MACARANGA is Ecoworld first headquarters, these are offices and sales gallery conceived as an office work place opportunity that gave Zlgdesign an opportunity to introduce many low energy concepts, including mechanical and natural ventilation, an idea which had not found much favour in reputable corporations. Ecoworld’s Macaranga investigated and compared findings in researching long forgotten projects such as the IBM offices in Cosham and also the B1 type offices in Stockley Park, England and Norway’s Telenor’s Headquarters in Oslo and thereafter to embark on a unique concept which embraced all of the experiences evolved over many of zlgdesign’s current and recently completed projects, among them the Point92 office for OBYU corporation. It would seem appropriate for Ecoworld’s HQ Macaranga to move their workplace philosophy towards nature and natural appreciation but also with more awareness of all the prevalent concerns for energy conservation that would impact long term use of the large office building as well and which benefits workforce and staff morale. In this instance the project immediately migrated towards utilising façade materials accordingly to reflect these concerns, whether it would be a matter to reduce ACMV cooling loads or using better insulated glazing specifications to reduce heat gain, shading coefficients or daylight penetration and control and external awareness and orientation of building and other such phenomena as place making and also cultural features of the new workplace. This acknowledgement makes Macaranga a very gratifying office development to be experienced not only from concept design but also to the execution of the building. After visiting the Telenor offices, zlgdesign established how break out areas and informal zones within an organisation becomes critical and vital for improved productivity and in enhancing staff morale. Proximity of workstations and people to their external environment for example, as is also the concern for hospital design or healthcare design have become so essential that it is no longer acceptable for many buildings to have deep plans. In Macaranga zlgdesign adopts the same fundamental principles to ensure compliance with acceptable standards of daylight factor and air quality as is demarcated for any world class work environments. Whereas for the meeting areas and VIP rooms we would keep the span of offices as optimum as possible to optimise dependency on artificial lighting. Macaranga has three distinctive features and components, namely the podium or the headquarters office, the sales gallery and the fingers or elevated offices on the roof. The roof deck (on the podium) is generally designed to hold outdoor events and activities including open air banquets, musical performances and cinematic projections. The fingers have spaces for VIP personnel and the public, providing vantage areas to enjoy an elevated view of the forest and the existing Macaranga or Mahang trees, which would be kept in their original state. The sales gallery on the other hand, has an approach that celebrates water elements and lush greenery and announces the high esteem of the client and their great affinity to nature. zlgdesign introduce lots of water bodies and densely planted trees along the full length of the driveway on approach as well as throughout the length of the drop wall of the lower ground car park. Brick veneer of three shades has been selected and designed to be placed randomly along the elevated structures of the finger buildings. On the lower deck we will use marine plywood, a material that is very challenging to use for facades, but that which would give the precise quality of warmth and sophistication that is the philosophy of this workplace. These are relocatable and will be moved or whereas for the second inner glass layer, we expect most of these to be fixed. Both facades evoke natural materials and will provide the offices a natural ambiance which is the aim of the project. The dramatic experience is enjoyed on arrival and approach with two of the elevated finger buildings projecting across the driveway, and also along with the views of the forest of the mahang trees, these are seen from the lower deck of the podium as well as from the majestic heights of the elevated fingers which traverse deeply into the thick of the forest trees which will be kept in their completely original state.
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