Sandton Commercial Tower

Client

Redefine Properties

Location

Sandton, Johannesburg

Year

2023

Category

Commercial

Floor area

42 000 m²

Scope of Services

Overview

A 32-storey mixed-use tower anchoring the northern edge of Sandton's commercial core. The project required a fully integrated MEP solution capable of servicing Grade-A office floors, a 6-storey retail podium, and a rooftop hospitality level — each with distinct comfort and energy requirements.

The Challenge

The project's compact urban footprint placed extreme constraints on plant room sizing and riser coordination. A conventional system approach would have consumed 18% of the net lettable area in services infrastructure. The client's energy target of 120 kWh/m²/annum was 35% below the South African commercial benchmark.

Our Solution

We deployed a variable refrigerant flow system in the office zones, eliminating primary plant rooms and recovering 340 m² of lettable area. A centralised chilled water plant serves the retail podium and hospitality level, with heat recovery between zones reducing peak cooling plant by 22%. An AI-optimised BMS manages the full building as a single thermal entity.