+IMPACT MAGAZINE ISSUE 22

For application-specific Release Oils
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Liberty Two Degrees (L2D) is an internally managed
Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with a large
property portfolio that focuses primarily on
precinct developments and operates largely in
the retail sector. As a company, it has set high sustainability
targets for itself, constantly focusing on how it can improve
the performance and reduce the environmental impact of
all the buildings in its portfolio.
In April 2021, the fit-out of L2D’s new head office,
called the Liberty Two Degrees Innovation Hub, was
completed. It comprised a little less than a thousand
square metres of office space on the third floor of the West
Office Block tower at Sandton’s Nelson Mandela Square.
L2D already owns the precinct, which incorporates
Sandton City Shopping Centre, Nelson Mandela Square,
Atrium on 5th and Sandton Office Tower, which itself
is 6-Star Green Star rated. In September 2022, the new
office fit-out was 6-Star Green Star rated, using the
Interiors V1 tool.
CORPORATE VISION
By 2018, when L2D was reconfigured and listed as a
corporate REIT, the company was already formalising
its environmental targets. The project’s main goal is to
create spaces for people that are built using four main
building blocks: GOOD, SMART, INTERACTIVE and
SAFE Spaces. The Good, Smart and Interactive building
blocks are underpinned by the SAFE Spaces building
block, which ensures that its environments adhere to
the highest standards of hygiene, care and security, says
GBCSA Chair, Brian Unsted who is the asset management
executive heading up GOOD Spaces.
DEFINING PRINCIPLES
Unsted explains, “The decision to pursue this rating for
our offices stemmed from our sharp focus on the longterm
sustainability of L2D, including the achievement
of Existing Building Performance ratings (EBPs) across
our entire portfolio and ambitious net-zero targets, while
enhancing our distinctiveness and competitive edge.”
L2D’s project lead for this fit-out, Saadiyah Kahn says,
“The project itself was supported on four main ‘pillars’
that are a combination of L2D’s strategic building blocks
and are key business enablers.” The pillars of Good,
Smart, Well and Design were identified and fleshed out
through engagement with the project team and other
stakeholders. They were defined as being answers to the
new requirements for a future-fit office environment,
particularly in a post-pandemic corporate world.
“I thought they were joking when they showed me the
space because it was this long corridor (between the two
internal atria of the Nelson Mandela Square mall), with
a big semi-circular space at the end of it, opening out
over the square itself,” proclaims Edmund Batley, design
lead for the architects, Batley Partners International. “It
has an amazing urban presence, but we couldn’t think
how we were going to make it work efficiently. It was
the opposite of an ideal square or rectangular space and
instead resembled a tree and its trunk. It became a ‘tree
of life’ story that evolved and L2D continues to support
this green design theme.”
The design is intended to stimulate
all five senses.
PROJECT
A woodland artwork brings nature and
life into a large corporate boardroom.
Colour and nature meander down the tight passage
running through the odd office footprint shape.
A rope art piece adds to a casual meeting space.
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
15