EBESA Architects

EBESA Architects were awarded the Tender to provide professional services in respect of major building works at the Cape Town Stadium. This was to improve the financial viability and smooth operations of the stadium through different interventions, including major alteration work around the provision of additional private suites, Mechanical, Electrical, IT and other works.

Information gained from visiting the various Stadiums in Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Cape Town gave the design team a unique insight into the various designs and workings of stadiums in South Africa.Insight into the different management strategies of the Stadiums were adopted to make their Suites a lucrative business asset and to gain a design feel for the different suites available at these various facilities.

These visits were valuable in establishing the optimum suite size as well as determining the combination of Suite suitability. Factors such as geographical position and social demographics were also taken into consideration with refining the design proposals.

The Design Team also engaged with the various role players such as Western Province Rugby, AJAX and Big Concerts to further refine the design needs the Stadium would have to follow.

The construction of the proposed new suites in the existing Cape Town Stadium required unique construction methods, very specific access restrictions, consideration of the operational requirements of the stadium and allowance for major world class events during the construction period. Due to Covid we did not have to accommodate event dates, and such saved allot of construction time.

The execution required intensive co-ordination and detailed project planning.

One of the remarkable aspects of this Project and Project Team, including the Client and Contractor, was that as a collective we worked together and were able to complete the construction during 2020 Covid restrictions and finish the Project on time and within the budget.

The Client brief was very detailed, and the requirements set as follows;

The existing business lounge was far to large and needed to be able to function as 3 different spaces, but also be flexible. This space needed to accommodate serving areas for the efficient use as function areas.

The internal layouts of the Suites vary according to the sizes that we could accommodate.

The floor plates per level and the obstruction of services played an intricate role in shaping the sizes.

Special care was taken to streamline the circulation from the major vertical circulation point to each suite. 

The Suite layouts also took into consideration service ability in general.

To achieve this, we expanded on the concept of warm up kitchens per level.  This provides more flexibility in menu options to the suite owners as well as service ability. Provision for an ice machine on each of the suite levels.

The team identified that we would require a refuse holding area per floor to store the refuse until such time as it can be transported to ground level.

In existing areas where we added a considerable number of new suites, we upgraded the ablution facilities to cope with the higher number of occupants per floor.

In the New construction areas, we built new suites, seating, ablutions, warm up kitchens, refuse holding areas and medical sick bay areas.

There are 3 different types of new and existing Suite’s in the Stadium.

Field Viewing Suites that have direct view and access to the Field view.

Scenic Suites, for the areas to the back of the corridors. These suites fill areas to the back of the stadium, which until now have been unused, or have formed part of large circulation spaces.

These suites are larger in size to compensate for the fact that they do not have a view of the field. However, they do have what no other stadium in the country has, a panoramic view of the sea and Table Mountain.

This view makes these suites a special experience and an option for those that cannot obtain a field viewing suite.

The seating for these Scenic Suites is located close by and gives easy access to seating during game times.

We further expanded on suite options with the concept of a ‘POD’ design. This design came about as an idea to utilise some of the deeper spaces we had available.

The Pod creates a unique experience in the sense that it is semi-permeable.  It is a more interactive suite that allows the passage space and Pod to read as one, eliminating long and dark corridors that would otherwise have been created with the more traditional suite layouts.

This brings an opportunity for a different market sector.  It is a more relaxed informal interactive space to enjoy an event at the stadium. 

Other changes to the current suite design at the stadium, is the glazing to the new suites.

We have opted for folding stacking doors to provide an experience of the entire suite being part of the action outside. The extended podium areas provide standing and socialising space that make the new suites unique.

The detail of works executed are summarised in the points below.

Existing Level 4

 Converting the existing Business lounge, located on the West side, into three smaller Business lounges. Existing bamboo flooring situated within the existing business lounge, to be removed and replaced with new wood like vinyl plank tiles. New wet rooms and cleaning equipment stores are added on the west side. Installation of new access control.

Existing Level 5

Forty-two new field viewing suites

Four new ablution facilities with some alterations to existing ablution facilities to accommodate the increased numbers.

Converting five existing open spaces to new Club lounge areas with bar facilities, East and West.

Two refuse holding areas and two medical rooms, East and West

Two refuse holding areas, North and South

Existing Level 6

Thirty-six new field viewing suites, East and West.

Four new public ablution facilities, East and West

Construction of 200 seat Anchor tenant lounge (VIP) with 2 assigned ablution areas with showers, allocated on the West

80 seat WAG lounge with 2 assigned ablution areas, West

Two Scenic view suites West and eight East

Four pods East wing.

Four warm-up kitchens, four refuse holding areas, four wet rooms and four medical rooms, East and West

Construction of new lift to level seven L07, West

Converting two existing storerooms to new kiosks, located on the North and South.

New Level 7

Thirty-two new field viewing suites, East and West.

Eight new scenic view suites, West and eight (8) new scenic view suites East.

Eight new suite ablution facilities, East and West

Extension of access stairs to level eight L08

Construction of two new disabled toilets, East and West

Construction of two warm-up kitchens, two (2) refuse holding areas, two (2) wet rooms and Two medical rooms, East and West

New lifts to level L08, West & East.

New ventilation, plumbing, electrical and electronic service shafts

Construction of new 8^th floor slab over.

New Level 8

Twenty-two new field viewing suites, East and West

Eight new suite ablution facilities, East and West

Two new disabled toilets, East and West

Two warm-up kitchens, two (2) refuse holding areas, two wet rooms and two medical rooms, East and West

Construction of new lifts from level L07, West

Construction of new ventilation, plumbing, electrical and electronic service shafts

Construction of new structural light weight steel roof over.

Construction of new cat ladder to roof access with roof walkways.

Our biggest challenges integrating the new build into an existing structure came in a few forms.

The removal of the existing façade, this had to be done by the suppliers from Germany, so that the Client did not lose their guarantee on the material. It then had to be stored and re installed by the same suppliers. This was made even more challenging with respect to travel restrictions due to Covid.

The structural load to be placed on the Stadium by adding the additional floors.

We had to really be mindful in our specifications not to add any extra load where not necessary.  This was in most cases the driving force behind specifying flooring, waterproofing, deck covering, glass, ceilings and roofing materials.

The access between the site establishment and the construction areas inside the Stadium was via temporary scaffolding access towers. These spanned across access roads.

 The movement of heavy material into the construction area without damaging the existing building was challenging.

The estimated weight of the heaviest load was to be 1.7t. All other building material would be grouped in same or lesser loads.

The positions identified for the mobile cranes was also be used for the parking of the concrete pumps.  The Podium could only carry a certain load and care needed to be taken with the position and movement of construction equipment and Trucks.

Material widely used within the construction of the Stadium areas were:

• Vinyl tile and sheet for the flooring. Due to its whit relative to other materials, durability
• Epoxy in wet areas and podiums
• Drywalling due to the weight and ease of accommodating services
• Echo phon ceiling panels and tiles due to its light weight and acoustic abilities
• New seating and VIP seating by Masakane
• Aluminium shopfronts, curtain walls and smoke screens
• Glass in shopfronts, curtain walls, smoke screens and splash backs.
• Steel in most of the vertical supports and roof structure
• Concrete to cast new podium and seating areas.
• Rhino wood stair treads for their durability, fire rating and maintenance free aspects
• Silestone for counter tops
• Tiles in new bathrooms
• Cubical Solutions for the bathroom partitioning
• Grohe, Lixil and Franke sanitary ware