Civil Engineering November 2022 | Vol 30 No 10

I dentifying the need to improve the quality of its employees’ work-life balance, private bank RMB planned to achieve this by consolidating various employee well-being offerings into one integrated lifestyle facility building within its existing Merchant Place Campus in Sandton, Johannesburg. The RMB 8 Merchant Place building is a four-storey building with ap- proximately 4 000 m 2 gross lettable area. It is constructed on top of the existing Merchant Place podium level (bridge deck). Underneath the podium bridge deck is the existing public accessible road, Bute Lane, with a basement level under the road. It consists of a medical wellness centre, gym, crèche, retail, and a rooftop entertainment area with a perimeter running track. Structural calculations revealed that the load-carrying capacity of the existing columns and foundations in the basement was insufficient to support the additional load from the new building. Achieving the aesthetically striking architectural vision and client’s concept for the new building required exceptional ingenuity and civil engineering expertise. Zutari’s structural scope of work encompassed the design and supervision of the new building, including strengthening the existing columns and underpinning the foundations, while the civil scope comprised the stormwater design. From a structural perspective, the project was complicated by the geometry of the new floor slabs, strengthening the existing structure and interfacing with the existing services. The building has achieved a 4 Star Green Star certification under the Public and Education Building scheme of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). ADDRESSING THE STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES Zutari developed strengthening details for the existing columns using reinforcement concrete collars. The existing foundations were strengthened by underpinning with new micro-piles and pile caps. The surface-bed was broken to a size that al- lowed sufficient access for the piling rig to install the new micro-piles. Existing services in the basements such as water tanks could not be moved, RMB 8 Merchant Place Civil Engineering November 2022 15 HIGHLY COMMENDED Technical Excellence category (Sponsored by SKI Civil and Structural Engineers) KEY PLAYERS Client: Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Consultant: Zutari Contractor: Trencon SANRAL SA I CE 2022 Nat i onal Awards Category: Techn i cal Excellence RMB 8 Merchant Place The various floors are characterised by curvy slab edges, with the layout differing at each level