Podium at Menlyn wins coveted award

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Podium at Menlyn has been announced as the deserving winner of the Fulton Awards Innovative Construction Award. Podium at Menlyn has been announced as the deserving winner of the Fulton Awards Innovative Construction Award.

Emira Property Fund’s Podium at Menlyn has been announced as the deserving winner of the Fulton Awards Innovative Construction Award.

The awards, hosted every two years, are presented by the Concrete Society of Southern Africa (CSSA) at a gala evening event.

James Templeton, Emira CEO, says: “We strive for innovation in our properties and developments and it’s great to be formally acknowledged for this with a Fulton Award for Innovative Construction for The Podium at Menlyn.  Improving the quality of our property portfolio is one of Emira’s goals and our investment in the A-Grade, and now award-winning, office building certainly furthers this goal.”

JSE-listed Emira Property Fund owns a diversified portfolio of office, retail and industrial properties. Its assets comprise 146 properties valued at R9,1 billion and listed investments of R600 million.  Emira has a market capitalisation of R7,7 billion.

The 9,000m² first phase of the development, which will eventually comprise approximately 16,000m², was complete in May 2012. Tenants include Safcol, Waymark, Hatch and Zurich.

The Podium at Menlyn enjoys prime position at the intersection of Atterbury and Lois Streets, directly opposite Menlyn Park Shopping Centre.  Its design takes full advantage of this prominent corner in Menlyn, which is fast becoming an A-Grade business hub with more than 300,000m² of mixed-use development including retail, offices, hotels and residential units planned.

As the gateway to the Menlyn node, Emira’s overall brief for the building was simple - a timeless, classic design that’s also cost-effective to maintain.

Architects Boogertman and Partners, credit the success of the project to combining creative design talent, technical and project management expertise and the support of its dynamic interior architect department.

This stand-out business address uses triangular geometry in a union of glass curtain walls and off-shutter concrete.  It’s partly inspired by ancient engraved artworks found in the Blombos Caves on the Southern Cape coast, creating a bridge between a 77,000 year old culture and the future of South Africa.  Inspiration was also drawn from the ancient Chinese Tangram dissection puzzle.

Even the basement and lift lobby artwork makes use of these triangles to create ‘geometric garden’ within an urban space, creating the impression of a digital landscape.  The artwork transforms the basement into an exciting space, through which to enter.

“We’re delighted Podium at Menlyn received this prestigious award and we would like to thank the professional team, contractor and Emira staff who contributed to the project.”

“Emira will continue to grow and improve our property portfolio with quality development and acquisitions, and unlocking value with refurbishments, extensions and redevelopment,” Templeton says.


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