Club 2. Pretoria

The new Club 2 Building in Hazelwood, Pretoria, is set to become a landmark property in the city. The modern, industrial yet retro look and feel, combined with the striking curved roof, has made it a hotspot for local tenants.

In 2015, Atterbury Properties appointed Hofman Architects to design a space that would accommodate a gym as well as office spaces. Situated on the corner of Pinaster Avenue and 18th Street in Pretoria, Club 2 builds on the prestigious Club One office building that was designed and completed in 2011. The five office floors of Club One are leased to the University of South Africa, with popular retail areas such as Hogshead Craft Beer and Hudsons The Burger Joint occupying the ground floor section.

The brief from the client to the architect evolved over time. Initially, the brief was to design a building for Planet Fitness on the intersection South of the precinct, with an office component to make up the bulk on the Northern end of the property. When the design was presented, Atterbury was so impressed that they decided to move their head office to the new building.

This decision changed the brief to the architect in a few ways. The office component had to mirror the design of the client’s offices and it had to move to the prominent South corner of the building. The gym, in turn, had to move to the Northern section of the property without it losing visibility and exposure from passers-by.

The ideal design for a gym of this magnitude is a “warehouse” type structure. With this in mind, the design was always envisaged as a steel structure. The office component has a beautiful, industrial theme, which can easily be accommodated by steel structures.

The building is constructed of a curved portal frame structure with large I-beam sections. The roof cladding that was specified for the project is KlipTite by Global Roofing Solutions. The cladding was cranked around the curves of the portal frames with custom made flashing detail to accommodate the curved roof. The walls were constructed out of a combination of brickwork and the Imison lightweight wall system.

One challenge that the design team encountered was cladding the curved radius of the large section I-beams. To overcome this challenge, these sections were manufactured and not rolled. Ensuring that the exact placing of these sections aligned with the columns on site was challenging, as were the flashings that were needed. The design team had a few flashing prototypes made and in the end a custom designed flashing had to be created to accommodate the curved roof.

The curved portals on the property are particularly unique, innovative and aesthetic. The portals step up and down over box gutters to let natural light into the interior spaces, and they step in and out over the façade to create deep overhangs to accommodate shaded public spaces over the entrances of the building. This design element is what gives the building its unique appearance.

When working on a steel structure, attention to detail is of paramount importance as any design flaws and errors can be quite unforgiving. The contractors, engineers and architects worked well together to resolve any details as and when they arose. Ongoing inspections of the steel work and a culture of collaboration and innovation led to the successful outcome of Club 2.