Growthpoint Properties has completed its R600-million development of Exxaro’s new head office opposite the Centurion Gautrain station.

The building integrates P-grade aesthetics and finishes and high-performance workspace.

Exxaro, one of the largest and foremost empowered diversified resources companies, started its long lease over the new building’s full 18 500 m2 of gross lettable area on May 1, after six weeks of early occupation.

Over a three-month period, Exxaro will relocate all its operations to the new building, which can accommodate up to 1 000 staff members.

Exxaro’s new corporate headquarters consolidate its offices in Pretoria and Johannesburg into a single workspace, at a convenient midpoint in an accessible location.

The building comprises five storeys of offices atop four levels of structured basement parking.

The development of Exxaro’s headquarters broke ground in February 2017 to become the second phase of Growthpoint’s redevelopment of the prime Lakeside site on West street, Centurion.

A major challenge in the building’s construction was the site’s dolomitic bedrock. Over 100 boreholes were drilled to create a three-dimensional model of the bedrock. High-lying dolomite pinnacles were blasted and drilled down, upper layers of soil were compacted and a steel-reinforced concrete ‘raft’ foundation, complete with sensor monitoring, was laid.

Growthpoint chief development and investment officer Rudolf Pienaar says the company overcame this challenge to take advantage of a prime commercial site for Exxaro that otherwise would not have been possible.

As a prominent feature of the development, organic dolomite is incorporated in the building’s design elements, such as subtle expression in the acoustic wall panels, bollards and other features.

The building’s safe foundations are showcased with a special glass-covered manhole, which provides an underground view to a dolomitic pinnacle beneath the site’s parking area periphery.

In line with both Exxaro’s and Growthpoint’s high environmental standards, the development team’s efforts surpassed its targets to achieve 5-Star Green Star SA Design certification from the Green Building Council South Africa. This will be confirmed by an As-Built rating application, once the building is fully occupied.

Green measures include a performance glazed façade, zoned lighting, energy-efficient building services and systems, water-efficient fixtures, rainwater harvesting, waterwise landscaping, low volatile organic compound interior finishes, abundant fresh air and natural light, as well as hydropanels that generate water from air.

It has dedicated parking for more fuel-efficient vehicles, such as hybrids, electric cars and scooters, as well as secure bicycle racks.

While the building is owned by Growthpoint, it has been tailored to Exxaro’s specific requirements.

The bathrooms are also unique, with a waterless urinal for females being piloted, a relatively new concept for South African offices.

Moreover, an idea for an on-site nutrient recovery urinal by the winner of the Greenovate Engineering Award in 2017, Craig Peter Flanagan, has been implemented in the building.