elements in the building which connect and orientate people within the spaces, while also bringing light into the building. 38 TFG Design Centre

4 The building maximises the use of natural light while minimising the use of performance glazing It was important for RBA to ensure that the building related to its immediate context and expressed itself to both the heavily trafficked Voortrekker Road and the more industrial nature of the feeder road, Hugenot Street. The building maximises the use of natural light while minimising the use of performance glazing by using two different brie soleils (solar shading devices). The use of clear glazing is a pre-requisite for designers to view fabric colours for their garment creations. The modern box office space is set out on a simple grid to enable efficient parking in the semi-basement and offer well-lit open plan office space on three floors above. The north facing glazed façade is screened with a custom designed perforated sunscreen that allows natural light into the floors without direct sun or heat load. The east façade relates to the industrial businesses around and features TFG Design Centre 39

5 GROUND FLOOR PLAN 1. Entrance Lobby 2. Entrance Atrium (knuckle) 3. Executive Lounge 4. Showroom 5. Canteen 6. Servery 7. Parking Area a corrugated metal clad façade and roof with angled slot windows. Full volume shopfronts to the main entrance off Huguenot Street lead through the turnstiles into the atrium which has natural light penetrating from a series of façade cut-outs that wrap up and over the roof. The triple volume entrance atrium from Huguenot Street creates drama and is a place for staff to gather, pass through and meet visitors, suppliers and clients and acts as a knuckle and an important gathering or passing through space that links the two wings, yet is visually open to the office floors above. Full sun studies were produced to ensure that a minimal amount of solar radiation entered the working areas of the building. This knuckle point connects to meeting and interview rooms, the canteen and three showrooms which are on the same level and to the three general office floors half a level above. It talks to the nature of the design centre, and yet relates to the past with a wall of old historic sewing machines referencing the history of the company. The canteen incorporates five seating booths around a circular table for either informal meetings or working lunches. A chill area with soft seating, lower ceiling, standing lamps, etc. brings a more informal feel to the area and can be used for relaxation, creative brainstorms or informal meetings. The overall theme of the furnishings relates to the fashion industry as a whole with the selection of wall paper, fashion adornment, purpose designed canteen tables featuring carved legs to replicate a high heeled stocking clad leg. The showrooms have full audio visual capabilities plus the props to allow display of newly created products. The first office floor houses banks of sewing machine operators creating samples of the latest fashion designs for review. Materials and accessories are located within the adjacent existing carton store. Due to the nature of the processing operation (threads, accessories, pins etc.) the floor finish was specified as a vinyl for easy cleaning. It was critically important for the spaces and all inhabitants to relate to current fashion trends and be part of an inspiring designrelated environment. 40 TFG Design Centre

6 FIRST FLOOR PLAN 1. Entrance Lobby 2. Entrance Atrium (knuckle) 3. Interview Room 4. Showroom 5. Canteen 6. Servery 7. Open Plan Office 8. Pause Area As a result of the fact that the space on the southern side of the core abutted the existing 15 m high carton store, a narrow full width light shaft was introduced to flood the area with natural reflected light. Tracy Lynch created a collage of artwork that tells the story of fashion through the different design eras, allowing all occupants to relate to this constant link to the design environment. In order to maintain an industrial element to the design of the floors, a decision was made to expose the raw off shutter concrete thus reducing the normal lay in ceiling extent and to help stabilise the thermal lag of the building. It also had the effect of de-materialising the building and providing an industrial and creative feel to the overall office space. Pause areas have been identified with the use of a pantone colour reflecting the seasonal colour trends in the fashion world. These areas will be furnished with both cafeteria chairs, tables and upholstered chairs for casual seating/ meeting or social networking. The third floor below the articulated pitched roof reflects the industrial nature of the organisation and expresses both the ductwork and electrical reticulation. All of the spaces view through the atrium to the busily trafficked knuckle space. The building services have been designed to minimise energy usage with smaller floor to ceiling windows incorporating performance glass and solar shading devices to reduce radiant heat build-up on the required clear glazing facades thus reducing cooling load. Electrically, the lighting system incorporates a passive infra red lighting operation in zones to save energy, especially in meeting rooms, showrooms and toilets. This, coupled with extensive use of LED light fittings, helps reduce electrical consumption. Water usage has also been considered with the use of waterless urinals and borehole irrigation. Conclusion The professional body has worked closely and successfully with the TFG development team to see this exciting new addition to the company s headquarter campus. ADVERTISERS ON THIS PROJECT: MLC Quantity Surveyors Quantity Surveyors Rick Brown & Associates Architects TFG Design Centre 41