ABSA Towers West

Absa Towers West accommodates 3500 staff, occupies three city blocks in the Johannesburg CBD adjacent to the existing Absa campus, and represents a significant contribution to inner city regeneration.

Two ten-storey towers are connected by an ambitious multi-storey glazed atrium and office space bridging Marshall Street. The third city block houses an eight-storey parkade with servicing including an energy centre, and the sites are connected below ground by a four-level superbasement. Public streetscape works are integral to the design.

The main entrance arrives in a multi-volume reception giving access to the upper ground linking the two office sites across the airbridge, creating a common internal street encouraging interaction. The ground floors house the amenities including a gym, conference facilities, crèche, coin museum, and the canteen. Offices occupy the eight floors above, wrapping the atrium and allowing natural light and views to permeate. Open glazed bridges link the wings across the atrium, and symmetrically placed scenic lifts and stairs face the volume on either side. Pause areas are located on each office floor, including a central hub over the bridge. The executive areas on the upper floors open onto entertaining areas. Here the buildings step back modulating the three-dimensional form and incorporating terraces with magnificent views of the cityscape.

The design language of Towers West extends the existing campus aesthetic, with clean uncomplicated lines articulated through the use of precast concrete elements, aluminium, steel, and glass. Sustainability was a primary design concern, and the project is applying for a GBCSA Green Star As-Built rating.

The main principles are to reduce resource consumption and emissions through intelligent materials and finishes, sensible passive design and critical active technologies. The energy centre uses gas-fired generators to supply the majority of the campus’s electricity consumption, an innovation with which Absa aims to achieve carbon credits.