Mixed-use buildings have increasingly gained popularity within the South African built environment. They combine residential accommodation, offices, retail, entertainment and recreational facilities. It is therefore crucial to take into consideration the air-conditioning load required to meet the occupancy levels and daily needs.

Most buildings in Cape Town’s CBD are multi-layered and as complex as their history. The majority of these historic buildings have been converted into mixed-use buildings with careful consideration not to decimate the entire building, and to maintain their beautiful facades. In the bustling city’s financial district sits the Foreshore Place – a 34-storey historic landmark built in the 1970s with majestic views of both Table Mountain and the city centre. KMH Architects helped transform the building into an ultra-modern mixed-use development. This high-rise building features a Samsung DVM system to meet several demands – those being air quality, eco-friendliness, comfort, smart controls and energy-consumption savings, just to name a few.

A strategic partnership

Andrew Kinnel, Mechanical Engineer of Spoormaker & Partners, and Leon Crause, Head of Business Development & Sales Engineer of Fourways Group, give a brief insight into the project’s success. Spoormaker & Partners approached Fourways Group to collaborate on the Foreshore Place HVAC project. Fourways are HVAC experts and the accredited sole distributors of all Samsung air conditioners in South Africa. “The brief was to convert the CBD’s iconic landmark into luxury accommodation, offices and retail stores. Thus we looked at various options and recommended Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems to meet the specification requirements and budget,” says Kinnel. During the first phase of the project, the 6th to the 13th floor consisted of hotel space, which has now been remodelled and replaced with 11 floors of luxury apartments. As part of the second phase, the focus was on upgrading the offices and retail stores. Fourways Group tendered an option for Samsung HVAC equipment to Spoormaker and Partners, namely the Samsung VRF (termed ‘DVM’) Heat Recovery System for phase one, the apartments. Esteemed air-conditioning contractors and a top dealer of Fourways Group, Coastal Airconditioning, were awarded the project.

The challenges

Kinnel also describes some of the challenges they met during the project. He explains, “We had to limit the amount of maximum refrigerant size, which resulted in several smaller DVM systems rather than the initially planned larger systems. Secondly, the plant placements also posed a challenge as the office VRF plant is located on the roof of the building while the residential plant is in the middle of the building and has been ducted against the façade to maintain the building’s historical look and feel.”

Fourways’ Engineering department embraced these challenges by offering custom VRF design assistance that would meet the day-to-day needs of users. Crause proudly mentions that Fourways offered Spoormaker the energy-efficient Samsung DVM systems with high COPs, lower input costs, electricity consumption monitoring, plus they can withstand South Africa’s climate conditions as well as the constant power cuts.

Product specification matters

The Samsung DVM systems meet all air-conditioning mixed-use needs and will significantly improve the environmental sustainability of the Foreshore Place. Some of the indoor units connected to DVM outdoors include the renowned WindFree Inverter 4-Way Cassettes and Ducted Inverter units, which are designed to provide purified air, and powerful heating and cooling. Large heating and cooling capacities, high energy efficiencies, sustainability, smart management, footprint, flexible installations, and reliability and ease of maintenance are some of the reasons why Spoormarker and Coastal were delighted to choose the Samsung DVM system.

Rory Lavis and Keith February of Coastal Airconditioning flexed their know-how to give a superlative installation. “Multiple DVM systems were installed, to the extent of 17 systems serving at least 190 indoor units across over 10 floors, with multiple office levels done as well,” Lavis says about the installation.

Residents of the new Foreshore Place can live, work and play while enjoying the efficiencies of Samsung’s air conditioners.