Askar Security Services Office Development
The office development is located in a 1.8 acre site on Plot 242, Bunamwaya Road, off Entebbe road, Lweza, about 12km out of Kampala City Centre. The site is accessed at the lowest part of the slope with the two double-storied office blocks seated elegantly at the highest part of the site. A driveway lined with lush landscaping leads to the parking area in front of the office buildings. From the office buildings, one views the training grounds and the guard house at the bottom of the site.
The slope informs the harmonious orientation of the accommodation on the site and ample size of the site enables the training grounds to act as a buffer between the administration activities and the training personnel. A ramp provides wheelchair access from the driveway into the office blocks.
At the site facing West, the sloping landscape is surrounded by lush green hills. It is a residential area with medium commercial activities. The adjacent site is the Lweza clays Depo, Roofings Ltd.
Besides the gravelled driveway and parking areas, the rest of the site is landscaped with various types of grass, shrubs and trees. To avoid erosion on the embankments, a special type of grass whose roots grip the soil and whose foliage covers the soil has been planted.
The trees provide some shade from the west sun. Grass blocks are used in the 1,000sqm area in which the guards will be training and parading.
Askar Security Services intends to contain all their activities on one site. These activities include: training of security officers both for local and international deployment. Their facilities are currently located in separate offices at Makindye and Kamwokya. The site at Lweza offers enough room to centralise all their business in an easily accessible environment, free from the congestion in the CBD and along the road to the airport.
Design Concept
The aesthetic concept for the office blocks was driven by a need to redefine the nature of openings in built forms. The obvious and most common approach to openings is punctured holes in walls. In this project,the architect explored the relationship between walls and openings as both horizontal and vertical planes. The result is a greater sense of lightness and transparency within the building.
The interplay of these planes was enhanced by the use of colour that made the composition more legible. The roof is a unifying entity resting ‘lightly’ on the glazing. The external materials used on the office blocks were block work, plaster, weather-guard external paint, steel for all steelwork and It4 sheets. For the interior the team went for ceramic and porcelain floor tiles. The ceiling was finished with a combination of painted slab soffits, Armstrong and plasterboard materials.
The office layout is a simple 5m: 2m: 5m grid system in the short elevation and a 5m grid system in the long elevation. The short elevation allowed for a clear demarcation of circulation and occupied spaces. The service cores are located at the end of the circulation areas. The double-volume void at the reception provided a grandeur and lightness to the otherwise small scale office blocks.
The link, a covered patio, joins the two blocks overlapping with the service towers acting as the ‘quotation marks’ of the composition.
The guard house, that contains the support facilities for the security personnel, is a simple rectilinear form with a covered shed spanning off along its side. This humble single-storied structural gesture ties in with the simple elegant language of the project.
Project Scope
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The office blocks cover a total area of 1,149sq. Each block contains:
- A reception area
- A meeting room
- A board room
- 2no. executive offices
- A cafeteria and kitchen
- Storage space
- Open-plan offices
- Toilets
- Fire escape
- Tank room Both offices share a server room and a strong room. There is also a two-room infirmary on one of the blocks.
- The 536sqm guard house contains:
- Ladies and gents changing rooms,
- Communications office and
- An armoury
- A kitchen containing energy saver stoves for the bulk cooking
- A large covered multi purpose shed The gate house links the main gate to the guardhouse. The generator space is located adjacent to the office buildings.
The key challenges to the project were the delays in municipal council and NEMA approvals which resulted in delays in project completion within the set program time. There was however a cordial relationship between the client and the consultant team. The client was quick to respond to queries thus easing the general flow of information with the project team.
Project Team
Architects & Project Managers: Symbion Uganda Ltd
Quantity Surveyor: Orion Associates
Structural, Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engineers: Proman Consult
Main Contractor: Wadia Construction Ltd
Mechanical Sub-contractor: Allied Plumbers
Electrical Subcontractors: Seehra Electricals
Structural Steel and roofing works: Steelworks
Aluminium: Casements
Waterproofing: Dipsi
Air-Conditioning: Appliance World
Landscaping: Plants for Africa
