Triggered by the Cape Town Water Crisis that began in 2015, the municipality commissioned this water treatment plant to recharge the aquifer. The plant comprises four linear shaped filtration buildings which are placed parallel to one another against an artificial slope, to move the water with gravity through the filters. We devised a facade strategy that gives depth to the building envelope and limits light levels for algae growth, by sheathing a line of angled brick fins with narrow, south facing openings within the linear planes of a concrete roof and floor. Door and window openings are then placed within the narrow openings to avoid puncturing the fins.

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An administrative component was placed at the head of the highest filtration building to welcome visitors and workers. While this component is conceived as part of the filtration building, its distinct function is indicated by a change in the rhythm and angle of the facade. The double volume glazed atrium is set back from the brick fin facade, which becomes a brise-soleil that provides solar protection while drawing the arrival space deeper into the building’s structure. The admin component’s layout ensures an enhanced user experience for plant workers occupying the ground floor, which contains locker rooms, mess facilities, a laboratory, MCC room and external braai area; and visitors or office workers on the first floor, which accommodates offices, a board room, mess facilities and the plant’s control room.