Portside

Cape Town
  • Facts
Height 136.4 m / 448 ft
Floors 30
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Portside

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Completed, 2014

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

South Africa

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Cape Town

Address

2 Buitengracht Street

Postal Code

8001

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

office

Structural Material
Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered a “steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Reinforced Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars.

Precast Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning system are constructed from steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. steel, concrete, timber), one on top of the other. For example, a steel/concrete indicates a steel structural system located on top of a concrete structural system, with the opposite true of concrete/steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used in a composite building’s core, columns, and floor spanning separately.

concrete

Energy Label

5 Star Green Star

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

136.4 m / 448 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
136.4 m / 448 ft
Occupied
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest occupied floor within the building.
105.9 m / 347 ft
Observatory
105.9 m / 347 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

30

Floors Below Ground
The number of floors below ground should include all major floors located below the ground floor level.

5

# of Parking Spaces
Number of Parking Spaces refers to the total number of car parking spaces contained within a particular building.

1382

# of Elevators
Number of Elevators refers to the total number of elevator cars (not shafts) contained within a particular building (including public, private and freight elevators).

22

Top Elevator Speed
Top Elevator Speed refers to the top speed capable of being achieved by an elevator within a particular building, measured in meters per second.

3.5 m/s

Tower GFA
Tower GFA refers to the total gross floor area within the tower footprint, not including adjoining podiums, connected buildings or other towers within the development.

116,000 m² / 1,248,614 ft²

Construction Schedule
2010

Proposed

2011

Construction Start

2014

Completed

Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
WSP Group
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
Civil
WSP Group
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Elevator
Schindler
Owner
FirstRand Bank; Old Mutual Properties
Developer
Eris Property Group; Old Mutual Properties
Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
dhk Architects Pty Ltd; Louis Karol Architects
Structural Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
WSP Group
Peer Review

The Peer Review Engineer traditionally comments on the information produced by another party, and to render second opinions, but not to initiate what the design looks like from the start.
Aurecon
MEP Engineer
Design

The Design Engineer is usually involved in the front end design, typically taking the leadership role in the Schematic Design and Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
Benatar Consulting; BFBA; Claassen Auret International; Spoormaker & Partners, Inc
Peer Review

The Peer Review Engineer traditionally comments on the information produced by another party, and to render second opinions, but not to initiate what the design looks like from the start.
Matrix Consulting Services
Project Manager

The CTBUH lists a project manager when a specific firm has been commissioned to oversee this aspect of a tall building’s design/construction. When the project management efforts are handled by the developer, main contract, or architect, this field will be omitted.
Absolute Project Management; Metrum Project Management; SIP Project Managers
Main Contractor

The main contractor is the supervisory contractor of all construction work on a project, management of sub-contractors and vendors, etc. May be referred to as "Construction Manager," however, for consistency CTBUH uses the term "Main Contractor" exclusively.
Murray & Roberts
Other Consultant

Other Consultant refers to other organizations which provided significant consultation services for a building project (e.g. wind consultants, environmental consultants, fire and life safety consultants, etc).
Acoustics
MacKenzie Hoy Consulting Acoustic Engineers
Civil
Clive Newsome; WSP Group
Fire
Solution Station
Food Service
Cookchill
Life Safety
Ukhuseleko Health & Safety
Preservation
Ashley Lillie Heritage Specialist
Quantity Surveyor
AECOM; De Leeuw Group
Sustainability
Agama Energy
Traffic
HHO Africa Infrastructure Engineers
Vertical Transportation
Proji-Tech; WAC Projects
Material Supplier

Material Supplier refers to organizations which supplied significant systems/materials for a building project (e.g. elevator suppliers, facade suppliers, etc).
Cladding
Mazor Group
Electrical
Brand Engineering
Elevator
Schindler
Flooring
Penta Flooring
HVAC
Aster International

About Portside

Portside is the first high-rise to ascend in Cape Town for more than two decades, and is now its tallest. The banking headquarters building is becoming a landmark in the emerging financial district of Cape Town, capitalizing on the magnificent panoramas of Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean.

The building is about 10 meters shorter than the permitted height, so as to limit visual impact in relation to the larger urban and geographical context of the city and Table Mountain. The architectural quality and material selection were crucial in terms of mediating Portside’s relationship to the public realm. Street level activation, appropriate scale, legibility and permeability were the main vehicles for addressing social context and urban regeneration. The use of LED lighting, storm water recapture, low-embodied-energy materials, and the provision of individually marked, removable and recyclable unitized façade panels earned Portside a 5 Green Star Design rating, the first tall building in South Africa to do so.

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