Marc Sherratt Sustainability Architects (MSSA)
MSSA is a radical architectural practice pushing the boundaries of what sustainability means on the African continent. They remain the only architectural practice in South Africa to have designed and certified buildings in all four GBCSA Net Zero categories, namely Carbon, Water, Waste & Ecology. They specialise in leading interdisciplinary teams in solving “wicked” African problems in contexts such as informal settlements, rural healthcare and urban wildlife migration.
Fast Facts
Client: dsm firmenich (Pty) Ltd, a Swiss based flavour & fragrance manufacturer with offices around the world.
Building location: Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Outcome: First Net Positive Ecology – Level 2 (Operational Ecology) project for South Africa, certified by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).
Sustainability features
- Regenerated 1500 sqm of the original vegetation type of the site called Egoli Granite Grassland, which is a Critically Endangered ecosystem.
- Planted over 4000 plants and 140 species from this vegetation type.
- Highlighted scent, flavour and medical qualities of the plants in a sensory pathway.
- Five year biodiversity monitoring project underway to track the biodiversity increase that locally indigenous, high biodiversity planting can create in urban areas.
