After five years of extensive renovations and refurbishments, Afroteq Advisory was part of the professional team who officially handed over the completed and elegant “75 on Plein” to Truworths on Friday, 12 November 2021.

Located in the heart of Cape Town’s Central Business District (CBD), Plein Street is steeped in history and is undoubtedly one of the Mother City’s most well-known boulevards. The Plein Park building was originally designed by KMH Architects in 1962 and housed the old Department of Justice.  Five decades later, KMH was re-appointed to give the old building a new lease on life by creating a modern and sleek aesthetic.

“What started out in 2016 as a relatively small project to design and execute the fit-out of two floors of the building for the Truworths’ call centre, turned into a major, four year project that saw the old brown and drab building from a forgotten era transformed into a 16 floor, state-of-the art office block that has been renovated according to world class Facilities Management and green building specifications,” says Pieter Vlok, Senior Project Manager at Afroteq Advisory Pty (Ltd).

Truworths tasked Afroteq with the responsibility of managing the diverse team of professionals and contractors involved in the project, and to ensure that the renovated building was not only aligned to Green Building Standards, but that best-in-class Facilities Management principles were also followed in the design, construction and operation phases so that the ongoing maintenance of the building would be as cost effective and efficient as possible. These extensive refurbishments include:

Installing new services infrastructure (from basement to roof), including new HVAC systems, fire protection and security upgrades.Refurbishing the main entrance and lobby situated on the ground floor in Plein StreetRenovating the 10th and 11th floors for the Truworths Group’s call centre and completing white box preparation of the 12th to 16th floors for future tenants.Installing a new lightweight structural steel extension of the 10th floor, as well as a contemporary, wraparound curtain wall façade made from performance glass as prominent new featuresInstalling a borehole water system and a mechanism to recycle grey water in order to reduce water consumptionSupporting a temperature-controlled environment with the use of blinds and shade controls, ventilation and sun control with the bespoke, perforated metal façade.

Speaking at the official launch of the building, Grant Young of Truworths said: “What an amazing journey this has been! We are all incredibly excited and proud of how the project evolved and turned out. The way this team of professionals worked with each other, epitomises the Truworths philosophy of working in teams and forming powerful partnerships.  Our sincere thanks and congratulations go to Afroteq Advisory, GVK Siya Zama Construction, KMH Architects, Bernard James & Partners as QS’s as well as consulting engineering firms KFD Wilkinson, TRIOCON and GIBB. Despite the many challenges they had to face along the way, each one of them worked tirelessly with passion, commitment and dedication to deliver an excellent project safely, on time and within budget”.

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truworths building two

Even before its completion, 75 on Plein attracted attention and won several industry awards for its building excellence, including being named the Site of the Year (2018), SHEQ construction manager of the year (2018), successful ISO audits (9001, 14001 and 45001), awarded second place in the MBA regional competition (2019), achieving an average of 90 % on internal audits and 95 % on external audits and an impressive 0.6 LTIFR (lost time due to injuries on site) for over more than 330 216 hours worked.

“We would like to thank Truworths for giving us the opportunity to manage the renovation project for them, and every professional team member who helped to successfully complete the project. It truly was an honour and a pleasure to work with such a diverse group of people with different areas of expertise, but with inexhaustible energy, commitment and determination. We have created something magnificent that will bear testimony to this passion for many generations to come,” Pieter concluded.