Exemplar Reitail Head Office, Pretoria, South Africa
PROJECT OVERVIEW
When family-run real estate developers Exemplar outgrew their founder’s humble small holding on the outskirts of the country’s capital, the need to establish a new home for their ever-expanding operation became inevitable.
As pioneers in the development of prime retail space in rural and township areas, Exemplar build and manage shopping centres in places where other developers have traditionally avoided. Their mission – to support and uplift the micro economies of these underserviced communities. Now, forty years later, the McCormick Property Development company evolved into a listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that owns and operates over 27 township malls across South Africa, with a further nine assets under management. Their mandate – beyond building the infrastructure for the communities they serve, is to ensure the continued profitability and sustainability of their company for their staff and shareholders, too.
They also needed the right environment to achieve this. The McCormick management team envisioned a new headquarters that would blend modern elegance with farm-style familiarity and comfort. The challenge lay in building a world-class facility that wasn’t cold, corporate or clinical, but enhanced the natural environment and honoured the company’s rural country roots.
PROJECT DETAILS
- Project Name: Exemplar REITail Head Office
- Project Type: Corporate offices
- Description: Eva-Last Lifespan beams selected for exterior feature areas in several applications.
Infinity
decking for patio area - Product used: Lifespan beams in Savanna and
Infinity decking in Swiss Oak - Date of Installation: October/November 2024
- Project Location: 204 von Willich Avenue, Clubview/Lyttelton,
Pretoria - Size: 1500m2
- Architect: Living Planet Architects
- Main Contractor: Modern Age Design – Hein Jansen
AN EXEMPLARY ESTABLISHMENT
True to their very name derived from the verb Exemplary meaning “commendable or a desirable model,” Exemplar appointed Living Planet Architects and Modern Age Design to realise their vision.
Living Planet created a 1500m2 contemporary, chic country-estate complete with high-pitched barn-style roofing and spacious arched interiors that blend seamlessly into the surrounding fauna and flora, befitting the company’s country heritage.
Warm, earthy tones and textures in traditional colour palettes, natural stone combined with modern high-performance materials and clever architectural details enhance the natural beauty of the site whilst adding practical space and
functionality.
Several passive design principles were also incorporated to enhance the building’s energy efficiency and sustainability.
High-pitched brown Rheinzink roofing echoes traditional barn-style outbuildings, providing an imposing, double-volume shell for its spacious, modern interiors.
Typical white walls with natural stone cladding and decorative slatted wood-look features create a warm and welcoming façade.
Attractive screens, shutters, pergolas, and soffit ceilings in authentic timber finishes provide practical protection from Mother Nature and her elements such as sun or wind. This reduces the need for heating or cooling, enhancing the facility’s energy efficiency.
Gleaming high A-frame, triangular shaped windows book-end the building with gorgeous arched gables of extended timber detailing drawing the eye skywards, adding a sense of spaciousness and light.
Parklike gardens and a fishpond framed by a living green wall invite you to the shady pergola situated above the entrance. The pergola allows natural light and warmth into the lobby, creating a dappled shade from the sun when necessary.
Stackable glass doors provide a glimpse into the hive of activity inside, inviting you to open them widely to enjoy a cooling breeze over the pond outside. This ensures natural ventilation and cooling, further boosting the building’s energy-saving credentials.
Inside, natural shades and textures on the floors, screens and furniture made from reclaimed timber and plenty of greenery lead you into serene meeting spaces, pause areas, lounges and entertainment areas situated within the open-plan space. The ambience is calming and peaceful, conducive to health and well-being and
promotes productivity.
Outside, a beautiful Infinity bamboo composite deck from Eva-Last provides an extended outdoor entertainment area in perfect harmony with the environment. Every element of the Exemplar exterior and interior has been carefully curated for style and unsurpassed sustainability.
ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURAL EXCELLENCE
The design is as beautiful as it was ambitious, and Modern Age Design were tasked with sourcing sustainable solutions to achieve this architectural masterpiece.
“The brief was to look and feel as natural as possible,” says Hein Jansen from Modern Age Design, who built and installed the structural high-pitched window arches, pergola, gate and screens featured around the building.
“We had to find the right materials not only with the right timber finish, but more importantly, with the right structural integrity for installation at such heights,” explained Jansen.
“They had to be lightweight, low maintenance and durable because you don’t want tobe cleaning, repairing or replacing beams at that pitch,” he continued.
Fortunately, Jansen is very familiar with Eva-Last bamboo composites, having used their advanced building materials for several of Exemplar’s shopping centres in the past.
He confidently specified Eva-Last’s lightweight Lifespan architectural beams and balusters for the arches, pergola and screens.
The composite’s hollow aluminium core offers lightweight strength and torsionresistance, its tolerance preventing warping and buckling, while the protective polymer coating withstands the weather, wind, UV-exposure and natural wear and tear, far better than traditional wood.
“The original spec was for solid wood,” explained Jansen, “but Lifespan gave us the extended span and low-maintenance benefits that real wood just can’t.”
Made from recycled plastic extruded with renewable bamboo fibres, Eva-Last’s bamboo composite beams, decks and cladding offer the natural look and texture of timber in a variety of authentic wooden shades. The light hues of Savanna in the Lifespan application and Swiss Oak in Infinity composite application were used to reflect the surroundings and match the other materials.
“Special brackets were manufactured to join the beams, and we assembled the arches off-site, reducing our time on site substantially,” he recalled.
Lifespan’s lightweight beams and balusters are engineered for easy overhead installation, dimensional stability and outstanding wear characteristics. The textured polymer outer coating prevents scratches, scuffing and splintering, as well as preventing damage or deterioration from pests, mold or mildew.
Eva-Last’s Infinity bamboo composite deck in the complementary Swiss Oak shade was quickly erected using convenient CHAIN collated clips. These preloaded clips, guide the boards into place, allowing adequate expansion and contraction to create the seamless, smooth surface.
KEY INFLUENCER QUOTE
“Eva-Last were extremely helpful in bringing this project to life. Their products
allowed us to achieve the soft, natural timber finish we wanted, but with the
confidence that they won’t compromise the structure’s integrity, would weather well and look the same as the day they were installed,” said Hein Jansen from Modern Age Design.Click here to download a PDF version of this case study.
