Offices designed for the way your people actually work

Midrand sits between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and its office market reflects that: owner-occupiers who want a base close to both, landlords building for tenants, and growing firms that have outgrown rented space. TMSMT Construction builds for all three.

An office is judged on small things: whether the boardroom has a daylight glare problem, whether there are enough plug points, whether the air conditioning is audible. We plan for those details at design stage.

Briefing and layout

We begin by asking how many people will work in the building now and in future, how they work, and how visitors move through it. Open-plan, cellular and hybrid layouts demand different services. Reception, meeting rooms, server space, kitchenettes and ablutions should be sized from the brief and not guessed.

Our architects translate that brief into plans that respect the stand's zoning, coverage and parking requirements. Parking is often what limits floor area, so it is addressed upfront.

Structure and envelope

Most offices use a reinforced concrete or steel frame with masonry or glazed infill. Floor spans should leave room for flexible layouts, and the building envelope needs to manage heat and glare, which in Gauteng's strong sunlight often means shading, quality glazing and good insulation.

Roof drainage and waterproofing deserve attention, because flat roofs and parapets are common in office buildings and Highveld storms test them every summer.

Sustainability is increasingly a tenant expectation. Shading, efficient lighting, solar provision and water-saving fittings all reduce operating costs, and they help a building let.

Services

Services make up a large share of the cost and complexity of an office. Electrical, data, air conditioning, fire detection, lighting, plumbing and access control must be coordinated in the ceiling void and risers so they do not collide on site.

Acoustics are often overlooked. Hard surfaces, open plans and air conditioning noise can make a handsome office tiring to work in, so we discuss ceiling treatments, partition construction and equipment placement before they are fixed in concrete and plasterboard.

• Electrical distribution with spare capacity, plus inverter or generator backup for essential circuits
• Structured cabling and conduits for fibre and data
• Air conditioning or ventilation sized for occupancy and solar gain
• Water supply, tanks and pumps to ride through municipal interruptions
• Fire detection, extinguishers and escape signage as required by the regulations

Approvals and accessibility

Offices must comply with SANS 10400, including requirements for fire safety, energy usage and access for people with disabilities. Ramps, accessible ablutions and suitable parking bays are usually required for public-facing and larger buildings. Our building plan approvals service prepares the submission and tracks it with the municipality.

Electrical and plumbing installations are signed off with certificates of compliance at completion. See electrical certificates.

Building in phases or around tenants

Handover for an office includes more than keys. Staff need working data points, signage, access cards and a building that has been commissioned, which means air conditioning balanced, fire systems tested and electrical circuits labelled. We build a commissioning period into the programme so that move-in day is not also the day everything is tested for the first time.

If you are extending an occupied building, we phase the work to protect staff and clients: dust screens, restricted noisy hours, secure site boundaries and clear communication. If you are building for tenants, we discuss the standard of the core and shell and what the tenants will fit out themselves. For interior-only projects, see office and retail fit-outs.

Ready to talk? Request a site visit and bring your brief, even if it is rough.