The newly built Waterfall City has been thoughtfully designed to facilitate optimal modern living and features a mix of commercial, retail and residential spaces, all of which are connected through a world-class fibre-optic network. The 1,88-million square meters that have been earmarked for commercial development will accommodate a number of commercial parks, warehouses and headquarters for some of the country’s largest corporate entities. In addition, the city is home to the Mall of Africa, the largest single-phase retail centre to be built on the continent, and is set to become a key residential area for thousands of South Africans over the next few years.
At the heart of Waterfall City stands the newly erected headquarters for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a majestic 26-story high-rise building that will likely become as intrinsically linked with the identity of Waterfall City as the Nelson Mandela Bridge is to the Johannesburg CBD. Owned by Attacq, developed by Atterbury and constructed by WBHO, the PwC Tower comprises 40,000m2 of modern office space, created to house 3500 employees in an efficient and optimally designed workplace.
The PwC Tower has been designed by LYT Architecture and features a dramatic twist that stretches throughout its’ height to create a truly breath-taking façade. According to developers, the PwC Tower is currently the tallest structure on the corridor between Sandton and the Tshwane CBD and is visible from every point within a 30km radius. As such, the manner in which the façade of the building is lit will have a far-reaching and dramatic effect on the surrounding areas.
Atterburry contracted noted South African lighting designer, Deryl Jan of PPA Lightco to deliver the external lighting to bring this phenomenal engineering feat to life.
Lighting Waterfall City
Deryl Jan is no stranger to the Waterfall City precinct, having developed the lighting design for the Mall of Africa in 2016. To achieve his ambitious design for the retail centre, Jan turned to leading South African distributor DWR Distribution for support.
Jan specified Anolis LED fixtures for the Mall of Africa, sighting the unit’s excellent quality, proven reliability as well as the manufacturer’s willingness to deliver outstanding after sales support as reasons for this decision. The successful collaboration between PPA Lightco, DWR and Robe’s architectural lighting division resulted in 900 Anolis ArcLine Optic fixtures being installed at the mall.
In addition to the interior lighting, Jan provided a lighting design for the public park that lies adjacent to the mall, and at the foot of the PwC Tower, known as the City Park. To maintain a consistent look and feel throughout the precinct, Atterbury called on PPA Lightco to design an external lighting scheme for the PwC Tower, and Jan once again turned to DWR and Anolis to execute his design.
Deryl Jan has developed a lighting concept for the PwC Tower that is focused on accentuating the structure’s uniquely twisted façade while taking advantage of the tower’s potential to make a truly dramatic visual impact.
A tower of inspiration
Jan has developed a lighting concept for the PwC Tower that is focused on accentuating the structure’s uniquely twisted façade while taking advantage of the tower’s potential to make a truly dramatic visual impact. Speaking to Pro-Systems in a recent interview, Johnny Scholtz of DWR Distribution described the process followed to realise Jan’s vision for the building.
Jan worked in close collaboration with DWR’s architectural lighting division to develop a range of designs that would meet the specifications put forward for this project. The team used Vectorworks, a highly specialised software package that enables designers to generate realistic 3D renders to plan the design and installation for the PwC Tower. Scholtz explains: “When a client comes to realise the considerable cost involved in lighting a building, it can come as a shock. However, with 3D renders, you are able to show the client what can be achieved tangibly, and allows for greater collaboration and consultation during the planning phase.”
Following a process of extensive consultation with all of the stakeholders, the client settled on a lighting design that incorporated a combination of elements from Jan’s initial designs to deliver the most efficient, robust and striking lighting solution possible, while respecting the developer’s budget.
As with the design for the Mall of Africa, Jan specified Robe’s world-class line of architectural lighting fixtures for the PwC Tower. “PPA Lightco appreciates the Anolis range for a number of reasons, including the fixture’s well recognised robust design, which is backed with a five-year warranty,” explains Scholtz. In addition, Scholtz highlights the critical role that Anolis plays in supporting their clients during the installation of their products. “The guys from Anolis really come to the party, and offer their support, insight and expertise every step of the way,” he explains.
Installing the magic
Once Jan and Scholtz received the go-ahead on the lighting design for the PwC Tower, the challenge of bringing their vision to life was addressed. The team elected to use the Anolis ArcPad Xtreme RGBW fixtures, together with the Anolis ArcLine Outdoor Optic 36 to light the façade of the tower.
The installation includes 54 ArcLine Outdoor Optic 36 fixtures, which were selected for their balanced design profile and high level of flexibility. The units are specifically designed to perform despite exposure to the elements, having been manufactured using the most robust materials possible. The ArcPad Xtreme features two densely populated independent LED modules that provide extremely bright light output. The fixture is completely silent due to convection cooling. The unique combination of RGBW LED colours delivers a stunning light quality, not seen in other competitive products on the market. Together, the ArcLine and ArcPad fixtures will provide a visually impressive external lighting solution, with a strategic combination of up lighting and down lighting to illuminate the building’s striking design.
For control, Scholtz elected to use a STICK-DE3 controller from Nicolaudie. The Nicolaudie STICK-DE3 DMX Controller features a touch-sensitive interface, with built-in Ethernet connectivity that allows the unit to be programmed and controlled over a local network using a PC, MAC, iPhone, or Android device. With 1024 DMX output channels and the ability to store 500 scenes across 10 zones, the STICK3 –DE3 is one of the best value controllers on the market. According to Scholtz, one of the most impressive features of this controller is the inclusion of a powerful clock, which enables technicians to programme the system to turn on and off in response to sunrise and sunset and pre-programme themed scenes for particular days, a whole year in advance.
Outside of aesthetic considerations, Scholtz and Jan have remained conscious of Waterfall City’s philosophy of developing infrastructure to be as energy efficient and environmentally low-impact as possible. “All of the installed fixtures use LED technology, external lighting will turn on and off in response to sunrise and sunset, and we have elected to use fewer fixtures that are optimally placed and angled, to achieve the maximum lighting effect using the least amount of power possible,” Scholtz explains.
Scholtz used Vectorworks software to ensure that the beams are angled to illuminate the borders of the building rather than reflecting off of the glass surfaces of the façade, accentuating the twist in the building and minimising light spill. Light pollution has also been considered in the installation, with beams being angled to focus on the building without projecting light into the night sky. “We used Vectorworks to ensure that lights were focused very tightly on the building,” Scholtz explains. “The use of architectural design software, together with the in-depth information provided by Anolis on their fixture outputs, makes it possible to achieve maximum lighting effect with mathematical precision,” he concludes.
PwC lights up
Throughout recorded history, light has been intricately linked with concepts of power, learning, transcendence and, as the word suggests, enlightenment in the human imagination. This remains true today, as the power of light inspires architects and engineers to construct our modern landscapes for optimal lighting possibilities. The rapid development of LED technology designed for architectural applications, together with highly advanced architectural lighting control has opened up a plethora of possibilities for architectural lighting design.
The many consultants that worked in collaboration on the PwC Tower, across multiple disciplines, have exploited all of the technology, innovation and ingenuity at their disposal to present the residence of Gauteng with a shining example of the potential of our country to grow and prosper in the future.
