University of the Witwatersrand Flower Hall Test & Examination Centre

The Flower Hall at the University of the Witwatersrand was used as an exams venue. Originally part of the infrastructure of the Showgrounds, acquired in the mid 1980s, the Flower Hall was designed to house the flower displays of the Wits Agricultural Society at the annual Rand Easter Show. It was completed for the 1969 Rand Easter Show. The Flower Hal is an iconic building on the university campus. Anyone who sat and wrote a June examination in the Wits Flower Hall will recall how cold and uncomfortable a space it was to write exams in. The building is constructed as an industrial ‘shed’ with four modules. The modules correspond to a structural system consisting of four sections of a barrel roof supported on a steel arched member following the plan of the building with splayed walls at these junctions. South facing glazed roof lights sit between each segment of roof continuing down vertically into a series of side windows at each bay. The building was structurally innovative in relation to its structure and original services that supported its functionality as an exhibition building. The University identified the Flower Hall and adjacent Goldfields Laboratories Building (originally Control (Government) Board Building for redevelopment – the first phase – now completed, as a test and examination centre, and in the future, the building will be further modified to house Shared Services Engineering Research Laboratories. In terms of adaptive Reuse, the design had to put in place the elements and services that would make a functional exam venue and be flexible to accommodate the future envisaged use of the building. Essentially, a new structure was built within the envelope of the building. Two new floor plates, one full floor and a mezzanine, were inserted into the Flower Hall volume. The buildings functional area for seating is effectively doubled. A new connecting infill building – the ‘north lobby’ connects the Flower Hall to the Goldfields building and houses the circulation elements connecting the two buildings. A new ‘south’ lobby was inserted into the first bay of the Flower Hall with staircases leading to the new floors. This area also contains toilet facilities. The existing steel glass curtain wall to the south façade was replaced with a new glazed curtain wall. New services are provided to support the use of the building in an energy efficient way. This includes lighting, HVAC and a chilled beam system which heats and cools the building. In terms of the concept of adaptive Reuse of the building, it is acknowledged that the life of buildings is extended by changing and adapting them to other contemporary uses. The significance of the building is maintained through minimizing the impact of change on the physical fabric of the building through balancing heritage requirements and the requirements of a contemporary working environment.