Mercedes-Benz Dealership

Project Details:

Value: R31.0m
Date: 2015
Client: RPP Developments
Architect: DBM Architects

The Mercedes-Benz dealership was constructed in a mixed-development node between Paarl and Klapmuts on the Old Paarl Road that runs parallel to the N1. The building’s design included a showroom floor, a workshop, a spares department and a client services area, with a mezzanine floor level for offices.

Mercedes-Benz dealership’s design had a characteristic Mercedes blueprint: a large glass facade and showroom for the cars. Glass facades can present many challenges due to the high wind loads they need to be able to carry, so wind speeds in that area of Paarl had to be taken into consideration.

Construction projects can produce very memorable events. The Mercedes build produced such an incident during the early phase of the development. The construction team had just completed the building’s support columns and had not started to put up the overhead structure when a truck travelling on the Suid-Agter Paarl Road towards the N1 experienced a break failure. The truck overshot the stop sign at the bottom of the flyover and only came to a stop on the dealership’s future showroom floor. At the time Isipani advised the owners of the development to build a barrier to prevent a similar incident from occurring once the glass facade was up and the showroom full of valuable vehicles.