Green bank boasts green building

Windhoek CBD skyline gets an upgrade
The Nedbank Namibia team recently inaugurated their new home.
Iréne-Mari van der Walt
After braving the challenges of constructing their new headquarters amidst the pandemic, Nedbank Namibia finally inaugurated their new campus building in the Windhoek central business district (CBD) on Tuesday.

According to architect Rowan McNamara, the 10-story hyper-modern structure has collaboration and the habitat at heart – remaining true to the principles Nedbank works diligently to honour.

“This building has people and the environment at the forefront,” explains McNamara who says that even the distinctive exterior geometric pattern is meant to project the ideals of the green bank to the surroundings.

“The forms and pattern-making are all inspired by the Nedbank logo,” he said at the inauguration on Nedbank Namibia’s sixth-floor sky garden this week. The garden boasts endemic and drought resistant plants as well as views of the iconic Christus Church and Independence Museum on one side and the rolling Windhoek hills to the other, with the bustling city centre below.

Together

McNamara explains the new home of Nedbank Namibia boasts a plethora of spaces that encourage connection or which incentivise alone-time to encourage innovation.

“We have created different spaces that encourage various forms of meeting – from formal meetings in boardrooms to informal encounters such as running into one another at elevators. We do not want employees to feel isolated on their floors,” the architect says.

A number of ‘quiet-rooms’ are intended to encourage employees not to be bound to their own offices or floors even if they need to use their time pensively.

Going Green

The Nedbank campus boasts a 5-star rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa and is now awaiting a decision on the awarding of a sixth star.

At any rate, this building is without a shadow of a doubt the greenest building in Namibia and a leader in environmentally conscious design.

Combining classic, clean lines with ultra-modern elements and a future green-vision, all while not forgetting Namibian heritage with the use of all-Namibian artwork, McNamara believes that “a new standard has been set.”