Portside – A Building For The People of Cape Town

View over Cape Town from the Portside building [Image by Property Wheel]

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Today, FirstRand Bank hosted a media tour of its 5-Star Green Star SA rated regional office in Cape Town, offering a spectacular 360 degree view of the World Design Capital 2014.

The Portside building in the Cape Town CBD is a joint initiative between FirstRand Bank and Old Mutual. The overall Portside project offers 57 000m² of office space and 1444 parking bays.

The 139m high building is the provincial headquarters of the various divisions of FirstRand, namely: FNB, RMB and Wesbank, as well as its asset management arm Ashburton. The section owned by Old Mutual has a retail and office component that will be leased.  A vibrant mix of cafes and restaurants occupy the ground floor of the building along with a new FNB branch, revitalising the street life in this rapidly evolving part of the city

“FNB has a strong presence in Cape Town and the Western Cape. Our investment in Portside is an extension of our continued commitment to investing in the development of the city and region,” said Stephan Claassen, FNB Provincial Head for the Western Cape.

“Our message is that we are serious about this region and this country, we are committed to being a responsible organisation looking after the environment and our staff, and we want to make this a building for the people of Cape Town. The intention is to host various activities at the building that will benefit the community of Cape Town, and showcase key attributes of our beautiful city,” he adds.

During the tour of the building, guests were taken through the finer architectural details which set apart the premises. The internal aesthetics include a touch of international design principles, a balance between professional and innovative finishes, as well as the functionality of the engine room.

 Explaining the architectural approach, Derick Henstra from dhk architects described the Portside as a timeless 21^st century building, a modern classic. “A thoroughly collaborative design process ensured that the building expresses the vision that the client (FirstRand and Old Mutual) had for Portside. The city of Cape Town is set within an extraordinary landscape and Portside was designed to become a landmark while being considerate to its immediate surroundings. It engages with the public realm at a human scale and provides a superior working environment for its occupants. It is testament to the clients’ vision for this significant development in Cape Town.”

The bulk of the construction and fit-out of the building finished in May this year and the various brands within FirstRand started moving into the premises in June.