URBAN REGENERATIONS

Roeland Park was designed to house the new headquarters for e.tv, a South African television broadcaster. The 11 storey building contains e.tv’s studios at ground level, with parking levels below and offices above.

To achieve the 12 x 15 m2 column-free studio spaces, a transfer beam was introduced between the first and second floors, carrying columns with six floors above. Acoustic requirements were such that the studios, with a required 4 m clear span, are effectively ‘floating’ inside a 6 m clear span storey with air gaps providing sound insulation all around. The floors above are all post-tensioned, reducing both weight and cost.

The project presented many challenges including difficult geology and founding conditions, significant groundwater and shrinkage considerations.