                       ENGINEERING BLOCK 3 AND MAIN ENTRANCE, UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA The erection of the new Parkade/Engineering Building, main entrance and upgrade of the adjacent Aula Building won an award at the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) 2013 awards ceremony for Mixed Use Development. It was the largest single construction project in the history of the University of Pretoria (UP). The project came about as a result of of an announcement in 2006 by the Department of Education regarding their intention of allocating funding to five universities to increase the number of engineering graduates. The additional engineering facilities were built to accommodate the annual growth in student numbers as per UP’s long term strategy. Partnership, during the design process, with the University ensured continuity of the campus plan. Engagement with the Botany Department guaranteed the extension of the existing Botanical Garden, which was developed using a carefully thought through planting palette and the use of specimen plants sourced directly from the University’s green houses. In addition, an integrated approach to the irrigation design ensured that harvested water is pumped from a basement storage tank that is filled with roof and seepage water and topped up, when necessary, with borehole water from an existing supply line adjacent to the building. |