New swanky offices for Msimanga and co

The office of the Tshwane mayor and other city departments have begun their major office relocation to the newly built City of Tshwane headquarters called Tshwane House in the Pretoria city centre.

The new headquarters is one of the first government buildings to target a Five-Star Green Star SA certification within a public-private partnership.

The building – on the site of the old Munitoria building – was designed to provide a comfortable, healthy and productive working environment for its occupants, with an overall environmental strategy encompassing transport, indoor environmental quality, energy, water and waste.

A wing of the Munitoria building was destroyed by fire in March 1997 and was never rebuilt.

Expressing his pleasure at the milestone, Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga said it would result in better coordination and effectiveness of services, as all departments would now be under one roof.

“Equally exciting is that the new budget and integrated development plan have been approved and our work can now begin,” he said.

“It feels like a new chapter altogether and we are looking forward to serving our residents under these renewed conditions.”

Msimanga said he was particularly looking forward to the centrally located council chamber.

“It is a separate structure altogether, with its own iconographic, formal architecture that makes it recognisable as an iconic landmark. Tshwane House is indeed synonymous with the identity of the city, where decisions about the city will be made, and the future of the city moulded,” he said.

The initial design of Tshwane House incorporated a basement parking structure with a “citadel-type” building on top, accessed through a single doorway – a solution that did not suit the public at all.

A cost-effective design was introduced by dropping the building to street level and creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

A park has been incorporated on the eastern side of the site, which can be opened for public functions.

This area provides space for a possible future extension to Tshwane House, which will be linked to the first phase by a corridor.