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This 18th edition of DESIGN>MAGAZINE is dedicated to design excellence – specifically in the field of architecture – and reflects Wright’s belief of designing from the heart rather from the brain. These are also the foundations on which DESIGN>MAGAZINE’s media partnerships with the World Architecture Festival and Architecture.ZA2010 are based .
Citation preview
“Architecture is the work of nations”
“And just as we acquaint ourselves with materials, just as we must understand
functions, so we must become familiar with the psychological and spiritual factors
of our day. No cultural activity is possible otherwise; for we are dependent on the
spirit of our time.”
“Architecture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly,
but the most surely, on the soul”
“All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that
contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space.”
“Architecture is the work of nations” – John Ruskin
“And just as we acquaint ourselves with materials, just as we must understand
functions, so we must become familiar with the psychological and spiritual factors
of our day. No cultural activity is possible otherwise; for we are dependent on the
spirit of our time.” – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
“Architecture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly,
but the most surely, on the soul” – Ernest Dimnet
“All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that
contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space.” – Philip Johnson
16 > World Architecture Festival honours the best of the best
66 > Architecture.ZA2010: Event + City
88 > BBA: Diversity at its best
95 > BAI increases its global footprint
110 > Excellence by design: Boogertman + Partners
124 > In conversation with Elmo Swart: It's all about the essence
136 > Born into architecture: Francois Marais Architects
7 >
CONTENTS
146 > Osmond Lange: 80 years in the making
158 > Sebideng Brewery – Transitions in an African landscape
169 > Driven by diversity: PGA Architects in focus
177 > Studio 3 Architects International
189 > PRECIOSA lighting decorates futuristic Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi
196 > The deep image
204 > Brian Steinhobel: Smart industrial design
212 > The 32nd annual Loerie awards
230 > PG Bison 1.618 Awards
1. See in 3-D
1. Place the below images directly parallel to your face, but be sure to view it from a distance
of no less than 70cm without zooming in. 2. Be sure to hold your head at a perfect horizontal
angle. 3. Relax your eyes and stare at the two black dots below the images. 4. Now skew your
eyes slightly without changing focus until you see four dots. 5. Keep skewing your eyes until
the two middle dots overlap. 6. Keeping that gaze fixed, raise your eyes to view the 3-D image.
8 >
There’s a new place for creative minds.
With our database of thousands of professionals and positions from architecture to web design, you’ll discover just the job to inspire you or the ideal bright spark for your company. Upload your CV or search today and find all your creative resources in one place. How’s that for an idea? Visit pnet.co.za
EURO
RSC
G 48
47/E
11 >
FOREWORD
Frank Lloyd Wright once said that “A great architect
is not made by way of a brain nearly so much as he
is made by way of a cultivated, enriched heart.”
This 18th edition of DESIGN>MAGAZINE is dedicated
to design excellence – specifically in the field of archi-
tecture – and reflects Wright’s belief of designing
from the heart rather from the brain. These are also
the foundations on which DESIGN>MAGAZINE’s
media partnerships with the World Architecture
Festival and Architecture.ZA2010 are based .
It goes without saying that the world has witnessed
an architectural boom over the past few years. Lead-
ing up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africans
particularly experienced this with massive infra-
structure developments happening in all nine prov-
inces, and for many it felt like we were living on a
massive construction site. Most developments re-
lated to the World Cup were well-publicised and
particularly prominent was Boogertman + Partners’
design of Soccer City which was awarded for its archi-
tectural brilliance in the Sport Category at the re-
cently held World Architecture Festival (WAF) in
Barcelona.
South Africa, like most other countries, is an architec-
tural wonderland of great, good, mediocre, bad and
‘break that building down’ developments, most of
which don’t get the publicity that the stadiums
and Gautrain have received. Yet, in this special edi-
tion of DESIGN>MAGAZINE, we feature several
other recent developments that have just as much
right for recognition.
The wonders and blunders of what you see in this
edition is what we have to live with, and we take some
of these under close scrutiny.
Our challenge is to get the message across to corpo-
rates to take a little more cognisance when planning
and commissioning their new headquarters and to
get the same message across to consumers to ex-
pect more. It’s the consumers that have to look at
the buildings from the outside all day long, while
the people working in them don’t get that privilege
and therefore can’t really comment.
It is pertinent to note that the architects that are
driving ‘good design’ – design that is founded in the
heart of society rather than its brain – are also the
architects that are conscious of the brands that
they represent, the environment, the users of
structures and the citizens of the spaces where
these are located.
Cameron Bramley, Publisher
THE FUTURE IS MADE OF SAINT-GOBAINGreen^
Customer Contact Centre: 0860 27 28 29
Saint-Gobain Construction Products offers a complete through-the-wall energy efficient construction system solution that meets the requirements of SANS 10400XA and SANS 204
13 >
CREDITS
PUBLISHER >
Cameron Bramley
GROUP EDITOR >
Jacques Lange
CONTRIBUTORS >
Lois Aitchison, Craig Atkins, Jennie Fourie, Francois
Marais, Colleen Petrie, Stacey Rowan, Richard Stone
SALES TEAM >
Geri Adolphe, François Fassler, Rachel Harper,
Chenesai Madzvamuse, Jeff Malan
PRODUCTION >
Stacey Rowan, Charl Lamprecht
ADMINISTRATION & ACCOUNTS >
Michelle Swart
CREATIVE DIRECTOR >
Jacques Lange
DESIGN & LAYOUT >
Bluprint Design
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY >
Leon Krige for BOOGERTMAN + PARTNERS
PUBLISHED BY >
DESIGN>MAGAZINE
T: +27(0) 82 882 8124
F: +27 (0) 86 678 8448
W: www.designmagazine.co.za
Blog: www.designmagazine.co.za/wordpress/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DESIGNarrow
© 2010 DESIGN>MAGAZINE
ISSN 1814-7240
Number 18, November 2010
DISCLAIMER: No material may be reproduced in part or whole without the express permission of the
publisher. No responsibility will be accepted for unsolicited material. The publisher accepts no liability
of whatsoever nature arising out of or in connection with the contents of this publication. The pub-
lisher does not give any warranty as to the completeness or accuracy of its contents. The views and
opinions expressed in DESIGN>MAGAZINE are not necessarily those of the publisher, its endorsers,
sponsors or contributors.
14 >
Endorsers Media partnerships
16 >
By Jacques Lange
WORLD ARCHITECTURE FESTIVAL HONOURS THE BEST OF THE BEST
17 >
For three days in early November the world’s archi-
tecture aficionados waited in suspense as the
World Architecture Festival (WAF) unhurriedly an-
nounced the 25 category winners of its 2010 awards.
As in the past two years since the WAF awards’ in-
ception, the competition was fierce and the panel
of 66 jurors – comprised of architects, allied pro-
fessionals, clients and critics – had the grueling
task of selecting the best of the best from 512 en-
tries and 236 short-listed finalists.
Finally, the jury was honed down to a panel of four
(the super-jury) who had the unadmirable respon-
sibility of selecting the World Building of the Year
award from all the category winners. The 2010
super-jury comprised of Arata Isozaki, Barry Bergdoll,
Enrique Norten, Hanif Kara and Kathryn Gustafson.
In the previous two years, the super-juries opted to
award the top accolade to lesser-known international
architects: Peter Rich Architects (Johannesburg) in
2009 for the Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre
in South Africa; and Irish practice, Grafton Archi-
tects (Dublin) in 2008 for the Luigi Bocconi Univer-
sity, Milan. However, this year they chose MAXXI,
National Museum of XXI Century Arts, designed by
Zaha Hadid Architects.
The award is well-deserved, since Zaha Hadid
(project leader on MAXXI) is one of the most
prominent and innovative living architects in the
world. It is not surprising that her surname means
‘rejoicing’ and ‘sharp’. Testimony to this is that she
became the first female recipient of the Pritzker
Architecture Prize in 2004 – architecture's equiva-
lent of the Nobel Prize – as well as receiving
around 50 other prestigious awards since 2005.
Hadid has a truly unique way of interpreting space,
form and light but her true genius comes to the
19 >
fore when she addresses complex and amorphous
sites such as that of MAXXI. The WAF jury said that
MAXXI “is the outcome of a serendipitous mar-
riage between a complex site, a sympathetic pro-
gramme and the demands of a building type which
allows for sculptural interpretive spaces.”
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Paul Finch, con-
tent director of WAF, said that the judges de-
scribed MAXXI as ‘a volume that takes its place in
a very happy way in the volume of the city. It is like
an unwound Guggenheim, with ribbons of connec-
tive space. It is a building that will still be talked
about in the history of architecture in 50 years
time.”
Finch continued to also praise the diversity of other
buildings that were competing for the 2010 World
Building of the Year award. “We saw a great set of
contrasts in architecture, from an individual house
that an architect had designed for his mother, to a
park in Shanghai, to our winner. It strikes us how
quickly good ideas move around the world.”
Other winners of the top five accolades awarded
by the super-jury were: The Arc (Palestinian Occu-
pied Territory), designed by Suisman Urban Design
(USA), who won the award for Future Project of
the Year; ANZ Centre, Melbourne, designed by
HASSELL (Australia), who won the award for Inte-
riors Fit Out of the Year; V&A Medieval & Renais-
sance Galleries (London), designed by MUMA
(United Kingdom), who won Structural Design of
the Year; and Robin Bankert, Michael Murphy,
Caroline Shannon and Joseph Wilfong from Uni-
versity of Harvard for the Campus Catalyst Project
(set in Port au Prince, Haiti), who won the AECOM
+ URBAN SOS Transformations student competition.
MAXXI, National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome, Italy,
designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
Photos: Iwan Baan, Helene Binet, Roland Halbe.
2010 CATEGORY WINNERS: COMPLETED BUILDINGS
CIVIC AND COMMUNITY
Twelve finalists competed in this category, including:
An Gaeláras – Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin (O'Donnell +
Tuomey), Churchill Community Hub (Suters Archi-
tects), City of Justice (David Chipperfield Architects
& b720 Arquitectos), Halden Prison (Erik Møller Arki-
tekter & HLM Arkitektur AS), Herstedlund Community
Centre (Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter), Ipswich Justice
Precinct (Cox Rayner Architects & ABM Architects),
Mirage Dancehall (Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture),
St Martin-in-the-Fields (Eric Parry Architects), Surry
Hills Library and Community Centre (Francis-Jones
Morehen Thorp), The Supreme Court of New Zealand
(Warren and Mahoney), Tripoli Congress Center
(tabanlioglu architects) and Yesil Vadi Mosque (Ad-
nan Kazmaoglu MAM Architectural Research Center).
20 >
The final category winner was City of Justice, located
in Barcelona, Spain. According to the designers,
David Chipperfield Architects (United Kingdom),
Barcelona’s new law courts complex breaks down
the 240 000 m2 programme into nine buildings,
four of which are linked by a continuous four-storey
high concourse building.
Previously, the various legal departments of the
governments of Barcelona and l’Hospitalet were
scattered in 17 buildings across the two neighboring
cities, with functional frustrations for both users
and employees. The new conjoined City of Justice
aims to improve efficiency and allows working
spaces to adapt and absorb the constant transfor-
mation of the judicial body as well as provide re-
serve space for future growth.
The site was previously occupied by military bar-
racks and is located adjacent to both Gran Via, a
major access route into the centre of Barcelona
from the south, and Carrilet, an artery leading to
l’Hospitalet. The position provides optimum acces-
sibility to the city and major metropolitan routes
on both public and private transport. The principal
proposition of the project breaks down the mas-
sive programme into a series of separate but inter-
related blocks on a public plaza, giving a spatial
composition that attempts to break the rigid and
monolithic image of justice.
A group of four large judicial buildings are situated
around the perimeter of a linking concourse build-
ing. They generally contain courtrooms at ground
floor and a further three floors. All of these floors
are accessed directly from the concourse building,
which acts as a filter. The concourse building also
gathers people at the start and completion of their
judicial visit within a central public room, which over-
looks the exterior plaza. Four other independent
City of Justice, Barcelona, Spain,
designed by David Chipperfield Architects.
Photos: Christian Richters.
buildings comprise a judicial services building for
l’Hospitalet, a forensic sciences building, and two
commercial buildings with retail facilities at
ground floor.
The WAF judges said: “The City of Justice cleverly
uses the urban relationship with the dense con-
text and urban views from Gran Via axis, combined
with the subtlety of the compromise between the
functional and the formal definition of the com-
plex. The volumetric complexity and the composi-
tion of the different buildings in different colours
and heights, relate to a unique palette of windows/
voids and façade solutions.”
22 >
CULTURE
As in previous years, the Culture Category was
fiercely competitive with 14 finalists, including:
Ashmolean (Rick Mather Architects), Dhoby Ghaut
Green (SCDA Architects Pte. Ltd.), Freedom Park //
hapo Museum (GAPP Architects/Urban Designers,
Mashabane Rose Associates, MMA Architects),
Grand Canal Theatre (Studio Daniel Libeskind), La
Llotja Theatre and Congress Centre (Mecanoo in
collaboration with Labb arquitectura), Lyon House-
museum (Lyons), MAXXI, National Museum of XXI
Century Arts (Zaha Hadid Architects), Medieval &
Renaissance Galleries (MUMA), Midtåsen Skulptur-
park (Lund Hagem Arkitekter), Moderna Museet
Malmö (Tham & Videgård Arkitekter ), Museo De
La Memoria Y Los Derechos Humanos (Estudio
America), SSM Concert Hall (NSMH), The Winspear
Opera House (Foster + Partners) and Woods of
Net (Tezuka Architects).
MAXXI, National Museum of XXI Century Arts,
Rome, Italy won both the Culture Category and
the World Building of the Year.
According to designers, Zaha Hadid Architects
(United Kingdom), the site on which the new centre
for contemporary arts is located, addresses the
question of its urban context by maintaining an in-
dexicality of its former life as army barracks. They
say that this is in no way an attempt at topological
pastiche, but instead continues the low-level urban
texture set against the higher-level blocks on the
surrounding sides of the site. In this way, MAXXI is
more like an ‘urban graft’, a second skin to the site.
At times, it affiliates with the ground to become
new ground, yet also ascends and coalesces to be-
come ‘massivity’ where needed.
Zaha Hadid stated: "I see the MAXXI as an immer-
sive urban environment for the exchange of ideas,
feeding the cultural vitality of the city. It's no longer
just a museum, but an urban cultural centre where
MAXXI, National Museum
of XXI Century Arts,
Rome, Italy, designed by
Zaha Hadid Architects.
Photos: Iwan Baan, Helene
Binet, Roland Halbe.
23 >
a dense texture of interior and exterior spaces
have been intertwined and superimposed over
one another. It's an intriguing mixture of galleries,
irrigating a large urban field with linear display
surfaces."
The entire building has an urban character: prefig-
uring upon a directional route connecting the Riv-
er to Via Guido Reni, MAXXI encompasses both
movement patterns extant and desired, contained
within and outside. This vector defines the primary
entry route into the building. By intertwining the
circulation with the urban context, the building
shares a public dimension with the city, overlap-
ping threadlike paths and open space. In addition
to the circulatory relationship, the architectural
elements are also geometrically aligned with the
urban grids that join at the site. In thus, partly de-
riving its orientation and physiognomy from the
context and further assimilates itself to the spe-
cific conditions of the site.
The architects explain: “Our proposal offers a quasi-
urban field, a ‘world’ to dive into rather than a build-
ing as a signature object. The campus is organised
and navigated on the basis of directional drifts
and the distribution of densities rather than key
points. This is indicative of the character of the
centre as a whole: porous, immersive, a field space.
An inferred mass is subverted by vectors of circula-
tion. The external as well as internal circulation
follows the overall drift of the geometry. Vertical
and oblique circulation elements are located at ar-
eas of confluence, interference and turbulence.”
The WAF jury found that the Culture Category cre-
ated juxtapositions that were difficult to recon-
cile. They concluded: “MAXXI, National Museum of
XXI Century Arts was found to be a mature work
emerging out of a highly original process.”
24 >
DISPLAY
Six finalists competed in this category, including:
Adelaide Zoo Entrance Precinct (HASSELL), Danish
Pavilion – Shanghai World Expo 2010 (BIG), Elean-
or and Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion (Toshiko Mori
Architect PLLC), Fortaleza Hall and The Commons,
SC Johnson (Foster + Partners), Hyundai Pavilion
(Spadoni & Associados Arquitetura) and Spanish
Pavilion – Shanghai World Expo 2010 (Miralles Tag-
liabue Embt).
The winner was Spanish Pavilion – Shanghai World
Expo, China, designed by Miralles Tagliabue Embt,
Spain.
Benedetta Tagliabue (lead architect) directed a
structurally innovative and narratively ingenious
project that combined a modern steel frame (span-
ning 25 km) covered with glass and traditionally
Spanish Pavilion – Shanghai World Expo, China,
designed by Miralles Tagliabue Embt.
Photos: Ronald Holbe, Miralles-Tagliabue EMBT.
25 >
The jury felt the 2010 WAF Display Category was
not only about showcasing objects, but more
about telling stories, and many of the nominees
were more like exquisite small museums. The cat-
egory also featured two of the pavilions from the
Shanghai World Expo, where architecture itself is
supposed to tell the story of a country. The judges
said: “The Spanish Pavilion is as much a piece of art
as it is architecture. The idea of taking wicker, even
not perhaps solely a Spanish material, shows what
architecture can do when expos like this send ar-
chitects off doing the unthinkable. It stands out as
a building, and a story, that the visitors to the
event will remember. The container of the exhibi-
tion becomes an ephemeral poetic and strongly
memorable image of the creativity of Spain. The
connection of the Chinese visitors to the craft of
wicker-making encourages a level of simpatico
with Spanish craftspeople of past times.”
woven wicker panels on the exterior façade. The
Pavilion covers 7 624 m2, and is situated on a 6 000 m2
stand at the Shanghai World Expo Park.
The 8 200 differently coloured wicker panels (tinted
by boiling) are arranged in a mosaic-like manner to
form a series of Chinese characters that makes ref-
erence to natural elements such as ri (sun) and yue
(moon) – two fundamental concepts in oriental
philosophy of how the functioning of the world is
reliant upon a duality. Tagliabue incorporated
these elements in the poetical reading of the con-
nection between China and Spain, expressing a
message of a strong relationship to be had in fu-
ture. The symbols are not always visible, but are
conveyed through the brilliance experienced every
moment of the day and the gentle rippling of the
façade as visitors approach the pavilion.
26 >
The winner was Brain and Mind Research Institute
(BMRI) – Youth Mental Health Building, Australia,
designed by BVN Architecture, Australia.
The BMRI is part of the Faculty of Medicine of The
University of Sydney and focuses on research into
mental health and clinical issues relating to the
brain. The BMRI building consists of two floors of
consulting and patient interaction and two floors
of research laboratories and forms part of a satel-
lite campus of the university located in a light in-
dustrial area formerly known for clothing trade.
This gritty urban area is respected for its heritage
streetscapes and the specific site of the BMRI has
a heritage-listed façade, which required retention.
The organisation of the building places the two re-
search floors above and the clinical floors below
HEALTH
Six finalists competed in this category, including:
Amaj Darman (Kourosh Rafiey), Brain and Mind Re-
search Institute – Youth Mental Health Building
(BVN Architecture), CircleBath Hospital (Foster +
Partners), Hospital CUF (MVentura & Associados),
Waterford Health Park (dhbArchitects) and West
Vancouver Community Centre (Hughes Condon
Marler Architects).
Brain and Mind Research
Institute (BMRI) – Youth Mental
Health Building, Australia,
designed by BVN Architecture.
Photos: John Gollings.
27 >
allowing an upper level bridge connection to further
research laboratories in two adjoining buildings.
This configuration fitted neatly with the require-
ment to retain the two-storey heritage façade al-
lowing the street composition to be expressed by
the placement of the laboratories in a clearly ar-
ticulated ‘new’ glass box effectively on top of the
old façade, with the more tactile ‘people spaces’
accommodated within the realm of the older com-
ponent.
The further requirement to step the building to-
wards the north to ensure sun penetration to
neighbouring houses enabled the new glass box to
‘slide’ over the older building creating a large scale
composition with smaller scale detailed elements
at the conjunction of the forms. The ‘box’ is clad with
translucent glass planks ensuring diffuse daylight
to the laboratories throughout the day, resulting
in very low energy consumption.
The jury was impressed by the diversity of finalists
in the Health Category which ranged from small
medical centres to full-scale hospital buildings as
well as the diversity of location and context – from
a state of the art private hospital in the UK to an
equipment-testing laboratory in Iran. “The final
decision reached by the jury was unanimous. We
found this project by BVN Architecture to be an
outstanding piece of architecture in many ways –
simplicity of design, response to site and brief, ap-
proach to external appearance and materials, and
carefully considered internal spaces.”
28 >
HOLIDAY
Five finalists competed in this category, including:
Alila Villas Soori (SCDA Architects Pte. Ltd.), Alila
Villas Uluwatu, Bali Indonesia (WOHA), Banjaar
Tola Kanha National Park (Sanjay Prakash & Associ-
ates Pvt Ltd), Hotel for Telefónica Company (Batlle
& Roig Architects) and The Gibson Hotel (Scott Tallon
Walker Architects).
The Alila Villas Uluwatu, designed by WOHA, Singa-
pore, came up tops because of its ecologically sus-
tainable master planning. Located on the dry sa-
vannah landscape of the Bukit Peninsular on the
dramatic southern cliffs of the Indonesian island
of Bali, it comprises of a 50-suite hotel with 35
residential villas.
WOHA’s design explores the potential of fusion
between vernacular architecture with modernist
design. The design combines the delights of tradi-
tional Balinese architecture and rural landscapes
with modern dynamic treatment of space and
form, yet it avoids stereotypical images of Bali or
generic resorts. The unique design language is in-
spired by the local farmer’s terraces of loosely
piled limestone boulders rather than the typical
steep pitched pavilions that would have blocked
the views on the gentle slopes, and which are not
local to the area. The terraced, low-pitched roofs
are clad in Balinese volcanic pumice rock, which is
a natural insulating material and can also support
local ferns and succulents. These terraced roofs
blend with the landscape, keeping the original
wide-open panoramas that make the site unique.
29 >
The hotel rooms are designed as ‘inhabited gardens’
rather than interiors. The garden walls delineate
the spaces in which sleeping, eating, lounging and
bathing occur. Every hotel villa has a pool with a
cabana overlooking the sea and the hillside villas
are designed as pavilions linked by bridges across
water gardens, tucked into the hillside as terraces.
The master plan respects the contours of the site
to avoid cutting and fill, and all large trees were
either maintained or transplanted. A nursery was
established to propagate only native plants for
the landscaping; all building materials were sourced
locally, including stone and sustainable timbers;
and local craftsmen were employed to make the
interior furniture and accessories.
Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia,
designed by WOHA.
Photos: Patrick Bingham-Hall, Tim Griffith,
30 >
The development was designed from the start to
exceed Green Globe 21 requirements. An environ-
mental consultant drafted an environmental plan
from the design stage onwards. The contractor
committed to an environmental quality plan for
the construction phase, and the hotel operator
also committed to environmental practices for the
running of the hotel in future.
The development is an appropriate next step in
resorts where luxury does not mean excessive
consumption, but instead delight and enjoyment
of the natural beauty and a sense of place. The
development is gentle and embraces the landscape
which is located in an impoverished, dry, rural area,
and thereby replacing marginal agriculture with
tourism that generates substantial employment
and income for local people. It maintains local flora
and fauna. Through showcasing local skills, materi-
als and vernacular elements, it confirms the local
people’s opinion that they live in a marvelous
place that should be cherished and maintained.
The judges felt that the project sensitively dealt
with its environmental context and said: “Alila Vil-
las observed that the architect went the extra mile
to ensure that as little damage was done to the
environment as possible. At the same time, no
compromise was seen in terms of the design,
which was of the highest quality. The design of the
pavilions made it possible to recycle all the timber
used in the project to protect the forests. The ref-
erences to Scarpa and Mies in the detailing were
also greatly appreciated.”
31 >
HOUSE
Fifteen finalists competed in this highly competi-
tive category which traditionally offers some of the
most ingenious design solutions. This year’s finalists
were: A Forest for a Moon Dazzler (Benjamin Garcia
Saxe Architect), Bahia house (Studio MK27), Bool-
arong and Kinkabool (BVN Architecture), Framed
House (CHANG Architects), Great Barrier Island House
(Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects Auckland Ltd),
House 23.2 (Omer Arbel Office), Letterbox House
(McBride Charles Ryan), Lookout tower house
(PLUG architecture), Manacás House (Gustavo Pen-
na Arquiteto & Associados), Own House, Office
and wife's Dental Surgery (Skinotechniki), Pitched
Roof House (Chenchow Little), Rock House (Jar-
mund/Vigsnæs AS Architects MNAL), Te Kaitaka –
Lake Wanaka Retreat (Stevens Lawson Architects),
A Forest for a Moon Dazzler, Guanacaste,
Costa Rica, designed by Benjamin Garcia Saxe.
Photo: Andres Garcia Lachner.
Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia,
designed by WOHA.
Photos: Patrick Bingham-Hall, Tim Griffith,
32 >
The Golden Box (K2LD Architects) and Townhouse
Landskrona (Elding Oscarson).
The winner was A Forest for a Moon Dazzler, located
in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, designed by London-based
architect, Benjamin Garcia Saxe. The project tells
the tender personal story of the architect’s quest
to build a dream home for his mother in a forest
where she is able to spiritually connect with him
across great distances by having a view of the moon.
Saxe explains: “My mom and I never had a place
[which] we could call home. We met on the streets,
always dreaming of a place [where] we could be
together. She stayed in the city in order to find
comfort in my closeness. I never stopped dream-
ing of a place where she could find happiness.”
“Torn apart by the city, she has moved to the for-
est in search for a home. She has found the moon
and the sun and they dazzle her every day. She has
found beauty in her own cycle of living and her
presence in this world. She no longer needs others
to compare and measure her happiness. My mom
began to construct the place for her dwelling with
scrap wood and plastic bags. She placed her bed
on a corner where she could have a direct view of
the moon whilst going to sleep. She has told me
that that watching the moon reminds her of me.”
“Perhaps because of her memory of the city, she is
afraid that someone will come to disturb her soli-
tude. She has asked me to complete her dream of
living safely in the forest, but I know she believes
this is a way for us to always be together.”
33 >
“Inspired by her routine I have given her an inter-
nal protected forest of bamboo. At night the cone-
like surface of her new home opens to the moon
and reminds her that it is me who is holding it in
space as she goes calmly to sleep.”
The simple layout features a bedroom on one end,
a kitchen on the other and an internal courtyard/
garden in between with a bordering wooden deck.
It is constructed with simple materials including
concrete, a steel structure, bamboo and burlap
walls and doors, a tin roof, glass and wooden
floors.
The 2010 WAF jury immediately sensed that this
project was a potential winner and were left in no
doubt after the architect’s presentation. The judges
said: “The architect addressed the practical and
emotional needs of his mother’s security by creat-
ing a home for her to occupy alone, while also sat-
isfying his inventive curiosity with a new form of
bamboo – Moucharabieh screens that respond to
movement and light. In his narrative there was sin-
cerity in how the character and needs of the client
related to the final architectural outcome.”
A Forest for a Moon Dazzler, Guanacaste, Costa Rica,
designed by Benjamin Garcia Saxe. Photos: Andres
Garcia Lachner, Benjamin Garcia Saxe.
34 >
HOUSING (INCLUDING MIXED-USE)
Sixteen finalists competed in this highly competi-
tive category, including: 401 St Kilda Road (Elen-
berg Fraser), Andersen Garden (schmidt hammer
lassen architects), Barking Central (Allford Hall
Monaghan Morris), BOTANNIA (MKPL Architects
Pte Ltd.), Burj Khalifa (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
LLP), Lake Dragon Residential Development (Ron-
ald Lu & Partners) One Madison Park (CetraRuddy),
OneKL (SCDA Architects Pte. Ltd.), Pinnacle @
Duxton (ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism),
Santa María (Hierve-Diseñeria), The Ivy (BVN Archi-
tecture), The Wave Henning (Larsen Architects),
Timberyard Social Housing (O'Donnell + Tuomey),
Vanak Garden Residential Complex (METAPHOR),
Villas Fasano (Isay Weinfeld) and Wohnen am Park
(PPAG architects).
The winner was The Pinnacle @ Duxton, Singapore,
designed by ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism,
Singapore.
Soaring at 50-storeys, The Pinnacle @ Duxton rede-
fines high-rise high-density living and challenges
the conventions of public housing as an architec-
tural typology. The project addresses pragmatic,
financial, social issues, and responds sensitively to
a myriad of planning constraints. It boldly demon-
strates a sustainable and liveable urban high-rise
high-density living and initiates an innovative typol-
ogy of public communal spaces that are metaphor-
ically reclaimed from the air.
The constraints of an irregular-shaped and tight
site of 2.5 hectares in the prime central business
district area required an efficient and clear block
layout that addressed the length of the westerly-
facing site. In response, seven tower blocks hous-
ing 1 848 apartment units are placed in the most
open and porous way, creating urban windows
that frame the city skyline. With this solution, the
layout eliminates overlooking between units; op-
timises views, connection, air and light flow; mini-
mises western exposure to reduce solar heat gain;
and includes the conservation of historical trees.
35 >
A large forecourt for the towers was created, main-
taining visual connectivity with the existing Tanjong
Pagar Community Club, which is a major community
node for this neighbourhood.
Within the development, residents enjoy the con-
venience of shops, a food court, an education cen-
tre and a childcare centre, and two residents’ com-
mittee centres. Beyond the development, residents
are served by two train stations which will link them
to the island-wide mass rapid transit system; bus
stops at the development’s doorstep and a bus in-
terchange depot; amenities like a police complex,
hospital, restaurants, pubs, cafes, and shops – all
within a 10-minute walking-radius. Exploiting the
inherent sustainability of the high-density high-
rise housing model, The Pinnacle @ Duxton cre-
ates a walkable and diverse community, and pro-
vides a connected, convenient and compact model
of sustainable urbanism.
The new architectural surface is a lush environ-
mental deck that connects strategically with the
existing urban network while forming a green lung
for the city. Layers of tree screens border the site
and pathways to provide varying degrees of opac-
ity and privacy, softening the massiveness of the
towers, creating a human scale. Multiple layers of
pathways, connections, and landscape bands are
created, providing residents with the options to
either take a fast and convenient way home, or a
slow and relaxing path for recreation.
On the 26th and 50th storey, 12 continuous Sky Gar-
dens weave through the seven tower blocks, form-
ing a simple yet powerful sculptural skyline that
creates a strong identity for the project. The Sky
Gardens function as an extension of the living en-
vironment for residents, forming almost one hec-
tare of new land. Children’s playgrounds, an outdoor
fitness gym for the elderly, landscape furniture
The Pinnacle @ Duxton, Singapore, designed by
ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism, Singapore.
Photos: ARC, ArieLCandy, Sam Chong, Jinghui.
36 >
resembling beach deck chairs and outdoor sofa sets
were designed to provide diverse, creative and
unusual spaces for community interaction.
The WAF judges were interested in the way that
the winning project presented innovative solu-
tions to architectural design in an over-populated
city. The judges said: “The integration of the public
spaces in the higher levels of the towers presents
possible scenarios for future programs such as
schools, health, sports all taking advantage of the
high-density project. Moving life from a continuous
realm that takes you up to a 20th or higher floor is
a new approach to solving the problems of contem-
porary society in metropolitan areas, giving us a
trace of new ways of interlocking programmes for
high-density developments.”
The Pinnacle @ Duxton, Singapore, designed by
ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism, Singapore.
Photos: ARC, ArieLCandy, Sam Chong, Jinghui.
Shanghai Houtan Park, China, designed by
Turenscape. Photos: Kongjian Yu.
37 >
LANDSCAPE
Six finalists competed in this category, including:
Big Rock jetty (Edward Szewczyk and Associates
Architects), Dhoby Ghaut Green (SCDA Architects
Pte. Ltd.), Environmental recovery of the river Llo-
bregat in the comarca of Baix Lllobregat (Batlle &
Roig Architects), Hariri Memorial Garden (Vladimir
Djurovic Landscape Architecture), Marina Point
Yacht Club (Cox Rayner Architects CA Architects)
and Shanghai Houtan Park (Turenscape).
The winner was Shanghai Houtan Park, China, de-
signed by Turenscape, China.
Built on a brownfield of a former industrial site (pre-
viously owned by a steel factory and a shipyard),
Houtan Park is a regenerative living landscape on
Shanghai’s Huangpu riverfront. The site is a narrow
linear 14-hectare band, had few industrial struc-
tures remaining and was largely used as a landfill
and lay-down yard for industrial materials. The
challenges included the restoration of the degrad-
ed environment, particularly the highly polluted
water of the Huangpu River; improving flood con-
trol (the river has a 2.1 m daily tidal fluctuation);
and dealing with the complex shape of the site
which is 1.7 km in length but averaging only 30-80 m
in width.
The regenerative design strategy transformed the
site into a living system that offers comprehensive
ecological services including food production,
flood control, water treatment, and habitat crea-
tion combined in an educational and aesthetic
manner.
38 >
Through the center of the park, a linear construct-
ed wetland was designed to create a reinvigorated
waterfront that acts as a ‘living machine’ that
treats contaminated water. Cascades and terraces
are used to oxygenate the nutrient rich water, re-
move and retain nutrients and reduce suspended
sediments while creating pleasant water features.
Different species of wetland plants were selected
for their properties to absorb different pollutants.
Field-testing indicates that 2 400 cubic meters per
day of water can be treated from Lower Grade V (the
lowest grade on a scale of I-V) quality to Grade III
(for non-potable use).
The wetland also acts as a floodable buffer. The
meandering valley along the wetland creates a se-
ries of visual interest and refuge within the bust-
ling world exposition site with opportunities for
recreation, education, and research. The terrace
design of the wetland alleviates the elevation dif-
ference between the city and the river, safely re-
connecting people to the water’s edge. Addition-
ally, the existing concrete floodwall was replaced
by a more habitat friendly riprap.
Inspired by the fields of Chinese agricultural land-
scape, terraces were created to break down the
3-5 m elevation change from the water’s edge to
the road, and to slow the runoff directed to the
stream in the constructed wetland. Crops and wet-
land plants were selected to create an urban farm
allowing people to witness seasonal changes: the
golden blossoms in the spring, splendid sunflow-
ers in the summer, fragrance of the ripened rice in
the fall and green clover in the winter.
39 >
An ecologically recovered landscape, urban agri-
culture and industrial spirit are the three major
layers of the park, woven together through a net-
work of paths where visitors are educated about
green infrastructure within a lushly restored rec-
reational area. This network ensures seamless con-
nections between the park and its surroundings,
encourages access within the site.
The judges selected Shanghai Houtan Park as
unanimous winner, among a very high-quality
group of projects, for its masterful use of design
strategies to transform the polluted waterfront
into a living system. The judges said: “Shanghai
Houtan Park is an inspiring high-performance, but
low-maintenance design that could be applied to
many polluted waterfronts worldwide.”
Shanghai Houtan Park, China,
designed by Turenscape.
Photos: Kongjian Yu.
40 >
LEARNING
Fourteen finalists competed in this category, in-
cluding: All Saints Primary School (Candalepas As-
sociates), AUT Lecture Theatres & Conference Cen-
tre (RTA Studio), Bridge School (Li Xiaodong Atelier),
Classroom Prototype (Eleena Jamil Architect), Duoc
Maipú (Sabbagh Arquitectos), Elementary School
Dender (Compagnie-O. architecten), Faculty of Law,
Library and Teaching Complex, University of Sydney
(Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp), Fitzroy High School
(McBride Charles Ryan), Green Lighthouse (Chris-
tensen & CO Architects), Michaelschool (Onix),
School of the Arts, Singapore (WOHA), Shining
Stars Bintaro Kindergarten (djuhara + djuhara), The
Diana Center at Barnard College (Weiss/Manfredi
Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism) and Trinity
Long Room Hub (McCullough Mulvin Architects).
The winner was School of the Arts, Singapore, de-
signed by WOHA, Singapore.
This project entails a specialist high school that
forms part of Singapore’s national strategy to fo-
cus on the arts. The school is located in the heart
of the civic core, at the gateway to the Arts and
Entertainment District. It is flanked on either side
by 20th century heritage buildings, while high-rise
retail and office buildings form a backdrop. The
school is unique in that it combines a high-density
inner-city school with a professional performing
arts venue.
The primary design strategy creates two visually
connected horizontal strata: a space for public
communication below and a space for safe, con-
trolled interaction above. This strategy solves the
dual objectives of porosity and communication
41 >
with the public and the wider arts community on
the one hand, and a secure and safe learning envi-
ronment on the other. The two parts are symboli-
cally called the Backdrop and the Blank Canvas.
The Backdrop is the podium that contains a con-
cert hall, drama theatre, black box theatre and
several small informal performing spaces. Against
this backdrop, the school communicates with the
public realm in a variety of ways. The formal per-
formance spaces host professional and student
productions, allowing students to both observe
and participate in both performance and back-
stage and support activities. The informal spaces
in between the performance spaces are designed
around an urban short-cut, maintaining a busy in-
formal pedestrian route that used to cut across the
empty site leading from the underground train sta-
tion at Dhoby Ghaut. Along this route are display
areas and informal performance and gallery areas,
allowing the public to see the activities and pro-
ductions of the school. To enhance the vibrancy of
the city, commercial spaces are provided along the
external covered walkway and a large civic amphi-
theatre.
The Blank Canvas is the secure school area and is
conceived of as a simple, flexible space where the
school can create their own environment. The met-
aphor suggests the open possibilities and focuses
on the educational content rather than the archi-
tectural frame. Three long rectangular 6-storey
blocks span across the Backdrop podium. This level
is controlled through a single point of access (the
lift core and the escalator), yet is visually connected
from all the circulation spaces to the public areas
below. This environment is simple, practical, bright,
and airy and is designed for maximum flexibility
and sustainability.
School of the Arts, Singapore,
designed by WOHA.
Photos: Patrick Bingham-Hall.
42 >
Classrooms and studios within these blocks are
designed for natural ventilation and are well-pro-
portioned and cross-ventilated, with dynamic vis-
ual and physical links between blocks. Classrooms
are designed in 9x9 m modules with operable end
walls so that room sizes can be flexible for future
needs. The green façades provide environmental
filters which cut out glare and dust, keeps the
rooms cool, and in combination with the acoustic
ceilings – absorbs traffic noise.
The rooftop is designed as a large recreation park
in the sky, complete with a running track and
shady trees. It allows the students to take full ad-
vantage of the views afforded by the Arts School’s
unique positioning within the Civic District, and
provides a substantial play area in the built-up
neighbourhood.
School of the Arts, Singapore,
designed by WOHA.
Photos: Patrick Bingham-Hall.
43 >
NEW AND OLD
Sixteen finalists competed in this highly compet-
itive category, including: A-House (Holgaard
arkitekter), Canberra Glassworks (Tanner Archi-
tects), DDB Office (Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Architects),
E N Z I (PPAG architects), East Hampton Town Hall
(Robert A.M. Stern Architects), Medieval & Renais-
sance Galleries (MUMA), Munkegård School (Dorte
Mandrup Arkitekter), Oxford Circus (Atkins), Pad-
dington Reservoir Gardens (Tonkin Zulaikha Greer),
People's Association Headquaters (Architects 61
Pte Ltd), Renoma Department Store revitalisation
and extension (Mackow Pracownia Projektowa),
Romanian Railway Freight Company Hedquarters
(Andreescu&Gaivoronschi), Taastrup Theatre
(COBE), The Village at Sanlitun – South (The Oval
Partnership Limited), The Waterhouse at South
Bund (Neri&Hu Design and Research Office) and
Zagreb Dance Centre (3LHD architects).
The winner was DDB Office, Istanbul, designed by
Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Architects, Turkey.
DDB Office, Istanbul, Turkey, designed by
Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Architects.
Photos: Cemal Emden.
44 >
An extensive restoration and revitalisation project
was undertaken to allow the advertising agency
group Medina Turgul DDB to move into a salt re-
pository they had rented. This 170 year-old build-
ing had formerly been owned by TEKEL (Turkish
State Liquor and Tobacco Monopoly) and is located
in the run-down, once industrial district of
Kasımpaşa, Istanbul.
The restoration challenge entailed maximising
functionality while retaining the original character
of the structure. Containing five separate, but re-
lated, specialist companies, with shared backroom
operations, the floor plan had to allow for each
unit to exist in its own space, while also being eas-
ily connected to colleagues in sister units. The so-
lution was to build a series of connecting mezza-
nine floors integrating the different spaces and
greatly increasing the workable floor space. This
was done without cluttering or in any way struc-
turally harming the powerful nature of the exist-
ing space, with its thick stone walls and 10 m-high
galleries. The different departments and company
units’ workspaces were designed around these
galleries.
A secondary structure in glass and steel was cre-
ated without touching the original stone walls and
respecting the feeling of airy emptiness of the
original space and all the electromechanical instal-
lation was designed to go through the consolidat-
ed roof trusses.
In order to protect the original texture of the
building, all the pointings of the stone walls were
washed and consolidated with tailor made solu-
tions that were formulated after initial chemical
analyses and all ruined and damaged parts of the
walls were carefully restored.
The result is a building that is well-suited to a
modern creative business, with various styles of
meeting spaces from casual to formal, easy inter-
unit connectivity and the sensation of individual
‘thinking space’ all around.
The judges thought that all the projects in this
WAF category represented a remarkably creative
range of approaches to the problem of introduc-
ing new work in an existing context. They chose
the DDB Office as the winner because it did more
45 >
than any other project to initiate change. The judg-
es said: “The architects were able to express their
ideas for the re-use of four dilapidated stone
buildings close to the Bosphorus to the client and
tempted them from the safety of the business dis-
trict to this run-down quarter. This is the kind of
regeneration that provides a successful exemplar
for others to follow. The changing history of the
buildings has been preserved and nothing has
been compromised. The project represents a ge-
netic implant which will produce the seeds for
change of an entire area.”
OFFICE (INCLUDING MIXED-USE)
Seventeen finalists competed in this fiercely com-
petitive category, including: Arrau building (Sab-
bagh Arquitectos), Artist Colony (China Architec-
ture Design Reasearch Group), City Business Centre
(Andreescu&Gaivoronschi), Danfoss Head Office
(schmidt hammer lassen architects), GMS Grande
Palladium (MALIK ARCHITECTURE), Jeonbuk Region
LH Corporation Headquarters | Walking Man (DA
Group), Marble Company Headquarters (Michael
Photiadis Associate Architects), Middelfart Savings
Bank (3XN), NHN Green Factory (Samoo Architects
& Engineers, NBBJ), NOVIstipic (upi-2m), Research
& Development Building (Erginoglu&Calislar),
Ropemaker Place (Arup Associates), Shop & Trade
– Office Building (Kokkinou Kourkoulas Architects
& Associates), Skellefteå Kraft Head Quarters
(General Architecture), Studio Altieri New Head-
quartes (Studio Altieri Spa), Transoceanica Head-
quarters (+ arquitectos) and Vali Asr Commercial
Office Building (KELVAN).
The winner was Vali Asr Commercial Office Build-
ing, Iran, designed by Kelvan, Iran.
Vali Asr Commercial Office Building, Iran,
designed by Kelvan.
Photos: Kelvan, Parham Taghioff.
DDB Office, Istanbul, Turkey,
designed by Erginoğlu & Çalışlar Architects.
Photos: Cemal Emden.
46 >
Vali Asr Commercial Office Building is located on
a rectangular site which has approximately 15 m of
frontage along the west side of Vali Asr Avenue
between the Fatemi and Zartosht junctions, which
is part of the retail, entertainment and cultural
hub of Tehran. Neighbouring buildings to the site
include an old six-storey building to the north and
a single-storey ruin to the south. However, munic-
ipal codes dictated that the new structure could
not exceed two floors above ground level.
The two-storey commercial office building, located
in a busy retail district in Tehran, was finished with
a contrast of black and white longitudinally cut
stones of Brazilian marble.
The architects intended to reflect the motion and
dynamism of the location on the façade as well as
to reflect the internal dynamism outwards. They
achieved this by using minimal materials, mainly
longitudinally cut white Brazilian marble with
slash-like features surrounding openings which
are meant to symbolise motion.
The same applies to the spatial organisation of the
interior where surfaces and different spaces trans-
figure and connect into each other to facilitate the
overall theme of motion.
Interior floors are clad in black Nadjafabad marble
which dramatically contrast with the almost grainless
47 >
white marble used on many of the walls. This juxta-
position of materials enhances the spatial percep-
tions of the building and further contributes to the
overall sense of dynamism which the architects
aimed to create.
The 2010 WAF jury said: “This small, highly refined
project provides a sophisticated response to its
urban context, and a surprising and intelligently
crafted treatment of its principal material – marble
– on both external and internal façades. This is
jewel of a building within an intense urban envi-
ronment.”Vali Asr Commercial Office Building,
Iran, designed by Kelvan.
Photos: Kelvan, Parham Taghioff.
48 >
PRODUCTION, ENERGY & RECYCLING
Four finalists competed in this category, including:
City North Substation (Architects Johannsen + As-
sociates, Kann Finch Group – Project & Design Ar-
chitect), Harlequin 1 BSkyB (Arup Associates),
Marof Winery (Studio Kalamar) and Yevlakh Seed
Industry Campus (TOCA).
The winner was Yevlakh Seed Industry Campus,
Azerbaijan, designed by TOCA, Turkey.
Yevlakh Seed Industry Campus is a high-tech seed
growth plant built on a 70 000 m2 area in Yevlakh
City, which is situated in close proximity to agricul-
tural districts of Azerbaijan.
Being the first and only seed production unit in
the country, the plant found its unique identity
through the revelation of machinery aesthetics.
The concept design of the campus is set up to
make and break the relationship between the ma-
chinery and the structure itself. The boundary be-
tween the machine and the structure are purpose-
fully blurred and the entire plant is designed as
integrated parts of a single machine. Every move
of the product through the plant defines the archi-
tectural form of that space and constitutes the
layout for the site plan. The factory is divided into
49 >
four sections: seed processing, packaging, storage
and categorisation areas.
Units are located on the scheme which is most
suitable for the production process. Incoming raw
materials are put into production at the point de-
signed as a logistics centre and are then moved
towards other units to be processed and each
movement is an expression of architectural form.
The facility, which could be three factories with
vertical flow scheme in different functions, is de-
signed to constitute a horizontal production band
and each building is thought to be intermediate
stations of the band.
This innovative and intelligent WAF category-win-
ning project was designed by a very young archi-
tectural practice. The judges said: “It is a unique
project that works as a machine and its form em-
phasises the machinery, [and] the plan is clear. The
use of strong provocative colours has symbolic
meaning and provides a unique character related
to the function of the building. Additionally, the
reinterpretation of the shed form is a very strong
strategy.”
Yevlakh Seed Industry Campus,
Azerbaijan, designed by TOCA.
Photos: Sergen Sehitoglu.
50 >
SHOPPING
Nine finalists competed in this category, including:
Camper Shop (Miralles Tagliabue Embt), iluma Singa-
pore (WOHA featuring realities:united), Japanese
restaurant (Barré Lambot Architectes), Pendorya
Shopping Mall (Erginoglu&Calislar), Pola Ginza
Building (Nikken Sekkei Ltd. and Yasuda Atelier),
Sportalm Flagshipstore Vienna (Baar-Baarenfels
Architekten), The Village at Sanlitun – North (The
Oval Partnership Limited), Vivaci Guarda (Promon-
torio Architects) and Yamaha Ginza (Nikken Sekkei).
The winner was Yamaha Ginza, Japan, designed by
Nikken Sekkei Ltd, Japan.
Yamaha is Japan’s leading general musical instru-
ment manufacturer. To express the essence of
Yamaha’s brand and materialise its architectural
design at Ginza, an area in which a number of lead-
ing brand shops are based.
The core themes of the building exude the feel of
sound and music and the union of tradition and in-
novation. The building’s conceptual image reflects
a woodwind instrument that is placed inside a glass
showcase and the three connected atrium spaces
facing the streets are finished with curve-moulded
wood that reminds one of woodwind instruments.
The façade is composed of a diagonal grid express-
ing the fluidity of music, and the differently tinted
Yamaha Ginza, Ginza, Japan,
designed by Nikken Sekkei Ltd.
Photos: Nikken Sekkei Ltd.
51 >
sheets of gold-leaf laminated glass scattered in a
random pattern symbolise brass instruments.
The building is a super-complex composed of vari-
ous sound-related facilities including shops, a hall
and music schools stacked together. With its so-
phisticated, most advanced vibration and sound
insulation structure, each space is interconnected
and yet keeps its own, acoustically quite environ-
ment. The three atrium spaces are each designed
with its own theme and are open to the streets of
Ginza through the translucent screen decorated
with gold dusts. At the first floor, the atmosphere
of the street is drawn inside. At the upper floor,
the activity inside the building is shown outside to
the street. With spaces inside and outside, the
building possess visual and spatial relationship to
each other, and the architecture is designed to
resonate with the streets of Ginza.
The 2010 WAF adjudicators reviewed a tremen-
dous variety of projects in terms of scale, complex-
ity and overall challenges, ranging from shop fit
outs to major shopping centres in this category.
They concluded that “The Yamaha Ginza Building
is a breathtaking presentation, which represents
the highest levels of sophistication in terms of re-
sponse to program, scale of ambition, refinement
of detailing and engagement with the surrounding
physical context.”
52 >
SPORT
Seven finalists competed in this category, includ-
ing: Aviva Stadium (POPULOUS), Cowboys Stadium
(HKS, Inc.), Hoyo 19 Club de Golf Altozano (Parque
Humano/Jorge Covarrubias + Benjamin Henze ),
Northland Event Centre (Copeland Associates Archi-
tects), Soccer City (Boogertman + Partners, South
Africa, in association with Populous, United King-
dom), Sports centre (Batlle & Roig Architects) and
The Satellite (White arkitekter AB).
The winner was Soccer City (also called ‘The Melt-
ing Pot’), Johannesburg, South Africa, designed by
Boogertman+Partners, South Africa in association
with Populous, United Kingdom. See page 114 for
a detailed project description.
The judges commented how each of the shortlisted
projects had to, as a matter of course, satisfy the
immense technical requirements demanded by
world sporting bodies to hold international, region-
al and local events. The judges said: “The Soccer
City National Stadium makes a strong and memo-
rable connection with its place in history, the game
and the future of this area. The imagery of the
calabash, or pot design, which recalls the centre of
life in the family is taken on as a strong encircling
imagery. It is a genuine example of a building
forming deep and lasting roots in its culture and
gives a new exciting future to an otherwise run-
down area, becoming instantly recognisable as the
face of the South African World Cup.”
53 >
Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa, designed by
Boogertman+Partners in association with Populous.
Photos: Leon Krige.
54 >
TRANSPORT
Three finalists competed in this category, including:
Epping to Chatswood Rail Link (HASSELL), Sabiha
Gokcen Airport New Terminal Building (Tekeli-Sisa
Architectural Partnership) and The Helix Bridge
(Cox Rayner Architects, Architects 61).
The winner was The Helix Bridge, Singapore, de-
signed by Cox Rayner Architects, Australia + Archi-
tects 61 Pte, Singapore.
The Helix Bridge is one of the few bridges in the
world to be named after its structure. In addition to
its uniqueness of structure and form, it is designed
to respond to its particular setting at the opening
of the Singapore River to Marina Bay, a large inner
harbour on which much of the city is now focused.
The brief required the Helix Bridge to be canopied
for shade and shelter in the tropical climate. The
notion of a tubular cross-section, which allows the
canopy and deck to be integrated, evolved from
this requirement. The design team found that a
double spiral structure would utilise up to five
times less steel than a conventional box girder
bridge, and equally became excited about the pros-
pect of such a structure making an iconic statement
about Singapore as a ‘green’, walking city.
Having selected the design in a 36-entry interna-
tional design competition, Singapore’s Urban Rede-
velopment Authority decided that it should be con-
structed entirely in stainless steel. This decision
enabled the tubes, struts and ties to be finely craft-
ed, the multiple connection joints being designed
to appear organic. These details, and the helix form
55 >
overall, led to the bridge being popularly compared
to the DNA molecule, with its connotations of ‘life-
giving’ and ‘sustainability’.
The intrigue of the structure is derived from its abil-
ity to curve in plan and section while maintaining
continuity of its dual spiral over the 280 m length.
This achievement was the result of a process of
highly sophisticated 3D computer modelling,
through which the proportions and connections
were progressively refined. To accentuate the rib-
bons of structure, LED lighting is incorporated
along both spirals and in ground lighting embedded
to highlight the combination of glazed and perfo-
rated steel canopy segments.
The final pieces of the design are a series of ovular-
shaped cantilevered viewing ‘pods’, each with a
capacity of 100 or so people, that extend out on
the bay side to create ‘ring side’ viewing for water
events. These decks reinforce the design intent of
the bridge to optimise pedestrian experience of
the bridge as new urban place as well as of its role
as a vital connector between Singapore’s major ex-
isting and emerging urban precincts.
The 2010 WAF judges felt that The Helix Bridge was
a strong winner due to the uniqueness of its weav-
ing of structure and form. The judges said: “The
structure, which is derived from its ability to curve
in plan and section due to its helical form, will be-
come an important addition to the pedestrian ex-
perience in Singapore both in daytime and at night.
The scale for the pedestrian is very important with
viewing pods integrated in the solution, providing
opportunities for informal gatherings.”
The Helix Bridge, Singapore,
designed by Cox Rayner
Architects, Australia, and
Architects 61 Pte, Singapore.
Photos: Christopher Frederick
Jone.
56 >
FUTURE PROJECTS – CATEGORY WINNERS
The Commercial Category winner was Offices' 63,
Gurgaon, India, designed by Sanjay Puri Architects,
India.
Located in a rapidly urbanising new commercial
centre, the design of this project creates office
spaces that are individual in identity with interior &
exterior integration. Five wings of office spaces lo-
cated next to each other along the southern side of
the 6.05 acre plot gradually diminish in height from
the south-west corner to the south-east corner.
Offices' 63 is a building that generates open spac-
es at both the community and at the individual
level whilst being designed in context to its sur-
roundings; the city's climate and its heritage in a
sculptural manifestation of form with individual
identities to each space within.
The Competition Entries Category winner was
Dance and Music Centre, Netherlands, designed
by Aedas, Hong Kong.
The Dance and Music Center in The Hague presents
a significant opportunity to improve the civic and
social quality of both its city as well as the facili-
ties it houses. It will be located on Spuiplein, an
important, albeit underutilised urban square and
one of the project’s challenges is to improve activity
of this urban space. The facility itself contains its own
range of uses from the semi-public components of
retail and box office facilities, transitioning to the
performance venue foyers and finally to the five
venues themselves.
Adding even more richness to the program, the
Center will also house the highly respected Resi-
dentie Orkest and the Nederlands Dans Theater.
Further infused into this mixture is the Royal Con-
servatory, which includes four individual schools
57 >
– three focused on music and the other on dance.
The design weaves a semi-public path through the
entire facility revealing the inner workings of what
goes into these performances, as well as how
these artists develop. It is not only about the ven-
ues but also the studios, rehearsal rooms, class-
rooms and even the lounges.
The Centre’s requirements exceeded what the lim-
ited site area could accommodate for and the fa-
cilities are therefore stacked on top of each other.
The vitality of the center is interdependent with
how the public and semi-public components of the
project engage the facility. These three zones be-
come the major organisational and focal volumes
in the project.
Offices' 63, Gurgaon, India,
designed by Sanjay Puri Architects.
Dance and Music Centre, Netherlands,
designed by Aedas.
58 >
The Cultural Category winner was Concert Hall, Torun,
Poland, designed by Menis Arquitectos, Spain.
Torun is a small Polish town with a well-preserved
historic centre, protected by UNESCO. The site for
the concert hall sits on the edge of the town, bor-
dering a redevelopment in an area next to the old
wall which was converted into a park. The park
now runs along the center like a giant green bow
and houses a contemporary art center and build-
ings with some architectural value.
The city required further development of the area
including an auditorium (Concert Hall), hotel and a
conference center. Because of the delicate heritage
environment, and the need to maintain the percep-
tion of the park as a large open space, the height of
the Concert Hall had to be kept as low as possible.
The building’s design will create a fusion of old
and new through the use of materials. The interior
will be clad with exposed brick that reflects the
façades of the town’s historic centre, while the ex-
terior will be covered with very pale concrete (al-
most white). The façade reinterprets the tradition
of handmade brick while establishing a parallel be-
tween the tectonics of the city and the strategic
location of the site. The play of colors, red and
white, emphasises this dichotomy between herit-
age suggested by the use of brick and modern
technology and new urban developments.
The interior structure is designed to be flexible,
allowing the 1 000 and 300 seat adjoining audito-
riums to be opened up for large-scale events and
also provides the possibility of opening the con-
cert hall to the outside through the stage. This
complements the openness and permeability of
the building, which allows users to pass through it
towards the square, creating a total continuity
with the surrounding public space.
Concert Hall, Torun, Poland,
designed by Menis Arquitectos.
59 >
The Education Category winner was Sabah Al-Salem
University Kuwait University City, College of
Education, Kuwait City, Kuwait designed by Perkins
+ Will, USA.
The goals for the Sabah Al-Salem University City
College of Education project includes the creation
of a strong, individual identity for the College
within the university’s master plan; a student-cen-
tered learning environment that would foster a
community of learning; and a highly sustainable
design with daylight to all classrooms, offices and
main circulation spaces. Kuwait’s large swings in
temperature and relative humidity challenged the
design team to find innovative ways to balance
community and comfort with low energy use and
environmental sensitivity.
The design solution creates two five-storey rectangu-
lar buildings containing modular, repetitive a priori
learning spaces that are juxtaposed against a free-
form, undulating boardwalk enclosing a variety of
a posteriori learning support spaces (lounges, group
study niches and computer stations) that are carved
through the length and height of the structures,
connecting all floors and functions. The interplay of
solid and void between the mass of the buildings
and the meandering of The Boardwalk define the
architectural identity of the College and the belief
that classroom-based learning must, in the 21st Cen-
tury, be complemented by an equally vital learning
support environment in which learning continues
beyond the doors of the classroom.
Accessed from The Boardwalk, a series of large in-
ternal garden courtyards – oases – function as ma-
jor amenity nodes (cafeteria, library, lobby, and
auditorium) for the college, filled with daylight
and sheathed in greenery, all visible from the
learning spaces that surround and overlook them.
Sabah Al-Salem University
Kuwait University City,
College of Education,
Kuwait City, Kuwait,
designed by Perkins+Will.
60 >
Kuwait Children's Hospital,
Kuwait City, Kuwait,
designed by AGi Architects SL.
61 >
The Health Category winner was Kuwait Children's
Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait, designed by AGi Ar-
chitects SL, Spain.
The proposed design for the Kuwait Children’s Hos-
pital (KCH) is conceived as a landmark that responds
to climate and culture, and re-interprets these val-
ues in a mid-rise building. Like a fortress, it creates
an exterior monolithic image that seeks protection
from the harsh climate, and a softer interior oasis
tailored to the children’s use. The architects pro-
posed a cheerful and colourful building that stands
out from the deteriorated surroundings and is eas-
ily recognisable by children.
The building is approached through a climate-
controlled plaza, which is a continuation of the
exterior landscape, bringing in pedestrians. The
elevated position of the plaza helps in giving a
sense of power to the children over the street
level as they enter the hospital. This Plaza is
roofed by a vaulted coloured structure and large
openings bring in natural light and relate visually
to the roof garden.
62 >
West Kowloon Terminus, Hong Kong,
designed by Aedas.
63 >
The Infrastructure Category winner was West Kow-
loon Terminus, Hong Kong, designed by Aedas,
Hong Kong.
As a strong indicator in recent years, between Hong
Kong and mainland China, the West Kowloon Termi-
nus (WKT) is both a symbol and a functional repre-
sentation of how improved relations have become.
The high-speed rail terminus station will connect
Hong Kong to Beijing with the largest rail network
in the country’s history. Located centrally in Hong
Kong within the city’s existing urban realm, the
430 000 m2 facility with 15 tracks will be the largest
below ground terminus station in the world.
WKT will function more like an international airport
than a rail station as Hong Kong Special Administra-
tive Region maintains economic and political incen-
tives from P.R.China. Consequently, the facility needs
to have both custom and immigration controls for
departing and arriving passengers.
The site’s prominence immediately adjacent to the
future West Kowloon Cultural District and next to
Victoria Harbor required a design which was com-
pletely motivated by civic demand. Enriching the
challenge was the reality that there would be
400 000 m2 of commercial development on top of
the station which would be auctioned off to a devel-
oper in a later date.
64 >
The Masterplanning Category winner was The Arc,
Palestinian Occupied Territory, designed by Suisman
Urban Design, USA.
The Arc project offers a sweeping infrastructure
plan for a Palestinian state; it could begin immedi-
ately and provide tangible incentives for political
resolution by demonstrating the benefits of
achieving peace. Following the natural terrain of
the West Bank, the Arc corridor provides transpor-
tation, water and power to the main Palestinian
towns and cities, allowing them to absorb a fast-
expanding population and to grow in a sustainable
manner. The plan absorbs population growth in the
West Bank, while encouraging economic growth in
both the West Bank and Gaza. The Arc is part of a
rigorous, comprehensive assessment of the Pales-
tinian environment, including governance, internal
security, the economy, demography, water, health,
housing, transportation and education.
The Arc envisions the West Bank as an integrated
urban region of independent but connected cities,
with Gaza as the southernmost urbanised area. The
Arc’s fundamental feature is an interurban rail line The Arc, Palestinian Occupied Territory,
designed by Suisman Urban Design.
65 >
linking the main cities of Gaza and the West Bank
– including a stop at the international airport. Each
rail station, located several miles from existing his-
toric urban centers, would create a focal point for
new development and would be connected to these
historic centers via a new transit boulevard and an
advanced form of bus rapid transit.
No awards were made in the Experimental projects,
Landscape and Residential categories for Future
Projects.
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
According to the organisers, WAF is the only an-
nual international event to reward excellence in a
fully interactive inclusive live format. Through its
unique entry and judging process and its cutting
edge seminar and exhibition content, it is simulta-
neously a celebration of great architecture and an
intellectual challenge to a major world profession.
No other event offers architects around the world
this type of inspiration and stimulation. Last year
1 507 architects from 71 countries came to Barce-
lona to view and learn from the best projects of
the preceding 18 months and to help shape the
future of the industry through best practice ex-
change and collaboration. Put simply, it is architec-
tural excellence, live. <
Sources: All images and texts are published with
the consent of the copyright holders as they appear
on the WAF 2010 website, unless credited otherwise.
ARCHITECTURE.ZA2010: EVENT+CITY
66 >
ARCHITECTURE.ZA2010: EVENT+CITY
From 21-28 September, Johannesburg’s Newtown
was galvanised into a hive of architectural activity as
the long awaited Architecture.ZA2010 (AZA2010)
got underway. The South African Institute of Archi-
tects (SAIA) hosted this ambitious, vibrant and pio-
neering festival across Johannesburg which consist-
ed of a star-studded multi-disciplinary conference,
the National Architectural Student Congress, pho-
tography and architecture exhibitions, film screen-
ings, poetry readings, city walking tours and live
music and drama performances.
Around the world, architectural biennales and festi-
vals generate enormous public interest and partici-
pation. They raise general awareness about architec-
tural issues and have become income generators for
the promotion of architecture and cultural debate.
In considering the AZA2010 festival, the organisers
state that they had drawn inspiration from the most
successful of these, maximising their options to
reach the broadest possible audience. The organis-
ers say that AZA2010 developed a life of its own,
finding synergy with other events and embracing
new ideas and platforms as it grew.
From the outset the goal of AZA2010 was to bring
architecture back to the people, to celebrate the
diverse cultures and rich history of Southern Afri-
can cities and to offer architects a new way of look-
ing at how their buildings can be a sustainable force
for change in society.
AZA2010 has succeeded in placing architecture into
the consciousness of mainstream awareness in
South Africa. Media coverage was extensive and al-
lowed architecture to introduce itself to the South
African public as a leading creative, cultural pro-
ducer. It has also opened a dialogue which now al-
lows a non-intimidating relationship with the archi-
tectural profession, which SAIA will continue to
build upon in future.
67 >
OPENING ACTIVITIES
A public debate titled The state of housing in SA
marked the opening of the festival which took
place at the Potato Sheds Auditorium at the Market
Theatre complex. Participants in the debate includ-
ed Butch Steyn (DA spokesperson on Human Settle-
ments), Amira Osman (CSIR), Patrick Magebulah
(Federation of the Poor), Diego Ramirez-Lovering
(Monash University, Australia), Jackie Dugard (So-
cio-Economic Rights Institute of SA), Fanuel Mot-
sepe (SAIA President Elect) and Heather Dodd (ar-
chitect) amongst others.
The lively debate focused on the successes and
challenges of South Africa’s contemporary housing
strategy and how it contributes to the national pri-
ority of restructuring South African society, in order
to address structural, economic, social and spatial
dysfunctionalities.
The debate was followed by the official opening of
the AZA Pavilion at Mary Fitzgerald Square. The
structure has been designed by architects Sarah
Calburn and Dustin Tusnovics, while a team of wom-
en and young men from the Thinasonke informal
settlement, on the East Rand, helped with its con-
struction - all of whom belong to the Federation of
the Urban Poor.
The AZA Pavilion demonstrated the practical use of
alternative materials and is an example of innova-
tive thinking around social housing. The pavilion
was relocated to Thinasonke and rebuilt as a com-
munity centre – the first permanent structure in the
settlement.
CONFERENCE
The three-day conference that followed was called
EVENT+CITY and consisted of keynote plenary ses-
sions, breakaway panel discussions, lectures and
master classes run by the SAIA. The conference
theme was Reimagining Joburg, which created de-
bate about Southern Africa’s urban future. Topics
The AZA2010 Pavilion,
designed by Sarah Calburn
and Dustin Tusnovics.
68 >
included sustainability, urban public space and how
best to use a city’s infrastructure after hosting a
global event such as the 2010 World Cup. It also
probed the role of architecture in the formation of
a ‘world class African city’, as well as the green
agenda.
Programme directors, Sarah Calburn & Rodney
Place said that: "Joburg manifests and concentrates
many current global urban conditions – enormous
disparities of income; rapid transformation under a
socialist-leaning government; wealthy capitalist in-
stitutions operating alongside street traders and
self-built squatter settlements and entrenched in-
stitutional four-roomed suburbs – the remnants of
a segregated past – within sight of gated communi-
ties reminiscent of Beverly Hills.
“Unlike Sao Paulo or Lagos, Joburg operates at a
range of manageable scales that makes the strate-
gic role of architecture particularly interesting, and
opens Joburg to extraordinary possibility for ex-
perimentation and speculation as a global model. In
order to expose the complexity of our urban cul-
tures, we have taken the broadest possible ap-
proach to the formation of this conference. Speak-
ers and participants are being drawn from a wide
range of urban players: from cultural practitioners
to development economists, both centre-stage and
counter-culture. We aim to intensify awareness of
the roles that architecture can play in this complex
city towards the many possible re-inventions of our
urban futures.”
The conference structure comprised of overarching
daily themes, with two plenary keynotes that set
the stage for two breakaway sessions consisting of
five parallel-running panels, which interrogated dif-
ferent aspects of the themes. Due to the confer-
ence format, delegates had the difficult task of
choosing between the parallel-running breakaway
sessions. Therefore, the reportage of the confer-
ence reflected in the rest of this article only covers
certain sessions.
69 >
DAY 1
The first day’s overarching theme was Now and then
– Cultures of the city with two sub-themes, Histories:
The myths and fictions of Joburg over time and His-
toricities: Counter-cities.
The first international keynote was delivered by lu-
minary Spanish architect, Fernando Menis, whose
work is instantly recognisable – grandly sculptural
and organic, modern yet ancient, almost always in-
spired by nature. Perhaps his most famous building
is the MAGMA Arts and Convention Centre in Ten-
erife, made from roughly faced concrete that
evokes the local rock textures and volcanic lava for-
mations.
In his presentation titled Reason and Emotion,
Menis shared his particular concern with socially
and environmentally responsible designs that add
value to the planet. He believes that “A good
project understands nature, works with it and does
it no harm.” He also dealt with the importance of
loci, context and the way in which architecture can
evoke emotion. “Emotion” he said “depends on
where you are, what place you are in, for example
the weather.” He continued to argue that architects
MAGMA Arts & Conference Centre,
Adeje, Tenerife, Canary Islands,
designed by AMP Arquitectos and
Fernando Martin Menis.
70 >
township housing; from the mythology of stadia to
the queer city.
Acclaimed local architect and winner of the 2009
World Architecture Forum’s World’s Best Building
of the Year, Peter Rich, acted as chairman of one of
the panels with a presentation themed Self-efficiency
on building community. He said that: “Cities gener-
ally begin as a conglomeration of villages, often
loosing their village quality as they develop. African
cities however maintain their village quality through
their growth largely due to their social and cultural
aspects that bind people and communities together”
– those living in Joburg will surely attest to the
truth of this introductory statement.
Rich continued by stating that architecture cap-
tures “…hidden history, [yet] it is hard to put your
finger on it … There have been remarkable things
that have happened in history.” As an example Rich
mentioned: “If you look at Johannesburg, there
were yards and yards of land. Indians owned land in
the city during the era of apartheid and they
brought their religions and ‘villages’ into the city.”
“As architects, we look at the enabling typologies
of a building or area. How do people use buildings?
need to be sensitive to all contexts and that “Emo-
tion needs to cross over with reason.” He concluded
that: “As architects, our work is like lasagna. Each
layer represents a layer of knowledge. When you
eat the lasagna, you eat all the layers together” – in
the South African context he could of course have
used the bunny chow as an analogy.
Menis’ presentation was followed by breakaway
streams that addressed the sub-theme, Histories:
The myths and fictions of Joburg over time.
It has been said that Joburg requires a huge amount
of ‘insider knowledge’ no matter which side of the
fence you sit on”, said the programme directors,
and the session’s panelists interrogated many per-
tinent questions, including: “What are the implica-
tions of this for all kinds of cultural production?
How does history inform the relics of the gold rush
town – the underground city – the accelerated city
– the ‘elusive metropolis’? How does architecture
commemorate a painful past? How has a culture of
‘display and concealment’ shaped Joburg? What are
the roles of preservation in mapping the future?
Presentations ranged from issues around public
space to Sophiatown; from African literature to
71 >
The way people use a building, depicts the success
and adaptability of that building. You can see, look-
ing back into history, which buildings were enabling
and which ones weren’t.”
Rich concluded his presentation by stating: “We ar-
chitects need to look at the reality and abilities of
people to cope. Ninety-six percent of the people in
our country are not served by the architectural pro-
fession. We as a discipline need to form partner-
ships and facilitate things.”
Author and poet, Wally Mongane Serote, in his
presentation stated: “There was a time when there
was a primary [indigenous] African institution. It
consisted of babies, children, adults and grandpar-
ents” – traditionally a circular space, a physical and
metaphorical space. Serote then reflected on the
creation of urban townships and the effects that it
had on the communities that occupied them:
“Someone, back then, decided that these people
need a space where they could act like it’s an insti-
tution. This is where our urban culture was made.
There was [suddenly] a rectangular space for all of
us.” Serote then went on to pose the question: “Did
the architects that built that space, know the peo-
ple that they were building it for?”
“As people moved out of the townships, they were
throwing away their elders that still lived in the
townships. Elders, they perish. The houses are cruel
and dark in townships. Sadness happens when you
pick people out of their homes and put them some-
where else. If you pension someone, you build a
space for them to go to – they are ‘pensioned’
there.”
“As architects, you need to find ways to go back to
the source. You need to find ways to humanise
yourself and do it correctly. By giving us this space
or spaces, architects become people who deal with
aesthetics and design and therefore they have a
great gift.”
72 >
In response, Rich said: “As architects, we are in-
volved in human-space making. Spaces are where
people meet and are used as a ‘space of gathering’.
It is the way you ritualise a place. Sometimes archi-
tects make buildings that are too alienating. It is
because we are being too abstract.”
Historian, Federico Freschi took the audience on an
alternative thought route by focusing on the per-
sistence of classicism in the architecture of Johan-
nesburg. He said that: “The questions of style tell us
who we are as people and give us substance to our
identity.”
“The Johannesburg Art Gallery and the Rand Re-
gents Memorial are two examples of classicalism.
Since its inception, the City has an unbroken tradi-
tion of classical buildings and classical architecture,
for example, the old Johannesburg banks, St John’s
and Jeppe Boys High School. Johannesburg also
shows traces of neo-classicalism in the Wits Univer-
sity and also has a proliferation of Tuscan buildings,
one in the form of Monte Casino. “This Classicalism
in architecture has prevailed [in the City]. There is a
persistence of a ‘poet pidgin language’.”
“Here, there is a broader historical trend. Every age
or generation has appropriated classicalism to it-
self. It is a part of a broader classical trend” and
“There is an idea that classical architecture is set in
stone in the original class structure.”
Freschi asked: “There are classical elements in ritu-
als – a temple is classical. What memory and souls
do these classical buildings hold in the Joburg con-
text?” He continued: “With ‘classical’ there is a
sense that it has been around forever in a country
and yet, that it as new as South Africa. The city of
Johannesburg represents an interesting case study;
it is a reminder to constantly go back to the source.
There is a desire to belong.”
Social historian Luli Callinicos continued to explore
Freschi’s statement on belonging: “The myth of the
empty Joburg is a question of remembering and
73 >
74 >
forgetting. There was struggle for a place in the
city. Joburg is the city of choice. Egoli has the per-
ception of accessible wealth. Most people chose
Joburg as they were also propelled to it.”
“There is also a myth of Joburg having two econo-
mies – the rural and the urban. These are both apart
of the same system.”
“In the past, there was a negotiation of space and
foundations of an informal settlement. The space
in townships encompassed the middle class squeez-
ing with the unemployed. There was a bonding, a
cross-class within the townships,” said Callinicos.
Serbian architect and urban researcher, Ivan Kucina
acted as commentator in this session and conclud-
ed that: “It seems to me that the residence of Jo-
hannesburg are confused. They are confronted in
such complexities, that they cannot find meaning
within this place. This space seems to be a cruel
space. This space needs to be appropriated. We
need to give this space a human quality.”
The second sub-theme of the day, Historicities:
Counter-cities, was introduced by a keynote presen-
tation delivered by Lindsay Bremner, a former chair
of architecture at both Tyler School of Art at Tem-
ple University, USA, and the School of Architecture
and Planning at the University of the Witwa-
tersrand, Johannesburg. Her work is concerned
with questions of architecture, culture and geopol-
itics in a globalising world and she has made a sig-
nificant study of Johannesburg in this regard.
Bremner presents the findings of her current field
of research, The Folded Ocean Project, which she
describes as an investigation of “the nebulous ter-
rain that is the Indian Ocean.” The project entails
a critical mapping of trade and the movements of
75 >
people, nations and cities in the Indian Ocean and how
these define it as a distinct geographic territory.
She started her presentation ‘folding’ a map of the
region and compared how various cities on its pe-
riphery are distributed in a recognisable pattern –
Perth collates to Durban, Nairobi to Singapore, and
so on. This lateral mapping process shows how mar-
itime connections defined – and continues to de-
fine – culture and how it underpins developmental
attitudes in the region.
In the breakaway sessions, a diverse mix of archi-
tects, urban planners, academics, artists, writers,
fashion designers and others interrogated several
complex questions including: What would happen
if the city, striving for norms, were to become un-
readable to those who live there? What Joburg
fringes are working against the norm? What about
counter-culture and privatisation? Can activism re-
claim an increasingly privatised public space? And
the constant counter currents of immigration, of
speed and position? How do we read alternative vo-
cabularies and does the city breed rebellions be-
hind closed doors?
Presentations ranged from informal communities
in high-rises to pavement economies; from rebel-
lion in the suburbs to alien movies; from fashion
gangs to cultural archaeologies.
DAY 2
Day two’s overarching theme, Contemporary urban
currencies, was divided into two sub-themes, Market-
ing, Imaging and Branding of the city, and Theoretical
positions and experimentation.
New York-based Michael Sorkin, one of the most
talked-about and outspoken architects working to-
day, presented the first keynote of the day, titled
Eutopia now!
The projects of Michael Sorkin Studio exist first and
foremost on theoretical and experimental levels –
they are part invention and part critique – and many
of them focus on urban redevelopment schemes.
They are grounded in the belief that the city is both
the primary source of architecture’s social mean-
ings and its main challenge. Particularly important
to the Sorkin Studio is the inquiry into new forms of
sustainable, post-technological cities.
In his presentation, Sorkin argued for the inextricable
connection between design and social engagement
and presented a green outlook for urban futures.
THIS PAGE:
Shanghai Main Station District Masterplan,
China, designed by Michael Sorkin Studio.
OPPOSITE PAGE:
Seven Star Hotel In Tianjin Masterplan, Tianjin,
China, designed by Michael Sorkin Studio.
He also stressed the importance of adding an ‘e’ to
"utopia" and highlighted the urgency for alterna-
tive futures rooted in green, sustainable city plan-
ning and architecture that involves all citizens. He
emphasised that the creation of spaces for urban
conviviality included not only the greening of pave-
ments but communal agricultural enterprises "in
open spaces, dead-end streets and even parking
lots" and showed examples of how this is done in
parts of New York City such as at Brooklyn Bridge,
Harlem, in parking lots and on top of buildings.
Sorkin lambasted the over-consumption associated
with contemporary ‘franchised landscapes’ such as
malls. He also drew comparisons between post-so-
cialist Moscow and post-apartheid Johannesburg,
where democracy has entwined with capitalism and
produced suffocating effects on the futures of
these cities.
Sorkin believes that cities need to inspire people
and for him, the solution lies in the creation of "eu-
topias" and not in the “spectacle of fantastical cities
that make a mockery of democracy and fails to nur-
ture hope and possibility."
The first breakaway sessions focused on the broad
sub-theme Marketing, Imaging and Branding of the
city and panelists addressed questions such as:
What is the role of branding in the production of a
world-class city? What are its codes and barriers?
Are we entering a ‘franchised landscape’ of malls,
outlets and gated developments? What can we
learn from architectural and cultural innovations
that got their brand strategy right? Are we inter-
ested in the formation of a public culture accessible
to all or are we a society of differentiation? Presen-
tations range from public art to private transport;
from the regeneration of Braamfontein to the de-
velopment of the Gautrain; from urban eco-systems
to the future face of townships.
South African architect Henning Rasmuss looked at
how architecture reflects Johannesburg’s various
stories and he quoted various examples: “The Hill-
brow Tower is the city’s architecture. There is an
architectural story shown within the Apartheid Mu-
seum. This museum is part of Johannesburg’s im-
age. Architecture tells a story: Johannesburg is a
tough city.”
77 >
78 >
Rasmuss continued: “The Nelson Mandela Statue in
Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton is an example of
the way we are messing with the city’s image, it’s
over-proportioned. But, it is brutally honest and is
a part of the city’s image.”
Rasmuss believes that “Johannesburg is veld, with
a piece of style within it. As it is a gold town, a town
of money, it is ‘bling bling’, with ‘bling’ architecture.
Architecture in this city that does not have ‘bling’ is
missing something.”
He said that “One of the great traditions in Johan-
nesburg is that we try to do difficult things. We aim
very high. Architecture is not scared. We are about
‘big balls’ and doing ambitious things in terms of
architecture. We try give ourselves big problems
and then work through them and learn from it.”
Kia van Hasselt, an urban strategy consultant from
The Netherlands, started his presentation by giving
his personal interpretation to the day’s overarching
theme, Contemporary urban currencies. He claimed
that: “Johannesburg’s currency is situated in tradi-
tional capitalism” and argued that “It is important
to know how these externalities [or transaction sp-
illovers] manifest themselves in cities and how they
are good drivers of the cities.”
He said that: “Reflexive urbanism is about the stra-
tegic and reflexive shaping of the built environ-
ment” because it operates on the principles of
cause and effect. He then looked at how to make
use of the interaction between two levels: the
building and its surroundings. “The focus should be
on the synergies between the buildings and the ar-
eas around it and how architecture develops a way
to describe how things really are.”
Van Hasselt believes that “Externalities create ex-
tra value to the cities. Social ventures create exter-
nalities, and externalities create ‘sense networks’.”
79 >
He went on to quote local examples where exter-
nalities contributed positively to the development
of the city “Art spaces and institutions are drivers of
reflexivity. For example, the Joburg Art Fair, in
March 2010, made spaces more exciting. Another
example is Arts on Main in Johannesburg.”
Local branding guru, Jeremy Sampson, spoke about
the relationship between buildings and brands and
how these impact on people’s perceptions of the
city. He said “Buildings have brands. Everything has
a brand.” Proving his point, Sampson said: “The An-
glo American building in Johannesburg is the ugli-
est building, it looks constipated, solid and boring.
It is important to be conscious of the building you
work in because it reflects people’s perceptions.”
He argued that a brand and a company are symbi-
otic and that architecture is part of both.
Talking about the city, Sampson said “Johannesburg
has to be branded. It’s about getting people to
come here. Johannesburg is the gateway to Africa.
The existing identity of Johannesburg is the Hill-
brow Tower and the Coat of Arms.”
“The Johannesburg area has grown in the 90s. What
did you call Johannesburg back then? Jozi? Egoli?
Johannesburg? No one has defined Johannesburg.”
He concluded by giving his interpretation of what
the city’s brand should reflect: “Johannesburg val-
ues go back to the people. Johannesburg is crea-
tive, personal, African, nurturing and dynamic. We
have a typology.”
Daniel Van Der Merwe, architectural consultant at
the Cement and Concrete Institute, presented a
case study on Yeoville, which is one of the areas of
Johannesburg with the most obtrusive identities.
He said: “From an urban point of view, Yeoville in-
vites opportunity. It allows us to look at a city that
started as a white suburb and metamorphosised into
something else. This place allows us to question
80 >
clues to legality in experimentation? What about
design as research; activism as research? How can
we test some radical re-imaginings of our urban fu-
tures?
Renowned Iranian- born, French architect Nasrine
Seraji presented the second keynote address of the
day, titled Nothing has really happened until is has
been documented.
Seraji is founder of the Paris-based firm Atelier Ser-
aji Architectes & Associés, which has become a labo-
ratory for both practice and research. The studio
regularly collaborates with consultants in the fields
of landscape design, engineering, graphic design,
programming, economics and management.
Seraji presented an overview of her professional
work. She said: “In Paris there is a huge focus on a
building’s alignment and the use of stone in the
construction of buildings. There is no building’s
what an African city is and what it is about. Yeoville
is a process of change.”
“In 1994 there was an influx of people. The spaces
that we intended to be something specific, have
become something else. There is a metamorphosis
of space.”
“Nowadays in Yeoville, there are open spaces that
are being beautified with murals. You can see how
Yeoville is going through an interesting change.” He
concluded that the area it is in a third wave and
then posed the question: “Where are we going to
go next?”
The afternoon session dealt with the sub-theme
Theoretical positions and experimentation under
which presenters explored the potential of Johan-
nesburg as a ‘continuing experiment’ towards alter-
native futures and again dealt with a diversity of
questions: What are the codes and barriers and
81 >
years through ways like competitions, my teachings
and exhibitions” and explained why she believed
that architecture exhibitions are important, espe-
cially the showcasing of projects proposals that
never made it to the final tender or construction
phases: “There is something you can never say if
you are a practicing architect. You cannot be critical
of those who give us the jobs. We need to be self-
critical. … Exposing our work as a series opens it up
to criticism and debate. Criticism is an essential in-
terface. … Architecture should once again become
a platform for criticality.”
Following on Seraji’s keynote, the presentations in
the breakaway sessions ranged from a film study of
the Newtown flyover; to inner city experiments;
from interventions on heritage sites to lessons
from choreography; from public art to earth archi-
tecture.
without straightness. Buildings are ‘on the line’ –
there are no nooks or crannies where unprivileged
people can hide or live. I was resistant and resilient
to this cultural architecture. I learnt from the
French, not to just say ‘yes’ to doing any type of ar-
chitecture.”
In explaining her explorations of the relationship
between urbanism and architecture, she posed con-
fronting questions such as: “Architecture is domi-
nated by what? Power or money? Can urbanism still
be larger than architecture?” and then responded
that: “Sometimes infrastructure can become a
building” and continued to say that: “Architecture is
not exclusively responsible for [urban] program-
ming. How can we take into account pre-program-
ming of spaces?”
Seraji then went on to look at the practice issues
and the architect’s position in the creative world.
She said: “I have viewed my architecture over the
DAY 3
The third and last day of the conference focused on
the theme Post-event cities and the sub-theme,
Iconographies and sustainabilities.
South African-born, but now Netherlands-based,
Duzan Doepel presented the morning’s keynote
presentation titled Towards resilient cities. Doepel
spoke about how sustainable cities should generate
at least as much energy as they consume and, on a
regional scale, be self-sufficient in the production
of food. He also addressed the issues of closing en-
ergy, water and waste cycles on building and dis-
tricts, which he believes holds opportunities for
hybrid forms of architecture and urban clusters
that could produce more energy, water and food
than what buildings consume. Doepel stated that
82 >
Renewable City 2040, Merwe-Vierhavens,
Rotterdam, The Netherlands,
designed by Doepel Strijker Architects.
The Truffle, Laxe, Spain,
designed by Ensamble Studio.
this surplus could form a source of income for build-
ings and districts, generating a healthy local econo-
my and increased level of wellbeing.
But in Doepel’s view, a sustainable city’s design is
not merely about balancing flows. As an example,
he presented the Merwe and Vierhavens case study
in which his practice is investigating how social pa-
rameters can be combined with technical parame-
ters to generate a truly sustainable urban area. In
this case study a low-energy urban morphology
combines the ideals of a healthy, liveable city with
high densities and an optimal public transport sys-
tem. This results in a low-rise, high-density model
with adaptive forms of architecture in which public,
collective and private realms are subtly connected.
84 >
Following on Doepel’s keynote, the breakout ses-
sions explored critical issues such as: What are the
pressures of local and global iconographies? How
do design and political imperatives forge a lasting
relationship? What happens now to the stadia and
the transport infrastructure, the “third landscape”?
Do we need a dose of event resilience? How do di-
verse cultures move towards a single-minded sus-
tainable practice? Presentations from Sandton and
the challenge of the Gautrain to Alexandra and a
sustainable future; from greening the corporate
world to providing housing for the people; from
building stadia to mining water, renewing land-
scapes to city buses.
Presenters included architects, artists, econo-
mists, sustainability experts, transport experts
and politicians.
The final keynote was presented on the afternoon
of day three, by the Madrid-based Ensamble Studio
led by Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa.
85 >
Ensamble believes that a building only really re-
veals itself once it is finished. They encourage a
constant flow of research and experimentation in
projects in which they are involved with at every
stage, construction included. They regard their
style as “unitary and essential” and as trying to “re-
solve the complexity of the context with simple
gestures”. It is this quest for the essence that in-
spires them. They use building materials as a means
to an end, never as a pre-destined factor.
TOP: Church and Berklee Tower of Music,
Valencia, Spain, designed by Ensamble Studio.
BOTTOM: Hemeroscopium House, Madrid,
Spain, designed by Ensamble Studio.
86 >
JOZI NITE
Jozi Nite, which took place on 24 September under
the M1 highway in the vicinity of Mary Fitzgerald
Square in Newtown, was one of the major high-
lights of AZA2010. It featured live bands, top
deejays, edgy films and a group of fringe traders
as well as food and beverage stalls. The night’s
activities included a screening of acclaimed per-
formance artist, Steven Cohen’s Chandelier, the
innovative Peep Dance and Gents of the City, and
performances by Smarteez, Sapeurs, and Os-
wenkas.
The winning short films in the C&CI Moving
Space competition was also screened at Jozi
Nite. This architectural student design competi-
tion promotes discourse around pressing issues
of sustainability in architecture.
CONCLUSION
AZA2010 concluded with a three-day master
class presented by international luminaries Fern-
ando Menis, Antón García-Abril and Débora
Mesa Molina and local legends including Peter
Rich and Andrew Makin. <
All images supplied by AZA2010 unless credited
otherwise.
DIVERSITY
88 >
Boston Night
Club, Pretoria.
89 >
BBA: DIVERSITY
AT ITS BEST
Barnard & Burger Associated Architects and Interior
Designers (BBa), is one of the industry’s all-in-one
architectural boutique firms. From architectural
design; documentation and details for local authority
submission; building tenders; complete building
project management; financial management of build-
ing construction; interior and graphic design, to space
and facility planning, BBa does it all, overseeing the
entire process before construction whilst offering
a complete professional service at its best.
Not only is BBa diverse in the many roles it plays
within the architectural process, but diversity is also
evident in the range of clients within the firm’s port-
folio, including institutions, commercial firms, in-
dustrialists, developers and private homeowners.
Established five years ago with the amalgamation
of Eugene Barnard (EB Associates) and Ben Burger,
the practice has evolved over the decades. With more
than 30 years of experience in various partnerships
and involved for many years in the fields of CAD, both
90 >
principals have been managing projects, assisting
with determining the client brief and and overseeing
the entire process before construction, including
providing solid advice that is based on thoroughly
researched knowledge acquired over the years.
This architectural practice is innovative and dedi-
cated to designing and constructing buildings of
the highest quality. It is in this process of lateral
thinking that the talents, skills and energy of the
entire team in the practice are concentrated. Ex-
pressions of style, timeless design and added value
are the basic principles by which BBa attributes its
success and the personalised service lends focus
to detail.
BBa are backed up by skilled design and technical
staff utilising facilities and well-developed elec-
tronic support services. All drawings are executed on
DATACAD and other related application software.
Architecture together with other disciplines and
good urban design principles from an environmental
perspective provides a harmonious connection be-
tween man and the environment. The economic
science which it is, allows BBa to provide the end
user with a valuable and sustainable project.
BBa have extended the scope of the standard profes-
sional services and have developed expertise to
provide specialised training as well as technical as-
sistance to previously disadvantaged professionals
in order to improve their own professionalism.
BBa endeavours to build and value long-term relation-
ships with their contractors, other professionals and
clients from various backgrounds and then deliver
the best possible architectural solutions within the
clients’ unique budgetary and time frame constraints.
TOP
: Bu
sh L
od
ge,
Nyl
stro
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.
CEN
TRE:
Ho
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Bar
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at
Sto
neh
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t
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tain
Est
ate,
Cap
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wn
.
BO
TTO
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ote
l in
An
go
la.
91 >
TOP
: Ho
use
at
Sere
ng
eti G
olf
& W
ildlif
e Es
tate
, Gau
ten
g.
SEC
ON
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OW
: Par
kin
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arag
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ith
adve
rtis
ing
.
THIR
D R
OW
: Res
tau
ran
t co
nce
pt.
BO
TTO
M: H
ou
se v
an D
yk, I
ren
e W
oo
ds,
Cen
turi
on
.
92 >
TOP: House Swart.
CENTRE: New façade for the Batho Pele Building.
BOTTOM: Ranger accommodation, Mozambique.
This is really achieved by giving each project special
attention and personal involvement by the principals
over the entire duration of the project. Each project
is treated with the same enthusiasm and professional-
ism, regardless of the size or budget. On-site super-
vision ensures that the high quality of design and
detail is implemented in the built product. BBa strives
to, as much as the client will allow, to also provide
environmentally sensitive and energy efficient de-
sign solutions.
It is these factors, that place BBa has one of the
leaders in the small-scale architectural industry,
and their large number of satisfied clients can
surely vouch for this. <
95 >
BAI INCREASES ITS GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
By Lois Aitchison
96 >
Bentel International Associates (BAI) is one of
South Africa’s foremost commercial architecture
practices. The company is widely respected for its
innovative yet functional designs across a wide
range of sectors. Its portfolio includes major retail
centres, mixed-use and infrastructural develop-
ments, railway stations, airport terminals, and of-
fice, hotel and apartment buildings in predomi-
nantly Southern Africa, West and Central Africa,
the Middle East and India.
BAI strives to deliver integrated, broad-based solu-
tions for a variety of complex design and planning
projects for both public and private sector clients.
With a portfolio of prestigious and complex projects,
the company has won numerous local awards and
is increasingly recognised internationally.
Despite a challenging global financial climate, BAI
continues its growth trajectory as an international
practice and has recognised the enormous growth
potential in the fast-evolving built environments
in Africa where there is an increasing need for
world-class retail and other facilities.
BAI IN AFRICA
BAI has gained vast experience in Africa with projects
completed and under development in Nigeria,
Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, the DRC and countries
bordering South Africa. BAI understands the com-
plexities of working in Africa and with its 1 billion
population (including 100 million consumers) re-
siding in 67 cities, the continent will continue to
offer substantial development opportunities in
the future.
The company’s successes in Africa are due to its
integrity, its exceptionally co-operative attitude,
excellent service and the ability to consider, under-
stand and appreciate the aesthetics, diversity and
cultural differences in the various countries in
which it operates.
BAI has been operating in sub-Saharan Africa for
the last 50 years and has also gained extensive ex-
perience in countries located north of South Africa.
Highlights include the design of the highly ac-
claimed Lagos Palms in Nigeria and Accra Mall in
Ghana. The company is currently involved with two
major retail and mixed-use developments in Lu-
saka, Zambia – the Manda Hill refurbishment and
the mixed-use Levy Business Park.
Lagos Palms, the first world-class shopping and
entertainment centre in Nigeria, opened in 2006.
The subsequent success of this pioneering retail
venture, which provided Nigerians with their first
21st century shopping and entertainment experi-
ence, prompted a $60-million extension that in
97 >
future will form part of a proposed mixed-use de-
velopment in the surrounding precinct.
The retail GLA will be extended by 20 000 m²,
which will make the Palms the largest shopping
centre of its kind in Nigeria. The proposed exten-
sion of the centre is proposed for 2011, with the
proposed mixed-use components including two of-
fice towers, an apartment block, a state-of-the-art
gym and a waterway link planned for construction
thereafter.
The original design of the Palms also incorporated
the centre’s own water purification plant, a sewer
treatment plant, an efficient central air-condition-
ing system and an energy backup with a 2900 KVA
generating plant.
Accra Mall, Ghana (2007) is the first retail project
of its kind and scale in Ghana. BAI designed a state-
of-the-art retail environment to cater for the
emergent middle class in Ghana, where people
were not familiar with large-scale shopping malls
and there was a general lack of resources in the
region. The design demanded user-friendly func-
tionality, good orientation and energy efficiency.
Internal features include top quality finishes, open
skylights that introduce natural light into the in-
ternal spaces, a water treatment facility and a
structural design that meets earthquake zone re-
quirements.
Manda Hill, Lusaka, Zambia. Predominantly driven
by an increasing demand from tenants and shop-
pers, the $210-million (ZAR1.6bn) expansion and
refurbishment of the shopping centre commenced
in 2010 and is expected to be completed by 2011.
The structural changes include changing the pre-
existing 20 000 m² external strip shopping facility
to an internal mall by means of the addition of a
two-level 15 000 m² component in the central area
between the two anchors. A large food court ex-
tends into a new external component and piazza.
The re-design and upgrade of the existing façade
includes a grand colonnade that runs the full
length of the front facade. The colonnade will be-
come the threshold and design feature for the
whole centre.
The 94 000 m² Levy Business Park project com-
menced construction in September 2010 in the
Zambian capital of Lusaka. Designed by BAI in a
joint venture with The Design Workshop, a Lusaka-
based architectural practice, the mixed-use
$200-million (ZAR1.5bn) project will be a major
mixed-use development consisting of retail, office
and hotel nodes. The project is still under construc-
tion and will be completed in 2011.
BAI continues to be enthusiastic about the chal-
lenges that working in Africa and elsewhere offers,
and looks forward to continuing to effectively con-
tribute to the realisation of the goals and require-
ments of international developers, investors and
end users. The company, with its impressive port-
folio of completed, current and proposed projects,
is extending its geographic reach and fortifying its
strategy and presence in existing and new territories
on the continent.
98 >
INCREASED PRESENCE IN INDIA
BAI’s commercial design expertise is rapidly gain-
ing further international recognition and the com-
pany is now able to compete on an equal footing
with some of the world’s best commercial design
firms. Over the last five years, BAI has established
a significant footprint in the Indian commercial
built environment where the company currently
has over 40 projects in various stages of design or
construction.
BAI has developed an excellent understanding of
the complexities of doing business in India, as well
as the cultural context in which their designs will
be built. The company’s ability to solve complex
design issues and to consistently meet and exceed
99 >
developers’ expectations and needs is a major con-
tributory factor to their success on the Indian sub-
continent.
Testimony to this is BAI’s recognition as a finalist
in the 2010 Asia ICSC awards in the ‘Innovative de-
sign and development of a new retail project’ cat-
egory for its Oberoi Mall in Mumbai, India. The
International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC)
Asia Awards recognise and honour the shopping
centre industry’s most cutting-edge properties, in-
novative solutions and creative responses to mar-
ket trends, as well as outstanding examples of
design and development in the Asian region. The
other nine finalists in the mentioned category are
major international firms from China, Japan, South
Korea, Malaysia and Australia
The 45 000 m2 GLA Oberoi Mall, which focused on
the mid to high-end market, attracted its first two
million visitors in a record time of just 100 days
after opening. Located in the mixed-use develop-
ment of Oberoi Garden City in the northern sub-
urbs of Mumbai, Oberoi Mall features an extensive
lifestyle and retail mix. Structural elements were
utilised to be both functional and decorative. An
expansive central atrium encloses four levels of
retail, increasing shop visibility and bringing natu-
ral light into the space. The height of the build-
ing’s architectural elements encourage visitors to
navigate the entire mall – glass elevators with LED
lighting draw the eye to upper levels and increase
sightlines.
LEFT: Mantri Square,
Bengaluru, India.
RIGHT: Oberoi Mall,
Mumbai, India.
100 >
RECENT PROJECTS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Committed focus on sustainability
BAI recognises the current imperative for built envi-
ronment professionals to be cognisant of and proac-
tive in tackling environmental issues through the
design and implementation of sustainable prop-
erty developments. The company is committed to
‘green’ architecture and seeks to minimise the
harmful effects of human interventions on the en-
vironment by the appropriate selection of design
elements, building materials and construction
practices.
Two recently completed buildings epitomise this
commitment: The design brief of the Legacy Corner
development in Sandton focused on environmental
issues, maintenance and operating costs to offset
the initial capital outlay in the medium to long-term.
Sustainable solutions include alternative sources of
power, back-up power and solar energy, a thermally
efficient façade and heat transfer systems for water
heating.
The Hurlingham retail complex and supermarket in
Sandton consists of a multi-level complex with a
receiving basement, a level for staff facilities, trad-
ing and mezzanine levels and a 300-bay basement
parking area. The complex includes the 5 600 m2
Pick ‘n Pay supermarket and 750 m2 of adjoining line
shops. The supermarket is the third Pick ‘n Pay store
to incorporate a significant number of sustainable
elements including the use of natural refrigerants.
The client’s criteria for the new store and complex
were that the design and technology had to be
commercially viable with a realistic return on in-
vestment. The architects sought to incorporate
viable initiatives that would enhance the overall
aesthetics of the building while significantly re-
ducing its carbon footprint.
Maponya Mall,
Johannesburg.
101 >
The design is not the conventional inverted type
of architecture normally used for retail complexes.
The inclusion of contemporary full height glass fa-
cades, together with numerous skylights in the
roofscape and a dimmable light system, allows for
considerable daylight harvesting and adds to the
natural ambience of the interior of the complex.
The new store will use almost 40 percent less en-
ergy than a comparable conventionally designed
store due to the utilisation of high performance
refrigeration, lighting and HVAC systems, which
utilise renewable energy sources to help light,
warm and cool the site. Other green components
include 100 kilowatts of photovoltaic capacity that
will generate between 8–20% of the store’s power
when in operation; a single 1 600 litre hot water
tank for the hot water reclaim system; a rainwater
harvesting system; largely indigenous landscaping
and the restoration and enhancement of the sub-
stantial reserve between the building and the
Braamfontein Spruit that forms part of the sur-
rounding urban greenbelt.
102 >
Legacy Corner (2010) – sustainable mixed-use exclusivity in the heart of Sandton
The 17-storey Legacy Corner mixed-use develop-
ment is situated in the Nelson Mandela Square
precinct in Sandton within the richest and most
economically important area in Africa. Legacy Cor-
ner has direct access to Nelson Mandela Square
and has the advantages of close proximity and
easy access to Sandton City, the Michelangelo
Towers Mall and the Sandton Convention Centre.
The Michelangelo Towers, also designed by BAI,
continues to achieve some of the highest prices
per square metre in the country.
The architects created a design for the iconic Leg-
acy building that is unique in a contemporary man-
ner with timeless and elegant aesthetics, textures
and finishes that respect the building’s context
whilst complementing the other structures in the
precinct.
103 >
Within the context of increasing globalisation, the
last decade has firmly entrenched BAI as an interna-
tional design company. The Legacy and Michelange-
lo developments have become benchmarks of excel-
lent design for BAI’s international clients.
Pedestrian Bridge over Maude Street (2010)
The Legacy Group, developers of the Michelangelo
complex and Legacy Corner, required a pedestrian
bridge over Maude Street to enhance the aesthetics,
connectivity and functionality of the Sandton CBD.
The weatherproof bridge links the Convention Centre
and the Michelangelo Towers Mall, which in turn,
completes the link through to Nelson Mandela
Square, Legacy Corner, Sandton City and back through
to the Intercontinental Hotel and the Convention
Centre. The modern bridge is a steel, aluminium
and glass structure with finishes that aesthetically
complement and enhance the other elements in
the precinct.
LEFT & CENTRE: Michelangelo
Towers, Johannesburg.
RIGHT: Legacy Corner,
Johannesburg.
Legacy Corner consists of the six-level luxury Da
Vinci Hotel with 168 rooms, four levels comprising
80 residential apartments, two levels of four luxu-
ry duplex penthouses, four levels of parking and
the 5 000 m² of high-end retail, dining and enter-
tainment components. The Mall is situated on
three levels beneath the hotel. An escalator court
provides a vertical circulation node connecting the
parking and retail levels of Legacy Corner and the
Nelson Mandela Square. The escalator court
boasts one of the world’s largest video screen
walls with 64 42” TVs making up the wall.
In line with the Legacy developer’s commitment to
the Heritage Environmental Rating Programme in
Africa and BAI’s local implementation of the Green
Star Code, the architects incorporated several sig-
nificant green components into the design of Leg-
acy Corner, which include alternative sources of
power, back-up power, solar energy and a thermal-
ly efficient façade.
104 >
Gautrain Rapid-Rail System Stations (2010)
The development of the Gautrain Rapid-Rail System
was initiated in response to the announcement of
South Africa as the host of the 2010 FIFA World
Cup. A functional and efficient transport system
had been sorely lacking in Gauteng province for
many years, with the majority of commuters having
to rely on less safe, informal transport methods.
The development seeks to put South African trans-
port on par with international best practice trans-
port systems.
The Gautrain Architects JV is the master architects
for the Gautrain stations. Underground, at grade
and elevated rail stations are the three types of
station designed for the project. The rail route
consists of three major stations: OR Tambo Inter-
national Airport, Tshwane and Johannesburg. There
are seven other subsidiary stations: Rosebank,
Sandton, Marlboro, Midrand, Centurion, Hatfield
and Rhodesfield.
105 >
BAI was commissioned to create the design for the
OR Tambo International Airport, Marlboro and
Rhodesfield stations. It was stipulated by the mas-
ter architects that each station should feature in-
dividually tailored design packages under an um-
brella brand identity. The train system’s brand
identity had to be maintained to achieve continu-
ity between the stations for easy identification
and usage by passengers. Continuity was achieved
through a comprehensive branding and signage
programme developed by BAI’s graphic design de-
partment.
The overall design philosophy required the use of
tree imagery in the architectural elements of the
stations. The tree is symbolic of protection, life,
community and the path of travel. The indigenous
acacia tree was the specific reference in the archi-
tecture of the stations. Its umbrella canopy is re-
flected in the wave roof structures. Similarly, the
acacia tree-trunk and branches are referenced in the
supporting columns of the station. These references
are significant markers in the successful journey of
passengers using the transport system.
The OR Tambo International Airport Station features
a stratosphere sunset on the ceiling linking it to the
navigational character of travel. The sense of travel
and space is further expressed in the elevated plat-
form area that is accessed via a transparent glass link.
The floating waveform roof over the concourse of
Marlboro Station gives the architectural structure
a sense of dynamism and is supported by large
steel structural elements that are reminiscent of
acacia trees. The tree structures suggest tranquil-
lity and shelter.
The character of the Rhodesfield Station’s site in-
fluenced the architectural design, which was re-
stricted in terms of the available space for tracks
and the geometry of the site. As a result, unusual
elevations were required in the platform and
bridges of the station.
LEFT: Gautrain Rapid-Rail
System, OR Tambo
Station, Johannesburg.
CENTRE: Gautrain Rapid-
Rail System, Malboro
Station, Johannesburg.
RIGHT: Gautrain Rapid-Rail
System, Rhodesfield,
Johannesburg.
106 >
Illovo Edge, Fricker Road,
Johannesburg.
BAI moves to new offices in a prestigious development
BAI celebrated its 50th year of design excellence in
2010. As part of this celebration and to accommo-
date the growing space requirements of its Johan-
nesburg offices, the company relocated to Illovo
Edge in Fricker Road where it occupies one of the
two buildings completed in Phase 1, both designed
by BAI. The development is strategically situated
within the exclusive Illovo Boulevard Precinct in
Illovo.
BAI’s brief was to design a building that would be-
come a landmark for the surrounding Illovo area
and a benchmark for office developments on Fricker
Road. The architects split the design of the devel-
opment into a number of different buildings, each
with its own identity and entrance. Central to the
brief was the idea of the site as a pedestrianised
precinct. Extending the Illovo Boulevard into the
site and flanking it with two separate buildings
achieved both objectives. The spine boulevard
gives structure to the office park and is intended
to create an imposing avenue with vistas from
Melville Road through to Fricker Rd and down Illovo
Boulevard.
Illovo Edge consists of several phases that are
scheduled for completion over the next two to
five years. The first three phases include the con-
struction of 16 000 m2 of exclusive triple A-grade
office space. Phase 1, completed in May 2010, in-
corporates the grand entrance to the office park
and the beginning of the spine boulevard, which
will traverse the entire office park. The component
consists of two structures: Building 1 (2 400 m2) and
Building 2 (1 600 m2). Building 2 has been bought
in its entirety by BAI.
The use of the diagonal of the boulevard across
the rectangular site gave BAI two triangular edg-
es, which helped inform the buildings aesthetic in
that the forms of the buildings become state-
ments in themselves. In addition, the site slopes
from its furthest end of the diagonal towards the
corner at Fricker and Harries Roads. This gave BAI
the opportunity to create buildings that appear to
107 >
sit on podiums and further allowed them to empha-
sise the angular forms, allowing the sharp ends of
the triangles to rise above the ground. This also
helped to emphasise the large areas of floor to
ceiling glazing and the pure forms of the buildings.
Dominant façade elements include sandstone,
steel and glass curtain walling.
Correct orientation has ensured energy efficient
design. Other ‘green’ design features include solar
panels and stormwater retention tanks, insulation,
thermally efficient glass, energy efficient lighting
and air ventilation systems and solar heating pan-
els for geysers. Roof gardens offer scenic views of
Johannesburg and a relaxing social environment
for the buildings’ occupants.
By relocating to its impressive, self-designed, new
Johannesburg base that embraces contemporary
best practice, and through its consistent track
record of providing clients across continental bor-
ders with architectural excellence for the past 50
years, BAI has positioned itself as a global player
in the architecture industry. <
109 >
www.boogertmanandpartners.com
110 >
EX
CEL
LEN
CE
BY
DES
IGN
: B
OO
GER
TMA
N +
PA
RTN
ERS
TOP
: Ho
ug
hto
n C
lub
Ho
use
, Jo
han
nes
bu
rg.
CEN
TRE:
Sp
a.
BO
TTO
M: B
igen
Afr
ica
Hea
d O
ffice
, Pre
tori
a.
111 >
Boogertman + Partners has its origins in South Africa, having
been established in 1982. Operating out of four regional of-
fices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, the firm
also has an office in Mauritius. With a staff contingent today of
167, it is deemed a large practice that has been defined by the
demanding nature of a largely developer-led client base, which
is driven by return on investment. It is in this arena where the
company has particularly excelled, and is borne out by a 'return'
client base that reflects relationships of 20 years and more.
‘Excellence by design’ is the all-pervading philosophy that per-
meates every project, from conception to completion, and
unites the varied design philosophies of the multiple project
leaders. The company’s design lead teams explore different de-
sign philosophies in alternative projects but always with the
appropriateness of time and place in mind. This acknowledge-
ment of alternative interpretations to design and reality opens
up the opportunity within the office for ample critical debate.
There exists surprisingly little ‘red tape’ or company bureauc-
racy that often characterises large practices. Boogertman +
Partners’ leadership believes that it is this liberty of expression
in the workplace environment, rich with opportunities and di-
versity of projects, that encourages innovative and unique solu-
tions to design problems, and also enables them to be the em-
ployer of choice to capture young design talent.
All projects emanating from the company are conceptually
strong, formally expressive and reflect a narrative that engages
the site in both its physical, as well as its socio-economic con-
text. Boogertman + Partners are fortunate to have tremendous
strength in depth, and a unique skills base that allows the com-
pany to achieve success in a diverse range of commissions –
from sports stadia, urban design, corporate & commercial office
parks, hospitality, motor and industrial developments, as well
as niche residential developments. The current economic cycle
has opened a new field of opportunities which foster a trend of
reinvestment and refurbishment into the existing building stock.
With strong support from a young and talented interior design
department, the company is able to provide and bring a holistic
112 >
interpretation to an architecture with integrity, where the
smallest part conveys the truth of the whole.
The international office is focused on the opportunities result-
ing from the expected 5–10% growth in African economies.
Boogertman + Partners currently has ongoing projects in Kenya,
Botswana and Zambia, with recently completed projects in
Egypt and the Sudan, and design proposals out in Libya, Na-
mibia, Ghana and Uganda. Mauritius has always been a blue-chip
investment area, with sustained property values and growth.
The first, and possibly the only, regional shopping centre has
been commissioned in Bagatelle. Called ‘The Mall of Mauritius’,
this shopping centre is a 31 415 m² retail facility which was
started on site October 2009 and is destined for completion in
September 2011.
As gold founder members of the Green Building Council of
South Africa, Boogertman + Partners are committed to sup-
porting the environmentally sustainable transformation of the
South African and international property industry. The Menlyn
Maine will be the first Green mixed-use precinct in Pretoria.
Poised to explode with the first two Green buildings under con-
struction, this total development will release 280 000 m² of
mixed-use facilities, commercial and residential, within a safe
and convenient environment. The new 36 000m² Nedbank Re-
gional Head Office will consolidate their Pretoria operations.
This five story building, with four basements, is currently regis-
tered for the Green Star SA Design Rating, and will provide of-
fice space for 1 000 Nedbank employees.
In addition, Boogertman + Partners’ approach to every commis-
sion supports the company philosophy of empowerment
through education. Currently ranked in the World Top 100, and
1st in Africa, the result is world class, socially responsive design
solutions that gain recognition both locally and internationally.
The company has always believed that architecture is a collabo-
rative act, and that the end product is only as good as the
strength of the professional team. Recognition by its client
body as well as by the architectural fraternity as leaders in the
field remains the company’s consistent objective. TOP
: Mal
l of
Mau
riti
us,
Mo
ka, M
auri
tiu
s.
CEN
TRE:
The
Gal
leri
a
Ro
of
Mel
rose
Arc
h
reta
il d
evel
op
men
t,
Joha
nn
esb
urg
.
BO
TTO
M: M
enly
n
Mai
ne,
Pre
tori
a.
113 >
RECENT AWARDS
The past two years have been particularly rewarding for Boogert-
man + Partners when several of their projects won top honours
at prominent local and international award festivals, of which
Soccer City was the most notable and most awarded building in
Africa in may years.
In 2010, Soccer City was awarded Category Winner: Sport at the
World Architecture Festival; Grand Prix Winner as well as Category
Winner: Communication Design 3D & Environmental Design
Architecture at the Loerie Awards 2010; Presidential Award at
the SA Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors; Overall Win-
ner: Most outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement 2009 by
the South African Institution of Civil Engineers; Category Winner:
Overall Winner and Category Winner: Public Buildings at the
LEAF Awards 2010; Category Winner: Stadia Award for Innova-
tive Excellence in Property Development; Category Winner: Stadia
at the 42nd SAPOA Convention and Property Exhibition. The com-
pany was also acknowledged as Category Winner: Refurbish-
ment for the 9 Fredman Drive Office Development at the 42nd
SAPOA Convention and Property Exhibition.
In 2009, Boogertman + Partners received the PMR Diamond Ar-
row Award for Large Architectural Firms; won the Best Building
Project Concrete in Architecture and the Commendation for
Unique Design Aspects at the Fulton Awards for Soccer City.
The Galleria Roof Melrose Arch Retail development was Cate-
gory Winner: Tubular Structures and Soccer City was Category
Winner: Sports Stadia at the SA Institute for Steel Construction
Awards. Furthermore, the company was awarded Finalist 2 for
the Murray & Roberts Head Office by Business and Arts South
Africa (BASA); Category Winner: Retail for Irene Village Mall
and Category Winner: Industrial for Fuel Logistics Centre at the
41st SAPOA Convention and Property Exhibition; and received
Honourable mention for Architecture at the Pretoria Institute
of Architecture Award for the Konya Pavilion.
114 >
Socc
er C
ity
Stad
ium
,
Sow
eto
, Jo
han
nes
bu
rg.
115 >
KEY PROJECTS
Soccer City Stadium
The architecture of Soccer City represents a regional approach
aimed at integrating the urban context of Johannesburg, its
society and the historical mining industry along with African
culture as a whole.
The main form, inspired by the traditional African calabash, re-
sults in a stadium that is immediately recognisable as being Af-
rican. This form is used as a layering device and it enables an
overall spherical form to emerge which informs the spatial
quality of the intermediate spaces between the exterior skin
and that of the seating bowl.
The layered façade results from an overlay of several ordering
devices and patterning ideas and is alternatively made up of
open or glazed panels, and fibre-reinforced concrete panels uti-
lising eight colours and two different textures. Ten vertical
façade slots are aligned geographically with the nine other
South African 2010 stadia as well as the Berlin stadium, the
venue of the 2006 FIFA World Cup final. These are representa-
tive of the road or journey to the final and it is envisaged that
after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the scores of each game at each
venue will be placed in pre-cast concrete panels on the podium.
During the day the gradations of colour are representative of
the firing process of a clay pot and the colours of the African
earth gradually fading to the upper reaches of the stadium
where the lighter colours are representative of the mine dumps
and the mining history. At night, the pattern becomes inverted
and is representative of the history of pattern making and its
significance within African San culture where it is believed that
the stars are a result of the earth being covered by an ancient
clay pot full of holes that allows the light through to form the
stars.
The stadium is made up of three tiers, lower embankment, upper
embankment, two skybox or suite levels, and the upper tier.
116 >
The lower embankment and the upper embankment are ac-
cessed off the main lower concourse. The skybox levels and the
upper tier are accessed via the eight three-dimensional ramp
structures that have been built inside the façade of the cala-
bash. The skyboxes are also accessed via dedicated VIP entranc-
es located in each of the four corners of the stadium with ac-
cess directly off the podium level. These entrances have lift and
stair access up to the suite levels with reception and secondary
turnstiles. The access on the upper levels open up into business
lounge facilities before access is gained to the secure skybox
concourses.
The upper roof is viewed as an extension of the facade and is
cantilevered from a triangular spatial ring truss that is covered
by a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) membrane. The 37 m canti-
lever roof trusses have a perforated PTFE membrane to create
a smooth under-slung ceiling.
By combining multiple and uniquely vernacular cultural refer-
ences with high-tech materials and systems in a very smart and
symbiotic manner, Soccer City is possibly one of the most icon-
ic stadiums to be constructed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, if
not anywhere in the world in recent decades.
Orange Farm Pedestrian Bridge
Boogertman + Partners has always had a passion for bridges
and bridge design, which has previously been limited to strong
design features in its corporate lobbies. However, the Orange
Farm Pedestrian Bridge, which links the communities of Orange
Farm over the N1 highway, is one of the company’s completed
pedestrian bridge projects. The bridge was officially opened in
November 2009.
The bridge is a steel single-span feature bridge structure with
a clear distance of 65 m between abutments. The bridge is
slightly curved and comprises of a triangular shaped girder
117 >
made up of structural steel hollow sections. The curved frame
has a large top central circular element (the spine). The V-pattern
side struts are tapered from top to bottom (the ribs). The bot-
tom chords consist of two circular elements, but smaller than
the large top central circular element, and two channels. To en-
hance the ‘spine and rib’ effect of the bridge, the top chord and
the side struts were painted white and the side rails and bot-
tom chord of the bridge were painted grey, creating the illusion
that, when viewed in the dark or from a distance, the side rails
and bottom chord disappear.
MTN Innovation Centre
The new head office park for MTN (Mobile Telephone Network)
features two buildings physically connected via a bridge struc-
ture that is a transient space to house a small selection of the
TOP
: Ora
ng
e Fa
rm
Ped
estr
ian
Bri
dg
e,
Joha
nn
esb
urg
.
BO
TTO
M: M
TN In
no
vati
on
Cen
tre,
Jo
han
nes
bu
rg.
118 >
119 >
company’s vast African art collection. Both buildings explore the
principals of connectivity within the work place, both physical
and visual thus breaking down the barriers to improve work
productivity and end user wellbeing in the workplace. The
buildings test the efficiencies and effectiveness of internal
atria and alternate between these being accessible to staff
and/or visitors. In both cases the office floor plates are open to
the atria to improve connectivity and are accessed off the atria
via stairs and off the internal common areas where all the pub-
lic interface facilities of meeting rooms and restaurants, audi-
toria and training rooms.
Murray & Roberts Renovation
The existing ten-storey building needed to be renovated to
take advantage of its visibility from the nearby highway without
the end-user vacating the building. The architects achieved this
by draping the building in a veil of stainless mesh and added
punched-out glazed elements relating them back to the brand
of corporate user. The building also explores the principals of
connectivity within the work environment for employees but
within the context of a vertical solution. A full public interface
area was created at ground floor level and then added to the
existing lift core where all meeting areas and pause areas are
located, thus bringing the staff, mostly engineers, out of their
previously stayed office environments into the public realm to
interact with each other and visitors to the building.
A new entrance forecourt was also created by adding a multi-
story parkade that was treated in the same mesh screening and
its proximity to the main entrance is celebrated and connected
to the main building with a low covered walkway.
LEFT
: Mu
rray
& R
ob
erts
Hea
d
Offi
ce, J
oha
nn
esb
urg
.
TOP
: 9 F
red
man
Dri
ve, S
and
ton
,
Joha
nn
esb
urg
.
BO
TTO
M: F
uel
Gro
up
Lo
gis
tics
Cen
tre,
Jo
han
nes
bu
rg.
120 >
Irene Village Mall
This open-air retail centre in Irene Village, Pretoria, explores
the benefits of the climate and sunshine and creates a public
space that has become the heart of this shopping community.
Public spaces create opportunities for the celebration and the
interaction with accessible art installations and water fountains
that have become the playground of kids. The village architec-
ture taps into the local vernacular of Irene-style farm buildings.
121 >
FUTURE PROJECTS
The myriad future projects on the proverbial drawing board
have seen the scale of Boogertman + Partners’ past projects
being tested, specifically in terms of the height and mixed-use.
In many cases these are being driven by their proximity to the
newly developed transport nodes and routes that have become
part of our major centres.
LEFT
PA
GE:
Iren
e V
illag
e M
all,
Pre
tori
a.
RIG
HT:
5’o
Clo
ck s
ite.
BO
TTO
M L
EFT:
San
dto
n P
laza
,
Joha
nn
esb
urg
.
BO
TTO
M R
IGH
T: M
ush
roo
m P
ark.
122 >
These projects are also challenging the relevance of form mak-
ing and patterning, and the effect this has on visibility and the
marketing of the project. The company is careful to steer clear
of mere shape making that may get lost in the urban fabric, but
recognises the value that such large-scale objects may have for
the end user and the developer. Such larger-scale projects obvi-
ously challenge the way in which buildings are made, specifi-
cally the significant technical aspects of the way in which the
external fabric is realised.
Notwithstanding the iconography of the large-scale projects,
the practice relishes the design opportunities that lie in the many
smaller projects. Therefore, Boogertman + Partners believes
that architecture is not only for special occasions. <
123 >
TOP
LEF
T: B
ots
wan
a H
ou
sin
g C
orp
ora
tio
n.
RIG
HT:
New
offi
ce d
evel
op
men
t, R
ivo
nia
,
Joha
nn
esb
urg
.
BO
TTO
M F
AR
LEF
T: S
and
hurs
t
dev
elo
pm
ent,
Jo
han
nes
bu
rg.
CEN
TRE:
Wat
er U
tilit
ies
cam
pu
s.
RIG
HT:
Wat
erfa
ll C
ity.
124 >
What you see is not what you get. Disarmingly
handsome South African architect, Elmo Swart,
with his quick smile and easy, engaging manner is
much more than just surface. Spending time with
Swart propels you on an amazing journey of deep
insights, startling views and offers a fresh take on
architecture – and on his other great love, photog-
raphy – that keeps you thinking, mulling, digesting
and disseminating for days afterwards.
Swart started his architectural studies at the Uni-
versity of the Free State in 1992 and after three
years of intermittent breakaway travels, complet-
ed his thesis at the University of Pretoria in 2000.
By Jennie Fourie
IN CONVERSATION WITH ELMO SWART:IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ESSENCE
125 >
This 1 000 seat theatre for Dar es Salaam is intended as an enigmatic signifier – establishing a strong
subliminal image. Internally the bridging moment is celebrated and roleplays reversed in a spatial drama.
IN CONVERSATION WITH ELMO SWART: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ESSENCE
126 >
This study explored the intermediate realm of
conscious/subconscious spatial experience and
the phenomenology of place. This is a lingering
theme that manifests in an exploration of the
‘space between’ in different genres governed by
the boundaries of each unique brief.
To date Swart has produced diverse architectural
projects in South Africa and abroad (on his own
and in partnership with other architectural firms).
These include a commission for a private house in
the Netherlands, a tender-winning scheme in an
international bid for a new state theatre and soc-
cer stadium in Tanzania, an airport in Botswana
and two signature bridge designs in Libya.
Two of his projects were selected to represent
South Africa at the international Biennale for Archi-
tecture and Art in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The exhibition
travelled Europe and South Africa. His work has
been published in several national and interna-
tional books and magazines – both academic and
popular. Swart has also dabbled in teaching and
has been invited to lecture at architectural schools
and conventions both locally and abroad.
Swart finds himself constantly struggling against
being labelled and has chosen not to participate in
the general architectural design awards. To this
end he quotes Charles Ives who said, “awards are
merely badges of mediocrity”. Swart believes that
one can easily become driven to please your peers
and, in doing so lose focus of your own personal
journey.
Certain themes and concepts recur in the dialogue
with Swart. The first of these is ‘boundaries’. Swart
relishes the challenge of abstract boundaries or
restrictions that each new job or client impose on him.
“Any design has parameters – necessary guides
New Kasane Airport, Botswana, with the Chobe River running nearby. The building type as a transitional
space is symbolically and contextually investigated. Designed in conjunction with Groborg Architects.
127 >
within which ideas evolve. The design process is
influenced by the subject, the site and the client’s
brief. Ultimately these boundaries are bent and
shaped according to the innate sub-conscious per-
sona, the forces of past filtered experiences and
subliminal or cognitive quests.”
Swart says he does not believe in the idea of an
ideal brief or an ideal client. “My ideal brief would
be not to repeat what I have done previously. I
crave change and I don’t have a distinctive style. I
love working with the non-ideal. Colleagues and
students often say that they wish they could be
their own client. My reaction is totally the oppo-
site. I would hate to be my own client – there is no
one that I see to be the ideal client. Ideally I want
to sit down with someone and adapt to his or her
genre – although it may be warped. It’s my job to
lead them to see with new eyes.”
According to Swart there are two ways to tackle a
design problem. The first is beginning with an as-
sociation and working from that point towards the
boundaries of the brief. Once these boundaries
are reached the creative process stops. “I like to
do things differently. I start with the boundaries
set up by the client, the brief or the terrain and
then work towards the essence of the project. My
ultimate aim is to break through people’s associa-
tions. It’s all about asking questions.” He concedes
that there might be a shock tactic involved, but
that this helps people to break free from their as-
sociations. “What I do is to firstly establish a
boundary and then work back towards my associa-
tion. I never reach the limits of this association –
the association remains fleeting.”
‘Essence’ is another recurring theme. Swart delights
in working with clients who know what they want.
“Sometimes this knowledge is more of a sense – a
128 >
Studio addition to House Benji. The transformation and attachment
process of a new studio space to an existing structure.
Two signature bridge designs for Benghazi, Libya. The cosmic landscape with its cyclic changes reflects
on a strong primordial experience where life and death fluctuates. The allegedly static piers become
animated when driving through at speed and the structure transforms to a green symbolic abstraction
at night. Designed in conjunction with Groborg Architects.
129 >
sense not bound by associations. I’m like a chame-
leon. I like to adapt to what people are thinking and
feeling and then to act as an amplifier – to warp
their perceptions to a certain extent and then to
distil the essence of who they really are. It’s like
holding up a mirror and showing people what they
are thinking. Although they might be seeing the
world through filters, it’s my job to distil the es-
sence. I love to see the paradigm in people and
then changing them to get to their core.”
Just as Swart does not have an ideal client or brief,
he is also not picky when it comes to the scale of his
projects – from a DJ stand, to a state theatre. “It’s
not about the size of a project. Scale is arbitrary.
Every project is different, but there are factors
that recur in my work. My work is bold, a bit ex-
treme, pushing the limits, but remain true to the
people who are going to use it. Clients are usually
amazed by the solution I offer them because it res-
onates with them. I never impose my ego on them
– and that’s what I find ultimately satisfying.”
A case in point is two private homes he designed
in the upmarket residential estate, Mooikloof, in
Pretoria. The first house was designed in a cubist
aesthetic with a minimalist ‘mask’. An owner of a
nearby stand approached Swart and explained
that he had visited the building site but could not
associate with the aesthetic at all. He said that al-
though the mask did not fit, there was a spatial
dynamic ‘between the lines’ that kept intriguing
130 >
him. “He saw through the expression and resonated
with the essence of the project to such a degree
that he had confidence that I could interpret his
unique personality with the same vigour,” says
Swart. After a visit to Austria to study the work of
painter and activist Hundertwasser, Swart de-
signed an ‘organic’ house with not a single straight
line in sight. “When looking at this seemingly chaotic
plan afterwards there was a hidden order revealed.
I often find a subliminal presence in my designs
and that the cognitive process is limited in grasping
this guiding dynamic.”
The same emergence of the subliminal – the unin-
tended – comes across in Swart’s photography
that he has been practising to great acclaim. As in
his architecture, the magic of Swart’s photographs
lies in evoking layers of unintended subtext – ac-
centuating the unseen. “This space between is in-
tangible, yet it’s the prerequisite for any duality to
exist. The two sides rely on this relationship.” He
quotes Francis D.K. Ching who speaks about an un-
derlying order that reconciles objects in space.
Swart says that photography came to him natu-
rally as he has always been an outsider – watching
the world from a distance. “I always seem to ap-
proach the context first, whether it’s physical,
theoretical or spiritual, and usually assess the
whole before judging the frame. Nothing is ever
isolated and the relation is sometimes more im-
portant than the subject I focus on.”
Swart has shown his abstract photographs on can-
vas in an exhibition titled sin(o)nyms and has done
photographic work for clients such as Extrata Min-
ing and FNB. His images have also captured atten-
tion internationally and have received several first
prize votes on judging criterions.
A new indoors cricket centre and gym for Christian
Brothers College, Boksburg. The volume opens
away from the batsman and the motion suggested
in the forced perspective.
131 >
House Steenkamp is designed to change over time with a spatial
dynamic that included unconventional circulation routes and multi-level
experiences, reminding of a three-dimensional labyrinth. A strong
process motivated approach.
132 >
The interior design of Gravida, a maternity ware boutique, explores the concept of
‘reproduction’ and interplays the sense of weightlessness – confronting gravity. The dressing
ritual is explored within a womb-like space, which is textured with 35 000 cable ties.
133 >
House Wright is an extension to an existing thatch cottage – separate yet attached,
unique yet familiar. An assembly of associations distorted to create a new typology.
Swart says that he is really a graphic artist at heart.
He always starts by creating a work of art on a
plan. His plans have an icon value and could ulti-
mately be printed on T-shirts or stand alone as art
works on a wall. “There is always an abstract two-
dimensional distilling to anything I do. Ultimately
it is not the medium that matters – a spatial im-
pression can be achieved with a two-dimensional
image, and a three-dimensional object can be per-
ceived as a flat surface.”
Swart approaches his photographic subjects in the
same way he does his architecture. “The subcon-
scious hidden image usually has a way of revealing
itself to me in an underlying order. This order is
manifested in what Derrida would call the ‘ghost
of the artist’ and I find myself constantly astounded
by the way this vitality demands total surrender.”
So, be it architecture or photography, the same
themes come up again and again. Swart maintains:
“I don’t believe there is a hierarchy in art – archi-
tecture is not superior to fine art or to photogra-
phy. When that which the senses perceive is de-
constructed, one always finds an underlying
essence that has the power to inspire. This reso-
nating force usually leaves a lasting impression
and has the ability to shift paradigms.” <
134 >
House van Dyk acts as a
stage from which one
experiences the seasonal
change, movement of
clouds and spectacular
sunsets. There’s also an
interplay between open
and closed, hidden and
revealed, and the grouping
of the rooms around a
central fireplace.
Elmo Swarts’ photography.
135 >
136 >
BORN INTO ARCHITECTURE:
FRANCOIS MARAIS ARCHITECTS
Whilst designing his family home
Francois Marais aimed to suggest
that this was an architects’s home
from the exterior, through the use
of asymmetrical curves and angles
from the. The Marais home noticeably
stands out as one of the more eye
catching structures whilst driving
through the estate, passing one
Tuscan mansion after another.
“When designing our home, our
prime focus was to create a home
that could open up completely to
the outside areas”, explains
Francois. The use of glass stacking
doors fold right back, turning
previously indoor rooms into
outdoor entertainment areas.
Elements from the exterior are
echoed inside, where a stone mosaic
creates a feature wall that encircles
the staircase, the flush jointed face
brick makes an understated appear-
ance in all the upstairs rooms, and
stainless steel railings and banisters
from the outdoors are repeated
inside. Successfully achieving a
sculpture on the landscape, Francois
aimed at breaking away from the
monotony in the interior, while
designing feature walls that make a
play on the eye.
137 >
Francois Marais Architects has grown from small
beginnings, established in 1996, into a highly re-
spected architectural firm based in Gauteng, South
Africa. Francois Marais, the principal of the firm,
was literally born into architecture, having the op-
portunity of growing up in a family of architects,
where the impact and value of the surrounding ar-
chitecture was constantly evaluated. Today, Fran-
cois and his brothers are all qualified architects.
The motto of this firm is to produce signature
buildings (mostly residential but not exclusively),
each unique in their own right. Francois Marais Ar-
chitects now boasts beautiful offices that reflect
the flavour of their designs. While concentrating
on fulfilling their client’s needs, they constantly
push the boundaries of design to create unique
and interesting architecture, that no matter what
the style, has a modern sophisticated planning
concept and design that is engaging for all.
Conscious of social, cultural and material context,
the firm’s designs are born out of the dynamics of
the site and are fused with functional needs, struc-
tural integrity, orientation, light, water and land-
scaping. These abilities have earned the company
winning contracts as principle architect on many
large developments, including luxury residences,
Creativity is expressed not only
through the geometrical
architecture but also through the
combination of modern materials
such as stone cladding, flush jointed
face brick for a clean finish, and
Gamma Zenith pre-coloured plaster.
138 >
cluster developments, game lodges, hotels, shop-
ping centres and offices, both locally and interna-
tionally.
Every project is approached with the excitement
at showcasing the firm’s full extent of both pas-
sion and a comprehensive understanding of the
client’s brief. Individual attention to each client’s
lifestyle and needs is fundamental to ensuring
that their residence is designed around them-
selves and to suite their environment. The diverse
South African climate also plays a vital role, and
with individual attention to detail, a unique design
is always born.
A desire to seek new architectural expressions
continues to push the design abilities of the firm
to its limits. Not afraid to experiment with designs
beyond the norm, it is not unusual to see houses
designed by the firm employing free-flowing ele-
ments that push engineering limits. Complex de-
signs are viewed as an opportunity to showcase the
physics of architecture rather than as obstacles.
The firm’s signature design language attempts to
blur the division between the interior and exterior,
encouraging owners to embrace the African cli-
mate and open up their buildings to life outdoors,
whilst interacting with the surroundings when the
climate permits.
Increasing the firm’s scope within the architectur-
al environment, Francois Marais Architects has re-
cently introduced an interior design division. Un-
derstanding that architecture and interior design
each have their own separate roles in designing a
project, both are equally important. Although one
field focuses mainly on the structural elements
Residence at Ebotse Golf and
Country Estate, Rynfield, East Rand.
Showcasing the excellence in which
aesthetics meets conformability,
the geometrical masterpiece
embraces the picturesque
landscapes while lending itself to
the modern lifestyle of the
homeowner.
Open plan living optimises all
views onto the golf coarse.
Working closely with interior
designers, the contemporary
architecture was continued into
the interior of the home where
the home owner was able to
emphasise the importance of
quality rather than quantity.
139 >
and the exterior aesthetics of the building and the
other focuses on the interior elements and finish-
es, they need to be integrated, while compliment-
ing each another. Like many of the leading archi-
tects, this firm understands the importance of
bringing in the exterior design and surroundings
into the interior of a dwelling.
The firm also believes that communication with
clients are vital to ensure that harmony is achieved
while evaluating all elements within the overall
design of a building and that an interior designer
should be able to implement his /her own aspects
into the architect’s work, and so the architect
needs to consider the interior designer when de-
signing a structure.
This approach has to be advantageous for the client
to employ an architect with an in-house interior
“The client wanted a design with
clean modern lines that was a
lock-up-an-go type of residence. The
design is actually two rectangular
blocks that are at different angles,
following the shape of the stand.
The view onto the golf course and
the way the house opened up to
these areas where very important”
explains architect Francois Marais.
A warm atmosphere was created
using accent and feature lighting in
areas such as the kitchen and bar.
design team, since they are be able to work to-
gether from the introduction of the project, estab-
lishing a thorough interpretation of the brief and
ensuring common collective goals. As a result, this
ensures that the client’s needs are fully under-
stood and effortlessly executed not only in the
designing phase but also in the implementation of
the design.
Being chosen as the preferred estate architect for
Ebotse Golf and Country Estate, Clearwater Estate
and Dunblane Estate, Francois Marais Architects has
grown from strength to strength. This firm boasts
a diverse portfolio, which showcases many projects
that have been nurtured in excellence. With this
portfolio, it is easy to distinguish a home designed
by this firm, from a development designed by an-
other firm.
140 >
A perfect example is one of the earliest showcase
residences Francois Marais Architects located at
Ebotse Golf and Country Estate in Rynfield on the
East Rand. This geometrical masterpiece, where
aesthetics meet comfort, embraces the picturesque
landscapes while lending itself to the modern life-
style of the homeowner.
Francois explains the idea behind the design: “The
client wanted a design with clean modern lines that
was a lock–up-and-go type of residence. The design
encompasses two rectangular blocks set at differ-
ent angles, which follows the shape of the stand.
The view onto the golf course and the way the
house opens up to these areas were very impor-
tant factors that needed to be considered.” Using
geometrical shapes is a characteristic, which will
later be used in all projects undertaken by the firm
as its signature design style.
Successfully creating seamlessness to the outdoor
and indoor living spaces was achieved through the
extensive use of glass. To ensure that the architec-
ture was well-suited to its surrounding, the residence
was designed whilst optimising the landscape and
embracing the breathtaking view of the nearby lake.
When walking through any home, one finds that very
often it is only glass that differentiates between
interior and exterior. Once opened completely,
the surrounding landscape is invited internally
through seamless openings.
The complex lines of the site were effortlessly
overcome with the geometrical use of rectangular
blocks, which would prove beneficial in ensuring
unobstructed views. The contemporary architecture
was continued into the interior elements, where the
home owner highlighted the importance of quality
rather than quantity. Creating spaces that exude
sophistication and elegance were successfully
KPMG opened its new
environmentally friendly building in
Platinum Park in August 2010, and
as far as it can be ascertained, it is
the first green building of its kind in
the city of Polokwane.
Bold architectural features
emphasise the double volume
entrance.
Unusual lighting helps
emphasise double volume
staircase enhancing the curved
wall with cladding.
141 >
achieved in this minimalist interior and the move
to be ecologically friendly is evident in the kitchen,
through the incorporation of gas appliances. The
simple design of the bathrooms and kitchen also
accentuates the understated elegance evident in
this home.
The new KPMG building in Polokwane was another
major step forward for this fast growing company.
KPMG opened its new environmentally friendly build-
ing in Platinum Park, in August of 2010 and as far
as it can be ascertained, it is the first green build-
ing of its kind in the city of Polokwane.
KPMG is a global firm providing a network of profes-
sional audit, tax and advisory services. According to
Marc Dufourq of Francois Marais Architects, the
KPMG building (estimated worth R20 million) con-
sists of three floors and provides 3 500 m2 office and
conference facilities as well as basement parking.
The building boasts the latest eco-friendly tech-
nologies. It is equipped with an HVAC system,
which assists in regulating the internal climate and
air quality of commercial buildings, providing a
healthy working environment for its inhabitants.
The building is completely airtight when sealed to
further enhance this feature.
The sophisticated lighting system found in the KPMG
building, has electronic sensors that detect the
volume of people working in the building at all times
and makes adjustments to not only provide suita-
ble lighting to all its staff, but also provides an op-
portunity for the owners to save on lighting costs
when certain areas are not in use. The building also
incorporates greywater recycling technology,
which recycles wastewater derived from washing
processes within the building as well as captured
rainwater.
Curving walls while incorporating
the company colours in a horizontal
striped wallpaper emphasise length
where curves create interest within
the high traffic zones.
142 >
As Polokwane is known for its high daytime tem-
peratures, large pane energy-saving glass surfaces
form an integral part of the design. The glass pre-
vents the sun’s ultraviolet rays from affecting the
temperature in the building, and angled louvers
assist in shielding the building from excessive heat
caused by the sun.
Dufourq says that his firm has registered the build-
ing with the Green Star Council and is aiming for a
4 star, Green Star SA rating. Green Star SA is widely
recognised across South Africa as an indication of
buildings that have been certified by the GBCSA to
satisfy certain environmental criteria, as outlined
in the GBCSA Technical Manual [Green Star SA –
Office Design v1].
Francois Marais Architects’ design skills stretch far
beyond the borders of South Africa, and the firm
is presently lead architects on several developments
in Lusaka, Zambia, including residential and com-
mercial projects which are tailored to the local
lifestyle, whilst being infused with trends and
timeless elegance.
In our ever-changing environment where time is
money; detail is sacrificed for speed; where less
has become more and for the client who stretches
every budget to the maximum, Francois Marais Ar-
chitects has changed its focus to more sustainable
building and designs. Sustainable building and
‘green architecture’ is a specialised field, where
knowledge of the location, climate, orientation of
buildings, combined with the correct use of build-
ing techniques such as cavity walls, insulation in
the walls, roofs and floors, sun protection, glass,
shading devices and many more effect the internal
living and working environment. Therefore Fran-
cois Marais Architects believes that the future
challenge for architects will be designing function-
al, whilst aesthetically pleasing, buildings without
getting trapped by designing away sustainable
structures with exterior ornamentation. <
Recognising the benefits of
designing photorealistic 3D’s,
Francois Marais understood the
importance of helping the client
visualise the completed project. 3D
images helped a client wanting to
design a show room in Zambia
envisage the completed design
before construction began.
Boasting a diverse portfolio,
every project is approached with
the opportunity in creating an
architectural masterpiece.
Constantly pushing the
boundaries of design to
create unique and
interesting architecture,
while concentrating on
fulfilling their clients
needs.
144 >
MELROSE ARCH | Johannesburg
KING SHAKA International Airport | Durban
MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM | Durban
145 >
O R TAMBO INTERNATIONAL | Central Terminal Building
HEINEKEN BREWERY | Sedibeng
w w w. o s m o n d l a n g e . c o . z a
East London1st Floor, Pilot Mill House, The Quarry, Selborne, East LondonPrivate Bag X3, Tecoma, 5214
+27 (0) 43 721 0033 [email protected]
t: e:
JohannesburgUnit 3, Ground floor3 Melrose Boulevard, Melrose ArchP O Box 1621 Saxonwold 2132
+27 (0) 11 994 [email protected] /[email protected]
t:e:
DurbanBlock A, 1 on Langford, Langford Rd, Westville, DurbanP O Box 1450, Kloof, 3640
+27 (0) 31 266 [email protected]
t: e:
146 >
OSMOND LANGE: 80 YEARS IN THE MAKING
147 >
Osmond Lange Architects and Planners (established in 1929) is one of
the larger architectural practices in South Africa and has offices in Johan-
nesburg, Durban and East London. The practice has built up, over the
past eight decades, extensive design and technological expertise of large
projects in South Africa and has extensive knowledge of the construction
process which permits the firm, and its architects, to go beyond addressing
the conventionally understood functions of the architect.
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban.
148 >
Osmond Lange’s diversified portfolio includes
projects ranging from airports, like King Shaka Inter-
national Airport at La Mercy in Durban and OR Tambo
International Airport in Johannesburg; community/
heritage projects like Nelson Mandela Museum;
education facilities like University of Transkei; Health
care developments including Natalspruit Hospital;
hotels like Polana Hotel in Maputo; industrial projects
like Sedibeng Brewery; office developments like
Melrose Arch; residential projects like Grosnevor
Corner; Stadiums like Moses Mabhida; transport
facilities including the Bus Rapid Transmit System
and urban developments like Melrose Arch, amongst
others.
Through blending architecture and urban planning
skills, Osmond Lange delivers sustainable property
investments for its clients, whilst creating recog-
nised building designs and complimenting to
South Africa’s built environment as a whole.
KEY PROJECTS
Moses Mabida Stadium
The Moses Mabhida Stadium, an iconic beacon of
Durban, imbues symbolic associations and reflects
unique cultural, social and environmental contexts
yet, it succeeds best in the way it reflects the aspi-
rations of the current and future. From the urban
design approach to the iconography, the stadium
has a strong local representation.
The main concrete structure of the stadium com-
prises an oval bowl of tiered seating with six ac-
cess levels, sheer cores and stairwells and a podi-
um. The lightweight translucent roof is supported
by a steel-cable structure suspended from the
arch. The remarkable 104 m-high arch, spanning
380 m, is secured on large concrete foundations,
which extend down to the cretaceous bedrock.
From a distance, the stadium’s arch is a defining
silhouette, a familiar marker against the land-
scape. From within, the arch forks on both sides,
creating a timeless long arch, which represents
the past and the walk into the future.
The façade of the stadium bowl is a layered inte-
grated series of components. Over one hundred
leaning pre-cast concrete columns sweep around
the circumference of the stadium bowl forming
the skeleton of the façade, creating the impres-
sion of a sculptural element in the landscape. Adding
to the sculptural quality of the building, aluminium
fins sit vertically between each of the concrete
columns and, finally, a woven mesh ties the façade
together. The expanded metal mesh covering the
brightly coloured façade and the filling to the rail-
ings in the stadium take their inspiration from the
structure of basketweave.
Symbolic of the African climate and spirit, the bare
grey coolness of the off-shutter concrete used in
Moses Mabhida Stadium is contrasted by the pal-
ette of warm colours used on infill walls and interi-
ors. Tones of the beaches, the colours of clothing
and handcrafted jewellery were used to express
the vibrancy of the local surroundings in the build-
ing. Brightly coloured seating, drawing its inspira-
tion from beach sand merging into the ocean, gives
the stadium bowl a sense that it is a landscape.
The Moses Mabhida Stadium has placed South Africa
and Osmond Lange on the global map, having ob-
tained a ‘world first’ in the design of roof arch founda-
tions, which involve diaphragm walling to bedrock,
massive cappings and springer plinths. In addition,
the stadium also achieved a ‘South-African first’
for pre-cast design and installation in stadiums and
149 >
BO
TTO
M L
EFT:
Mo
ses
Mab
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a St
adiu
m’s
sp
ecta
cula
r ar
ch. B
OT
TOM
RIG
HT:
Inte
rio
r si
gn
age.
CEN
TRE
LEFT
: Faç
ade
view
. Pho
to: R
od
ger
Bo
sch
,
Med
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Sou
thA
fric
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ENTR
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IGH
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. Pho
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sch,
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OP
: Sta
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150 >
also achieved the specified strict requirements for
concrete quality, durability and aesthetics.
King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy
Driving north along the N2 one gets a glimpse of
the emergence of a new structure and gateway
into Durban – the King Shaka International Airport
at La Mercy. The re-located airport, surrounded by
lush green and sugar cane, was designed to cater
to increased passenger volumes.
The master-planning of the new airport allowed
for implementation in five phases. The first phase
was commissioned in May this year, in time for the
2010 FIFA World Cup, and was designed to handle
7.5 million passengers per year.
The second phase will be triggered by demand,
and will allow Durban to double its passenger
throughput. “The long-term potential will allow
for passenger handling capacity to reach 45 million
passengers by 2060,” explains the Ilembe Architec-
tural Joint Venture (IAJV) leader architect, Victor
Utria, of Osmond Lange.
The new glass and steel behemoth with its slick
curving roof harking back to the gentle curvature
of the spine, is an expression of Durban seas and
the aerodynamics of an aircraft wing. It sits amongst
a cluster of some 60 integrated support structures
and facilities, including the control tower, runway,
cargo terminal, multi-storey parkade, Crash Fire &
Rescue Station, maintenance buildings, staff fa-
cilities and numerous technical outbuildings and
small structures.
Aerial view of the airside of King Shaka International Airport.
Photo: Russel Cleaver.
151 >
The terminal is a ‘looking-glass’, with 360-degree
views of the KwaZulu-Natal landscape. The build-
ing affords views of planes landing and taking off,
of the airport airside – a bustling hive of activity –
and, of course, the cane fields beyond.
Its innards are a dynamic network of vertical and
horizontal movement. In addition to the areas that
support the aviation functions, the airport offers
extensive retail facilities on both landside and airside.
The airport is an intricate machine, facilitating many
operations in order to achieve the final goal of
putting people comfortably and effortlessly on a
plane that is destined for anywhere. “The airport is
a facility designed to move people from ground to
air transport, and, as such, the objective is to facilitate
the process and sequence of events that make this
possible in the most efficient way,” says Utria.
Built over six levels, two of which house most of
the passenger areas, the airport has been designed
to be efficient, flexible, durable and user-friendly.
To ease the stress on travellers caused by long
waiting times, passengers are able to utilise a flexible
number of the check-in counters to facilitate their
air transport arrangements, unlike the old facilities,
which required passengers to report to specific
check-in desks. One of the key design components
of the airport design was to incorporate ideas of
energy efficiency.
The facility has been constructed with a double-
glazed curtain wall to allow for as much natural
light as possible to penetrate into the terminal
building. The large open departure lounge, with
its exposed curved roof trusses, is a receptor for
natural light ingress as well as a flow of natural
ventilation. These factors not only reduce carbon
Exterior view of King Shaka International Airport.
Photo: Russel Cleaver.
152 > B
OT
TOM
: Aer
ial v
iew
of
the
land
sid
e o
f K
ing
Shak
a In
tern
atio
nal A
irp
ort
. Pho
to: R
usse
l Cle
aver
. CEN
TRE:
Inte
rio
r vi
ews
of
Kin
g Sh
aka
Inte
rnat
iona
l Air
po
rt.
Pho
to: R
usse
l Cle
aver
. TO
P: E
xter
ior
view
S o
f K
ing
Shak
a In
tern
atio
nal A
irp
ort
at
La M
ercy
, Dur
ban
. Pho
to: O
smo
nd L
ange
Arc
hite
cts.
153 >
emissions of the building but also assist in provid-
ing a comforting environment for often stressed
travellers.
The airport interiors make use of a palette of light-
unimposing, neutral colours, while the bright and
vibrant signage assists the traveller in navigating
the airport with ease.
The airport, being a highly trafficked entity, affect-
ed by constant foot, trolley and vehicular traffic,
requires high-impact materials. The use of durable,
resilient and low maintenance materials, such as
granite, concrete sealed with epoxy and porcelain
tiles is predominant in the choice of finishes ap-
plied to the terminal.
A multi-storey parkade, consisting of three floors,
has been designed for expansion to double the
current capacity of 1 500 vehicles. The parkade, with
some 50 000 m² of floor space, is the second largest
building on-site, with the passenger terminal
building being the largest, at nearly 100 000 m². An
additional 4 500 bays are provided to cater for long-
term parking, staff and car rentals.
The airport is at the cutting-edge of modern airport
design, incorporating state of the art technology,
not only at the passenger terminal, but also through-
out the site, including the cargo terminal, which
has been provided with a very sophisticated cargo
handling system. The 16 000 m² cargo facility has
been designed to handle 100 000 t of cargo per year.
This is a leading contributor in supporting KZN-
based agro-industrial concerns, which previously
relied on road transport to deliver goods to the air
cargo facilities located in Gauteng. As a result, the
cargo facility stimulates related opportunities in
the area and leads to the creation of numerous
supporting industries, therefore uplifting the
province, Utria explains.
The commercial viability of the project, positioned
to the north of Durban, has been called into ques-
tion; however Utria explains that the provision of
critical infrastructure cannot be evaluated from a
short-term perspective. This site was chosen 30
years ago, when it was already clear that the exist-
ing facility had limited growth options. It remains
feasible especially because of its expansion poten-
tial, in line with the need of satisfying growing de-
mand.
The site is well positioned with respect to existing
and planned road transport systems and will sup-
port and encourage development of the areas
north of the city. The new airport promotes invest-
ment and economic growth and leads to significant
employment creation in the foreseeable future.
Utria explains that the new airport is a very large,
complex project, built within a very demanding
fast-track time schedule. It represents an average
monthly turnover in the region of R250 million
sustained over a period of two and a half years.
Having begun construction in August 2007, the de-
sign and construction teams were required to
complete the project within 30 months. In order to
achieve this, at the peak of the construction proc-
ess, some 8 000 people were busy on site, commit-
ted to meeting the quality and time requirements
of the project.
It is the first large-scale ‘greenfield’ international
airport to be built in South Africa in decades, and
demonstrates, once again, the capabilities of the
local construction industry to design and construct
world-class facilities.
154 >
Melrose Arch
Melrose Arch is a groundbreaking urban design
project as it challenges the South African tendency
of isolated commercial and residential developments
surrounded by large tracts of landscape, parking
and security fencing. The triangular Melrose Arch
Precinct is situated in a low-density residential sub-
urb, buffered from the M1 Highway by the Sandspruit
and accessed from two major arterial roads, Athol
Oaklands and Corlett Drive in Johannesburg. The
land was bought by a pension fund for a two phase
mixed-use development of medium density. The
first being a combination of offices, retail and a
boutique hotel and the second, mainly residential.
The urban design strategy is based on mediaeval
town planning principles of mixed-use and perme-
ability, with clearly defined public and private do-
mains. The master plan was informed by the exist-
ing street pattern of the suburb to enable
connectivity and ultimately, reintegration. The
built fabric in turn follows a perimeter-block typol-
ogy, consisting of adjoining buildings that create
cohesive, public street fronts and secluded private
areas. The precinct is internally ordered by two
main roads and organised around two public
squares. Buildings of mixed-use border High
Street, perpendicular to Corlett Drive, ensuring
pedestrian movement along a strip of retail – both
in the short and long-term.
Melrose Boulevard, running on the inside of the
eastern boundary, is edged by corporate offices
and connects the development to the access roads
(via security entrances). This corporate edge acts
as a highly visible buffer zone from the highway.
The adjacent and formerly neglected Sandspuit
Nature Trail has been given new life, forming an
integral part of the landscape design strategy.
An existing house (retained as a site office during
construction and subsequently converted into a
restaurant) demarcates Old House Square, where-
as Melrose Square – centrally positioned between
the two main roads – creates another area of focus
and public life. Instead of isolated areas of park-
ing, selective street and basement parking are
provided.
Pedestrian movement is encouraged which, together
with the combination of activities, promotes sur-
veillance and ownership of the public realm.
Comprehensive urban design guidelines deter-
mined the position of gateways, landmarks and
prominent façades. The guidelines also specified
building lines, setbacks, and the palette of materi-
als and proportions, as well as coverage and
height. The procurement of the team of architects
was via selective design competitions and propos-
als. Significantly, the architects were required to
collaborate to ensure contextual cohesiveness in
accordance with the urban design principles.
Inevitably, a development of this nature and scale
would elicit varied responses. Concerns were ex-
pressed at the demolished residences, inconven-
iences suffered during construction, the adverse
effect on surrounding businesses and possible de-
valuation of neighbouring properties. However
upon completion, the development had the in-
verse effect. Criticism is still levelled at its elitist
nature, considered yet another security enclave
pandering to the upper echelons of society.
Irrespective of capital outlay, Melrose Arch is a univer-
sally applicable model. It promotes a far more sustain-
able urban environment than the low-density,
American-inspired suburban precedent with its vast
energy expenditure due to decentralisation and
155 >
Melrose Arch, Melrose, Johannesburg.
Photos: Phillip Mostert.
156 >
Melrose Arch, Melrose, Johannesburg.
Photos: Phillip Mostert.
157 >
underutilisation of land. Albeit idealistic, the an-
ticipated integration of the development with the
neighbourhood (sans security fencing) is admirable.
It is moreover a highly relevant example of densi-
fication, as well as of diversifying the homogenous
character of suburbia. Adjacent commercial develop-
ments could respond similarly to create a holistically-
integrated urban ideal.
It is noteworthy that the design guidelines were
compiled by experts in the field, as opposed to ad
hoc and ill-considered regulations motivated by
profit and unapprised opinions. Equally important,
design excellence has been encouraged through
competition and collaboration, paradoxically pro-
moting restraint in favour of a common vision. In
spite of the design prescriptions, a considerable
variety of interpretations have been achieved and
executed in a refreshing neo-modern idiom. Not
only does Melrose Arch introduce an aesthetic al-
ternative to nostalgically inspired commercial and
residential developments, but also it proves the
intrinsic monetary value of meritorious design.
Without detracting from the merits of the respec-
tive buildings, the team of architects are commended
for adhering to decorous urban practice, collectively
elevating a nondescript suburb to a sophisticated,
contemporary urban environment. <
Contributors: Graham Wilson, Prof Lone Poulsen
and Stacey Rowan.
158 >
SEDIBENG BREWERY – TRANSITIONS IN AN AFRICAN LANDSCAPE
159 >
The green tint of the bottle is synonymous with cool
refreshing international beer. It would be Osmond
Lange Architects and Planners and others that
would be at the forefront of making the develop-
ment of a brewery a reality.
“The design challenge was to create an architecture
of engineering, an architecture where the nuts and
bolts of the brewing process would be reflected in
the design of the buildings and their arrangement
within the landscape.” explains project architect,
Vernon Schroeder, “Like the brewing process which
is a relationship or a collection of processes so the
buildings reflect this through interrelationships –
the positioning of buildings on the site, their use of
materials, detailing and colour.”
160 >
A further challenge was to take the large volumet-
ric forms as determined by the processing equip-
ment, and transform them or integrate them so as
to be in harmony with the immediate and sur-
rounding landscape.
Location and context
Sedibeng Brewery is sited just south of Johannes-
burg near Alberton, its backdrop a natural ‘koppie’
with the Kliprivier a notable natural feature – the
springboard for the designs sensitivity to the en-
vironment. Being bounded by the R59 freeway, it
was a gleaning opportunity to open up the devel-
opment for visibility to passing traffic. The campus
of the brewery buildings, sits low slung, but for
the grain silos peering over the relatively flat-lined
southern landscape, sprawled across the vast red-
earth site.
Vehicular access to the brewery is via an approach
road which winds itself through the industrial park
so taking cognisance of its connectivity to future
surrounding developments. From this road one is
guided to the precinct along an entrance boule-
vard which opens up the visitor’s views to the ex-
tent of the precinct, it’s array of differing types of
buildings and finally a glimpse of the focal build-
ing: the brew house.
Site and precinct
The nature of the precinct demands large scale
shed-type buildings which can pose a rather de-
humanising industrialised experience. This magna-
nimity is brought to a human scale by introducing
smaller scale/people-related buildings experi-
enced on arrival arranged along the entrance
boulevard/axis. Furthering the human scale, the
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162 >
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163 >
pedestrian approach separated from that of ve-
hicular access is delineated by a journey within a
landscaped park.
All visitors arrive or park along the primary axis
and are immediately orientated towards the Brew-
ery at the People’s Courtyard that culminates at
the end of the axis. The People’s Court is bounded
by buildings with a less industrialised programme
such as the kitchen/canteen, the locker rooms and
the main gatehouse. These smaller scale buildings
sited within an sculpted landscape create a sense
of serenity in an otherwise harsh environment.
The pedestrian routes headed towards the Brew
house are defined by stone base walls placed in
the landscape. Experienced in all buildings, these
stone walls ‘anchor’ the earthbound buildings to
the floating roofs.
Collection of buildings
“To achieve an interrelationship and for the pre-
cinct to read as a congruous entity, the family idea
of parts/boxes necessitated that each building
project certain common elements.” This was
achieved through the juxtaposition of colour of
parts, the emphasis of the building bases ‘emerg-
ing’ from the earth, and the bright blue skyline in-
corporated into the buildings through the use of
floating roofs.
The brew house
The brew house sitting at the heart of the pre-
cinct, although adhering to these principles of the
family, becomes the focus through its use of
curved facades as a primary feature. The curvilin-
ear geometry reappears subtly in other parts/
164 >
blocks such as the canteen, gatehouse and admin-
istration building.
“Although built to stringent quality standards and
specifications, the complex still manages to por-
tray a sense that the buildings are indeed rooted
in the South African context. The use of locally
sourced, textured materials – clay bricks, stone
rock walling, and low maintenance natural materi-
als echo its African sensibilities. The facades of the
buildings are made up of three definitive parts –
the sturdy base erected from clay brick emerging
from the earth, supporting a light weight steel
façade encapsulating the intricacies of the brew-
ing process, topped by a ‘floating’ roof connecting
the building to the sky.”
“Making use of the brewing process as aesthetic
inspiration,” says Schroeder “we drew on the rich
colours of the malt, the vibrant reds associated
with the fermentation process, and the clear wa-
ter as a palette to be applied throughout the
buildings.”
It is a celebrated space by means of playful ele-
ments such as, the manipulation of solid and void,
by the use of light elements through the exposure
of the structure supporting the floating roof, also
enhancing structural integrity and by the façade
being de-composed into projecting and receding
elements giving it a human scale. It further plung-
es itself into the African context by drawing on
symbolic elements of the South African culture-
slit windows resembling the stitches on the zulu
warriors shield and the domed woven wattle hut
breaking the internal rectilinear geometry.
Solar control comes by means of horizontal louvers
further delineating the façade of the building.” All
buildings are naturally ventilated and predominately
165 >
166 >
naturally lit. The buildings too are double insulat-
ed, preventing excessive heat from dissipating
from the buildings skin during the southern chilly
winter months.
Conclusion
The brewery is set to be developed in 3 phases.
Phase one has dealt with the main manufacturing
facility including malt and fermentation facilities,
brewery house, bottling plant and distribution
centre with built-in flexibility to expand.
Taking into consideration the extent of the
project, the pace with which Osmond Lange deliv-
ered the goods is quite phenomenal.
Without a doubt the fastest technically intricate
project relative to its size that Osmond Lange has
delivered to date, delivering 23 buildings in just
over a year. “We started on site in May 2008 and
delivered the first Phase on 30 June 2009 – in just
14 months,” states project director Deon van On-
selen. Van Onselen goes on to say that over the
last two to three years the building industry in
South Africa has developed a capacity to deliver at
“quite a speed.” <
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169 >
PGA Architects is a young, dynamic and innovative
firm founded in Durban in 1996 by Prakasen Govender.
Through various strategic ventures over the last 14
years of operation, the company has grown steadily
to a staff of 24, comprising architects, architectural
technologists and interior designers.
DRIVEN BY DIVERSITY:
PGA ARCHITECTS
IN FOCUS
170 >
PGA Architects’ portfolio includes numerous projects
in Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban, as well as new
endeavours in West Africa. The firm’s work covers
a wide spectrum, from luxury housing and retail
developments, to communal and charity projects,
such as the New Covenant Church and Effingham
Primary school in Durban. Signature projects range
from new urban housing developments such as One
on Herrwood, to the new Coastlands Umhlanga Hotel,
both in the Umhlanga Ridge New Town Centre (URN-
TC) precinct, and many large-scale private and public
sector turnkey projects, like the National Home
Builders Registration Council Training and Conference
Centre in Pretoria, and the original design of the
new central office and satellite stations for the
South African Police Service’s Railway Branch.
TOP LEFT TO RIGHT:
Coastlands Gatemax, Umhlanga Rocks.
Crystal Rock, Umhlanga Newtown Centre.
New Covenant Church, Effingham, Durban.
Yamada Building, Umhlanga New Town Centre.
BOTTOM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Millenuim Towers, Umhlanga Newton Centre.
Il Pallazo, Uhmlanga New Town Centre.
171 >
The firms’ focus is in line with the rapid urbanisation
of the country, and they help to create intelligent
growth through engagement with the principles
of new urbanism through a combination of tradi-
tional planning and modern technology, breaking
the conventional mould of commercial and estate
buildings, and striving for environmental balance,
social integration and a true sense of community.
The implementation of these principles is evident
in the Edgeview and Kindlewood Estates for Tongaat-
Hulett Developments, and the consistently high
calibre of several high-intensity mixed-use and
residential buildings in the URNTC with The Gate-
way Theatre of Shopping as the catalyst. Such di-
verse quality buildings were only possible through
a symbiotic interaction with the review committee,
headed by Gapp Architects and Urban Designers
who are also collaborators on the new ICC Hotel
for the Coastlands chain. Some of these buildings
include The Yamada Building, The Quartz, Crystal
Rock, Grand Central, Platinum Towers, Aldrovande
Palace, Millennium Towers, The Meridian and Il
Palazzo.
PGA’s architectural philosophy focuses on sustain-
able and eco-friendly architecture where cutting
edge technology and energy efficient systems are
combined with traditional, passive principles that
have a continued relevance to the South African
lifestyle. Coastlands Gatemax, a new contempo-
rary four star hotel, adds a fresh dimension to the
flourishing Umhlanga Ridge skyline, whilst imple-
menting new urban design and thermal efficiency
principles. The innovative design incorporates
many green features to ensure that the building is
sustainable: indigenous landscaping, the 90%
green Resocrete cladding system, and the triple
glazed façade and ventilated double skin of solar
shield glass which increases the natural daylight
and ventilation entering the internal spaces.
The new corporate head office for PGA Architects,
PGA Park, is a sleek tectonic design that makes ample
use of steel and glass with sun shading devices for
a more energy efficient design. The concept was
to create a contemporary building with a distinct
visual identity that is also functionally flexible for
the needs of a changing market. Enhancing its
iconic status in the practices’ portfolio is the use
of local materials, craftsmanship and design to
create a proudly South African building.
One on Herrwood is a new apartment development
perched on the edge of the URNTC that continues the
ethos of a secure, family friendly urban oasis embodied
in the precinct. The mid-rise building has magnificent
180 degree sea views and is infused with a serenity
that emulates that of a five star luxury resort hotel.
172 >
An imaginative new project called Seasons Court
is located in the extensions to the URNTC. It intro-
duces a new typology of residential living to the
area with numerous variations in massing and
façade design to simulate the aggradations of
buildings that have grown over time. The archi-
tects’ intention was to embrace ecological ideas
and evoke the feeling of an urban eco-village within
in a larger region. The development explores alter-
native methods of creating modern passive secu-
rity perimeters to the street edge that adopt the
principles of ‘defensible space’ (a concept of influ-
encing negative social behaviour through positive,
reactive architecture and urban design) in an at-
tempt to improve a growing trend in South Africa
for fortified security estates in favour of a perme-
able urban interface using the principles of New
Urbanism.
In 2006, PGA Architects opened its Johannesburg
office and shortly afterwards were awarded the
tender to design, construct and fit-out the interior
of the NHBRC Training and Conference Centre in
Shoshanguivwe near Pretoria. The tender required
the building to be environmentally sustainable,
thermally efficient and and an innovative hub built
by local unskilled labour to aide in poverty relief
through the transfer of knowledge. With its part-
ners on the project, PGA Architects was able to
ensure a high degree of quality whilst creating an
L-shaped building orientated to track the sun as it
moves and that provides ample space for the us-
ers to interact in an open and friendly environ-
ment. The sheltered arrivals court of the building
inventively incorporates essential design elements
of public buildings for increased legibility, such as
a tower, a colonnade, and a defined portal.
Having created a niche in the luxury housing sector,
PGA’s work includes some of the most impressive
houses along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline and have
acted as the estate architects for Camelot Golf and
Residential Estate, Edgeview Estate and Kindle-
wood Estates, developing the urban character
through the design of communal facilities and the
formulation of the architectural guidelines.
Kindlewood is a residential estate aimed at attracting
a younger family-orientated market who require ele-
gant, modern and sophisticated living that is in uni-
son with the estates’ natural surroundings. The aes-
thetic is a contemporary interpretation of design
principles derived from vernacular Natal Victorian
architecture, synthesised with Japanese influences
173 >
and Frank Lloyd Wrights’ Prairie houses through the
extensive use of glazing and large wrap-around ve-
randas, creating a seamless relationship between
inside and outside spaces.
The estate actively supports elements of sustain-
able design. These include water conservation, the
rehabilitation of natural flora and various energy
initiatives that are in line with the concept of ‘one
planet living’. These include a number of passive
construction measures such as ventilated roofs,
TOP LEFT TO RIGHT:
NHBRC Training and Conference Centre in
Shoshanguivwe near Pretoria. One On
Herwood, Umhlamga Rocks. PGA Bussiness
Park, Umhlanga New Town Centre.
BOTTOM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Season’s Court, Umhlanga Rocks. Ghana
Precinct.
174 >
175 >
cavity wall construction to increase insulation, and
sun louvers to control light and heat gain. A re-
gional logic influences the buildings’ massing, ori-
entation and placement of windows to track the
sun and encourage the use of natural light and
passive ventilation.
The style of Zimbali Estate is inspired by the open
tropical houses of Bali but are rooted in Africa
through the abundant use of earthy tones and nat-
ural materials. When one visits this beautiful estate
on the north coast, the integration of the homes
with their surroundings is remarkable. The Zimbali
homes that PGA has designed have a classical and
timeless appeal due to sensitive design and con-
struction.
PGA Architects is entirely committed to serving
the needs of their diverse group of clients and en-
gages inventively with design possibilities within
the constraints of site, brief and budget. Offering
a personalised service, the firm’s senior staff, Pra-
kasen Govender, Sarah Fleming, Nirdosh Ramjia-
wan, Peggy Ngide, Yougen Elliah, Craig Atkins, and
Jeron Dhanookdhari, deliver a pragmatic yet deep-
ly thoughtful approach to ensure full client satis-
faction, and their total commitment to quality is
evident on all projects. <
TOP: House Naicker, Kloof,
Durban.
CENTRE: House Kathrada,
Cape Town
BOTTOM: House
Harichand, Zimbali Estate,
Ballito.
177 >
Studio 3 Architects International (Pty) Ltd was estab-
lished in 1987. At that time it was clear that a definite
evolution was taking place in architectural practices re-
garding client service, generation of work, as well as
execution of documentation. Therefore, it was impera-
tive for the practice’s founders to select expertise and
personnel that, firstly, understood this evolutionary direc-
tion and secondly, were able to assist in the dynamic
environment required by property developers as well as
cost conscious clients.
The partners, Dirk Henzen, Erich Hough and Rufus Viljoen,
believe that they have succeeded in establishing a practice
that adheres to these characteristics by means of a dy-
namic management style, which involves all personnel
in participation and continuous training sessions.
Studio 3 Architects International specialises in urban
design and architecture, and its services also include
space planning and interior design; presentation, com-
mercial controls, documentation, project management
and quality control.
The practice is committed to a built environment of
merit, free from superficial, fashionable and stylistic
trends, with buildings that are timeless, enhance the
environment and create spaces of quality. In striving to-
wards design excellence, Studio 3 Architects Interna-
tional’s objective is to constantly challenge the design
constraints by being innovative, creative and effectively
using their clients’ resources to achieve environments
that are pleasurable. In serving their clients, the prac-
tice believes that it is necessary to maximise the devel-
opment potential of their assets and to be cost-effec-
tive with feasible solutions that ensure a high financial
return. The practice is also committed to not only serve
the needs of their clients, but also to uplift the commu-
nities who work and use the buildings that they design,
based on the principle of enhancing the quality of the
environment and consequently the quality of life.
STU
DIO
3
AR
CH
ITEC
TS
INTE
RN
ATI
ON
AL
178 >
Dep
artm
ent
of
Trad
e an
d In
du
stry
Offi
ce C
amp
us,
Pre
tori
a, S
ou
th A
fric
a.
179 >
KEY PROJECTS
Studio 3 Architects International’s field of expertise
is diverse and includes multi-use developments, retail
malls corporate offices, commercial office parks,
hotels, motor dealerships, individual residential,
high-rise residential, high-density residential, golf
estate developments and hospitality and leisure
developments, amongst others.
Some of the practice’s most recent and prominent
developments include the dti Campus, Trevenna
Campus, Lynnwood Bridge, Design Square, Bagatelle,
The Fields and House Boogertman.
dti Campus
Located in Trevenna, Pretoria, the Department of
Trade and Industry (dti) Campus forms part of the
greater Mandela Development Corridor. This is an
urban design vision and framework that was initi-
ated by the City Council of Tshwane in conjunction
with the private sector.
The campus consists of seven, four storey office
buildings. The buildings are arranged to create an
accessible civic precinct. The design of the Campus
followed an integrated process. Consideration was
given to commercial norms required for robust of-
fice building design; but also took into account the
urban context; urban design principles; public
open space; cultural matters; climatic conditions;
as well as timelessness.
Universal urban design principles were utilised to
ensure integration with the existing urban fabric, as
well as urban activities. Existing patterns of use were
incorporated & strengthened. Focal points act as
beacons of definition & orientation. Perimeter blocks
allow clearly defined urban edges & different levels
of security & privacy. Existing & future boulevards
shape the perimeter & internal streets, allowing
the perimeter blocks to open up with vistas & routes,
thus closely knitting together the urban fabric with
the existing urban environment.
Public open space becomes the focus of the Campus,
therefore creating an accessible precinct that is rich
with activity. The covered internal street becomes
the main activity route with entrances, public access
cores & activity courtyards arranged along this route.
External routes along existing public streets are
activity spines where retail & public transport activi-
ties are concentrated. Perimeter block atriums allow
for private secure activities
Building systems are place rooted & robust, fit for
civic architecture. Facade articulations & materials
respond to the cultural context, as well as to cli-
matic conditions. Mosaic work inlays; brickwork
patterns; raked vibrant coloured plaster & natural
stonework refer to our cultural heritage of crafts-
manship. Mass brick-work facades & metal sun
shading devices reduce heat gain. Metal devices
furthermore afford a high-tech light-weight feel,
juxtaposed with the solid and grounded expres-
sion of the brick-work and natural stone walls. The
progression from earth bound to high tech, sym-
bolically reflects our rootedness in the past, but
simultaneously reflecting a vision of the future, in
other words, the industrial notions of progress
and wealth creation.
The Department of Trade & Industry Office Campus
manifests the required social responsibility of being
a truly accessible, culturally appropriate building
within its urban context
180 >
Trevenna Office Campus & Trevenna Urban Square
Located in Trevenna, Pretoria, and neighboring
the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) cam-
pus, the Trevenna Office Campus forms part of the
greater Mandela Development Corridor. This is an
urban design vision and framework that was initi-
ated by the City Council of Tshwane in conjunction
with the private sector.
The design follows an integrated design process.
Consideration was given to commercial norms re-
quired for successful office building design, but also
took into account the urban context, cultural con-
text as well as the climatic conditions of the site.
The campus consist of eight, four- to eight-storey
office buildings. The buildings are arranged to cre-
ate a pedestrian friendly precinct, serviced by a
super basement for parking. Campus circulation
cores provide public access to the courtyards,
from where building entrances are approached.
The building layouts allow for a robust, multi-ten-
ant A grade office scenario.
The Trevenna Campus Square forms the heart of the
campus, affording a pleasant landscaped public
breathing space, furthermore spatially linking the
campus with the dti development’s ceremonial en-
trance. The square is defined by the adjacent Phase
1 building, reflecting the historic grid layout of Pre-
toria. Urban spaces are defined by arranging build-
ings around courtyards, thus affording legibility,
definition and security, with clearly defined spaces
and entrances. The buildings are furthermore ar-
ranged as open perimeter blocks, which includes
visual as well as entrance openings. The importance
of the historic Voor Street axis, juxtaposed with the
urban grid layout and organic landscape lines, is em-
phasised, anchoring the precinct and creating vistas.
The buildings reflect simple rational forms, con-
trasted with forms derived from regulating lines of
the urban context – organic shapes as well as pedes-
trian circulation requirements.
Corner elements, building entrances and feature
walls are articulated as focal points, creating a leg-
ible whole. Colonnaded setbacks allow for a pedes-
trian friendly environment at the major entrance
courtyards. The Schoeman/Greef Street corner is
an iconic landmark: the ‘drum’ tower is played off
against the recessed glass façade of Building C
and the campus circulation cores, concrete and
steel pavilion structures are the focal points of the
main courtyards, creating visual and access anchor
points.
Façade articulations A grade materials respond to
the urban and cultural context, as well as to climatic
conditions: mass brick-work façades, metal sun
shading devices, high-performance glazing, reflec-
tive walls, set-backs, as well as screen walls and
reflective metal roofs reduce heat gain. Metal devices
afford a high-tech light-weight feel, set off against
the solid and grounded expression of the brick-
work and landscape natural stone walls.
Pretoria has a long tradition of face-brick work
and the new Trevenna campus falls into this tradi-
tion. The local cultural influence is reflected in
various ways: the drum form and other organic
shapes, colour pallet, dry-pack stone features af-
ford an earth-bound natural feel to the landscape,
which is typical of traditional African homesteads.
The campus creates an accessible, human-friendly
urban environment, therefore introducing much
needed revenue into an area that was destined to
decay without any such intervention.
Trev
enn
a O
ffice
Cam
pu
s &
Tre
ven
na
Urb
an S
qu
are,
Pre
tori
a So
uth
Afr
ica.
181 >
182 >
LEFT
CO
LUM
N: L
ynnw
oo
d B
rid
ge,
Pre
tori
a, S
ou
th A
fric
a. R
IGH
T C
OLU
MN
: Des
ign
Sq
uar
e, P
reto
ria,
So
uth
Afr
ica.
183 >
Lynnwood Bridge
This mixed-use development is situated at the
newly constructed traffic node of the N1 highway
and Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, and offers prime con-
nectivity to all directions of the city and which cre-
ates a strong economical catalyst for the develop-
ment of the area. In total, a bulk area of 70 000 m2
will be developed over different phases, with up
to four basements-deep and six storeys high.
Construction work began in mid-2009 and Phase 1
consists of a 200-bedroom City Lodge Hotel of which
the design follows the City Lodge’s new and more
contemporary design language.
Two more office buildings in the precinct were com-
pleted in October. The one being the new 11 000 m2,
five-storey head office for Adams & Adams, which
has high-quality and durable finishes to ensure a
long life-cycle.
The adjoining smaller three-storey office building,
covering 2 500 m2, blends in well next to the Adams
& Adams building. It sits at the entrance to the pre-
cinct and responds to its position by living out to-
wards the public side, but also offers private break-
away facilities for employees on the other side,
giving employees an opportunity to either be part
of the hustle in the precinct or withdraw for a while.
Currently under construction are the new head of-
fice for Aurecon, as well as a retail centre and the-
atre, which are scheduled for completion in late-
2010. The Aurecon building is a 19 500 m2, six-storey
building lying on the Northern side of the precinct,
overlooking the adjoining park. It is one of very
few buildings currently being constructed in South
Africa to be Green Star rated by the Green Building
Council.
The retail component will consist of a variety of
interesting shops and restaurants and lots of design
effort has gone into creating the outdoor spaces
to make them as comfortable as possible. A gym is
also located on the lower part of the block and
above it sits the new and technologically advanced
Atterbury Theatre possessing the best in acous-
tics, lighting and technology currently in South
Africa.
Design Square
Design Square is an upgraded upmarket retail cen-
tre in Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria, adjacent to the
popular Brooklyn Mall. The developers took the
strategic decision to rename the existing centre
from Brooklyn Square to Design Square, to match
the new mix of tenants, which they aimed to attract,
focusing mainly on décor and lifestyle tenants.
The brief from the client was clear: improve parking
circulation; improve pedestrian flow; improve pub-
lic access to circulation space; create a sense of
place; create a more sensible retail space which will
attract more suitable tenants, and upgrade and
modernise the architecture style of the centre.
There was also a significant need for adding addi-
tional parking, which had to be accommodated for
by the addition of two new parking areas on existing
floors, which are accessed from the main traffic
artery on Middle Street.
The pedestrian movement throughout the centre is
now also greatly improved. An additional retail area
has been created from the new parking area on
Middle Street, opening up towards the develop-
ment’s piazza, which accommodates most of the
restaurant tenants. The existing open-air centre
184 >
space has also been redesigned and the landscap-
ing is radically reconfigured.
The newly created piazza now operates on one
level, allowing each restaurant to extend its out-
door seating. This has greatly improved the pedes-
trian movement through the new mall. New esca-
lators now provide access from the lower level
parking directly into the open-air piazza, which is
further linked vertically by a central glass observa-
tion lift and stair element.
An improved visual link, as well as pedestrian ac-
cess, into the piazza from Veale and Bronkhorst Street
has been created. The material, use of steel, and
colour palette used in the Design Square revamp
was chosen to give the centre a more contempo-
rary feel. The amount of soft landscaping has been
concentrated into two areas, which include planters
and water elements. The landscaping within the
new piazza is minimalist, enhancing the design
features of the new centre.
Bagatelle Office Park
The Bagatelle Office Park forms part of the bigger
Bagatelle Development which is ideally located
along the major motorway in the heart of Mauritius.
The design of the office park does not only take
into consideration the contemporary forms re-
quired for commercial offices, but also the histori-
cal and cultural as well as geographical and climat-
ic context of the main island.
The loose standing pavilion structure is typically
placed in the traditional plantation concept. A
formal boulevard connects the buildings to each
other and organically shaped landscaping with the
accent on terraces, completes the picture.
The office buildings are designed each with its own
clearly defined Porte coheres, affording weather
protection and articulation. The work yard shapes
allow for a multi-tenant option utilising the tradi-
tional veranda space for articulation definition and
protection of the different entrances.
Architectural elements incorporated are multivalent,
they are derived from Mauritian building tradition,
often climatically responsive as well as function-
ally appropriate.
The Fields
The Fields is a residential development geared pri-
marily for the university student demographic pro-
file in Pretoria. The development takes up an entire
city block in the heart of the Hatfield precinct.
It forms part of the City’s Spatial Development
Framework because it is a high-density node which
caters for the pedestrian-oriented traffic between
the university, Gautrain Station and commercial
concerns that mainly serve the student demo-
graphic.
The development accommodates close to 700 res-
idential units, ranging from bachelor flats, 1 and
2-bedroom flats to duplexes and penthouses at
the higher levels of the buildings. The layouts of
the different units differ from building to building
(there are 3) to cater for the different needs of
tenants; some of whom may not be students.
185 > TO
P A
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Bag
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Par
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So
uth
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ica.
Ho
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Bo
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186 >
187 >
The design of the project, throughout, is meant to
address the sensibilities of the young-at-heart, by
employing bright accent colours, a variety of tex-
tures and finishes; all within a modern context.
The finishes used, were chosen for their low-main-
tenance, hard-wearing characteristics while add-
ing to the “funky”/ semi-industrial vibe. In support
of the vast residential component is a smaller (by
comparison) rental component on the ground
floor, designed to address the needs of the inde-
pendent flat-dweller.
Two levels of basement provide secure parking for
tenants and visitors, as well as space for storage,
utilities and safe vertical transportation to the
residential and retail components. A central axis
runs through the site, form South (Burnett Street)
to North, connecting the current project with fu-
ture phases, which will be designed to augment
and compliment the precinct even further.
House Boogertman
A country restaurant, nestled in the Magaliesburg
hills, was converted into an expansive modern pri-
vate home, which is set amongst the farm’s breed-
ing trout dams. The existing large kitchen and din-
ing room were maintained and used as the base
from which the house was developed.
The new roof scape was simplified into separate
roof elements, which define the spaces within.
The existing slate roof was marginally revised to
become a defined design element. A three-storey
stone-clad ‘drum’ structure was introduced to re-
spond to the scale of the house and the topogra-
phy of the site. This towers above the slate roofs,
which are linked by flat concrete slabs.
The ‘drum’ element, central to the home, presents
itself at a human scale with entry on the middle
level. A trout pond forms the base of the ‘drum’
with a shaped timber landing floating over.
All public and private spaces extend onto a vast
timber deck that wraps around the house pushing
out, on pillars, into one of the trout dams at the
main bedroom suite. On the main axis, the flush
edge of the deck meets the grating of the pool
edge, which becomes organic on its vanishing
edge into the dam. The guest rooms on the side,
with separate private decks enjoy different views.
Materials, textures and colours were kept natural
for exterior and interior with subtle accents of rich
colour. On the exterior, shades of grey move from
the slate roofs and adjacent slabs into the natural
stone built elements. Earthy flush jointed brick-
work panels help to articulate the natural plaster
and painted walls. A solid timber deck and steel
pergola/roof combination is continuous along the
main façade.
The interior features include finger plastered
walls and richly coloured art glass wall lights,
which form part of the original building. Rustic
flush jointed brick walls and concrete beams de-
fine the structure of large spans and spaces. Butt-
jointed light coloured tiled floors are taken
throughout. In the dining and lounge areas de-
fined squares of timber inserts give the effect of
larger tiles being used.
Luxury spaces such as a large restaurant-type kitch-
en, walk in cold rooms, gymnasium, projector room,
wine cellar and large aquarium add features to this
South African life-styled home. <
PR
ECIO
SA L
IGH
TIN
G
DEC
OR
ATE
S TH
E FU
TUR
ISTI
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AS
HO
TEL
IN A
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AB
IThis futuristic hotel complex, built on the man-
made Yas Island, towers right above the Formula 1
racetrack – the Yas Marina Circuit. The hotel’s
characteristic feature is its peripheral cladding
formed from LED panels that enable the building’s
attractive colorful illumination.
Lighting fixtures by PRECIOSA illuminate interiors
throughout the entire hotel, whether it is the ho-
tel’s lobby, several restaurants in various architec-
tural styles or a presidential suite. The design
project is based on three basic levels: the first lev-
el features lighting sculptures created from chan-
delier trimmings and glass rods with inserted opti-
cal fibers serving as modern light sources. The
second level is characterized by both glass and
metal components of simple shapes loosely sus-
pended to form imaginative configurations. And
finally, the third group of lighting elements fol-
lows the prevailing architectural trend towards us-
ing intersecting geometric shapes such as crystal
blocks or objects with round lines as can be seen,
for instance, in hanging lanterns.
189 >
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Seafood restaurant – Programmed to change colors, optical fibers enable variable lighting.
Italian restaurant – Glass cylinders in shades of green are suspended from the ceiling on thin metal cables.
Lobby pâtisserie – Light emitted by various sources penetrates a combination of chromium-plated glass as well
as metal components, thus creating attractive reflections.
Noodle restaurant – A regular configuration of matte glass rods with LED light sources.
191 >
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Noodle restaurant – Nature-inspired glass components encircling the column evoke the image of a magically
illuminated tree.
All-day dining – This imaginatively shaped object is formed from glass tubes with optical fibers inserted in every
fourth tube. In addition, the entire composition is illuminated by extra spotlights placed in the ceiling.
Arabic restaurant – Glass spheres in an Arab style with metal decorations cut out by a laser are finished with a
matte bronze patina.
193 >
196 >
By Richard Stone
3-D is here. Better believe it. And if
you’re a designer, now would be a really
good time to start developing an under-
standing of the new opportunities made
possible by recent developments in visual
media.
Of the senses we possess, sight accounts
for the bulk of the stimulus we absorb
from the three-dimensional world.
What a staggering thought it is then, to
consider that virtually all our print and
electronic media have been, until now,
completely and often heartbreakingly
two-dimensional.
Shortly we shall all have 3-D TV’s. It’s safe to say
that, ten years from now, most of us will. In fact,
before long, it might be difficult to even find a TV
or indeed a laptop that isn’t 3-D.
While we’ve enjoyed the benefits of stereo sound
reproduction (sound with depth) since 1931, we
still have to don a pair of 3-D spectacles and go to
a 3-D film theatre, to experience actual re-created
three-dimensional views.
Leonardo da Vinci was the first to lament the limita-
tions of painting in simulating the appearance of
three-dimensional space. Over the centuries we
have developed many 2-D visual design mecha-
nisms in order to create the illusion of depth: linear
perspective, atmospheric perspective, foreshorten-
ing, scale, depth of field, layering, and if you’re in a
hurry, drop-shadows. These illusions have long
been used by architects, designers, artists and pho-
tographers in their attempts at reproducing in two
dimensions, that which exists in three.
But even the best efforts using the most advanced
3-D rendering software inevitably results in an im-
age that ends up either printed on a flat piece of
paper, or displayed on a flat screen.
The image may even have been designed in three
dimensions (CAD), but the resulting effect is an
image that (like this page) exists in only two. In my
own experience, even when an image is applied to
a three dimensional shape (for example in packag-
ing design), the actual visual depth is often deter-
mined more by the shape of the object to which it
is applied, than by the image itself.
We have always used 2-D visual mechanisms, like
linear perspective, to create the illusion of depth.
But there are some very real limitations to what
can be achieved as far as creating actual visual
THE DEEP IMAGE
197 >
1. See in 3-D
1. Place the below images directly parallel to your face, but be sure to view it from a distance
of no less than 70cm without zooming in. 2. Be sure to hold your head at a perfect horizontal
angle. 3. Relax your eyes and stare at the two black dots below the images. 4. Now skew your
eyes slightly without changing focus until you see four dots. 5. Keep skewing your eyes until
the two middle dots overlap. 6. Keeping that gaze fixed, raise your eyes to view the 3-D image.
198 >
Move al image layers in front of
the middle-ground over to the
left. Be sure to use the exact
same (but inverted) distances as
used on the left-eye image. Now
move all image layers behind the
middle-ground to the right. The
more you move it, the deeper it
gets. Place both images side by
side and view as above.
FOREGROUND MIDDLE-FOREGROUND
MIDDLE GROUND MIDDLE-BACKGROUND
BACKGROUNDRight Eye Image
FOREGROUND MIDDLE-FOREGROUND
MIDDLE GROUND MIDDLE-BACKGROUND
BACKGROUNDLeft Eye Image
Move al image layers in front
of the middle-ground over to
the right. The degree of depth is
relevant to how far you move the
layer. Now move all image layers
behind the middle-ground to
the left. Be sure to measure and
record movements so that they
can be replicated on the right-
eye image.
2. Creating a 3-D image from existing 2-D
Start by identifying and isolating all distinguishable picture elements on separate layers.
Foreground, middle-ground, and background is a good starting point, but more layers will
result in better definition. You will have to complete partially obscured picture elements in
order to reposition them seamlessly. Then prepare two versions of the same image as follows:
199 >
But I’m not referring only to the realistic/natural-
istic representation of space or volume. As we
have had to learn to manipulate the mechanisms
of visual depth in 2-D, we must now learn to ma-
nipulate the mechanisms of visual depth in all
three dimensions. Our clients and the public at
large will soon become used to 3-D TV and com-
puting (the real McCoy) and soon would not be
satisfied by illusional 3-D designs.
The visual representation of three-dimensional
space relies on what is called stereoscopic vision.
Let me explain. Like most animals, we humans
have two eyes. Human visual perception makes
use of the slight difference between the individu-
al vantage points of each eye, to estimate dis-
tance. Interestingly, a physiological attribute we
share with most predators in the animal kingdom,
i.e. both eyes looking forward.
A simple demonstration of the above would be to
try to catch a ball with one eye closed. The view
from any single vantage point is quite flat, making
it very difficult to judge distance. Having two eyes
focused simultaneously on a distant object enable
us to better understand the space in which we find
ourselves.
So the purpose of this article is then to demon-
strate the visual effect of stereoscopic vision (in
case you didn’t get around to seeing Avatar in a
depth is concerned, even when several of these
mechanisms are used in combination. There is only
so much information that can be communicated in
2-D, because you have to rely on the viewer’s abil-
ity to understand spatial definition. The illusion of
depth has to be correctly interpreted.
Also, the illusion of depth in a 2-D illustration/pho-
tograph can be manipulated or inaccurate. The il-
lusion of depth can also be exaggerated or under-
stated as many of the famous graphic works by
M.C. Escher clearly illustrate.
But things are changing fast. The latest screen
technology doesn’t even require those unflatter-
ing 3-D glasses to deliver real 3-D visual depth. Be-
fore long any CI Manual will have to contain a
chapter on how the brand lives in 3-D space. Soon,
we will have a much deeper canvas to work on.
The time has come for designers of all disciplines to
develop a detailed understanding of the mecha-
nisms by which three-dimensional sight is achieved.
Now this sounds like hard work, and to be sure, it
can sometimes be a bit tricky, but the good news is
that it is also a whole lot of fun. Better yet, a basic
understanding of the principles can enable you to
bring great realism, screaming clarity and blistering
immediacy to most designs, while at the same time
adding enormous value to your process.
200 >
3-D movie theatre), and then to show you how to
make rudimentary 3-D images using a camera or
3-D rendering software.
Pronounced visual depth can even be artificially
applied to an existing flat design by carefully iso-
lating and arranging different visual planes on
separated layers to create a view for each eye
You can even ‘distill’ static 3-D images from certain
types of video files and movies by combining
screen-captured images from different vantage
points – tracking shots and dolly shots work really
well.
Our design studio has recently started facilitating
stereoscopic presentations of three-dimensional
design concepts to some of our FMCG clients with
great success.
Instead of building and couriering mock-ups, we
often visualise the packaging design concept by
rendering or photographing it (twice – one for
each eye) in three dimensions, in our Johannes-
burg studio. We (can) then email the combined
stereoscopic image to our Cape Town branch,
where it may be viewed by the client, in perfect
3-D, on the very same day it was designed. Very
handy when your industrial design happens a
thousand kilometers from where the client is, and
you have a tight deadline.
Not only is this visualisation technique very time
and cost effective, it also enables you to accentu-
ate specific design attributes that you want the
client to notice and understand. It is sometimes
the only way to gain a truly realistic sense of what
an image looks like when it’s applied to a form.
Typically in packaging design.
It’s also a very realistic technique for visualising re-
tail interiors or architectural elevations, compared
to the traditional ‘fly-through’, flat 3-D rendering or
scale model. There’s just no end to the fun you can
have with a stereoscopic experimentation. <
Richard Stone is creative director at Yellowwood
Architects.
201 >
The easiest way to create an effective stereoscopic image is to take two different photographs, each one
from a slightly different angle. The greater the angle, the more pronounced the depth. A camera movement
of as little as 6cm is usually sufficient, depending on the length of the lens. Ideally, these stereo images
should be viewed through a proper stereoscope to get the full 3-D effect.
3. How to make 3D photographs / renderings
LEFT-EYEVIEW
RIGHT-EYEVIEW 1
RIGHT-EYEVIEW 2
RIGHT-EYEVIEW 3
3.1 Small & medium size objectsSmaller objects’ shapes are better defined by rotational
camera setup re-positioning. Limited depth-of-field can be
effectively used to accentuate specific aspects of the object
LEFT-EYEVIEW
RIGHT-EYEVIEW 1
RIGHT-EYEVIEW 2
3.2 Large objects & landscapesLarger views are better defined by parallel camera setup
re-positioning. Landscapes are better defined when the
two photographs are taken several meters apart, or even
at greater distances.
204 >
BRIAN STEINHOBEL: SMART INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Industrial design can be defined as “…a blend of applied art,
business and technology, which attempts to develop
physical solutions to meet particular needs.”
Smart industrial design can be defined as Brian Steinhobel.
By Stacey Rowan
205 >
Brian Steinhobel is one of Africa’s most pre-eminent
industrial designers of our time. The element of smart
design is crucial to what Steinhobel delivers as it
improves both functional and aesthetic appeal of
products.
Brian started on his creative path as a young boy,
when he was drawn to art and started creating in
a multitude of ways. Cutting the legs off the dining
chairs at home and using it as a seat in a wooden
box kart was on the first incidences of him being
in trouble for thinking ‘differently’ and ‘out of the
box’. At age eight, Brian unintentionally created
his first piece of appropriate industrial design by
drawing the shape of a chair on the side of a large
block of foam. He then cut a chair on the side of it
with a knife and used this chair until he completed
his schooling.
Not only did Brian complete Matric with a distinc-
tion in Art, but he also won the top Art Award in
his school for three years in a row. At school, Brian
developed a deep affinity to art encouraged by
one of his teachers, Mr Edwin Harrison, who pro-
foundly influenced his appreciation of art and his-
tory of art and architecture. The teachings of Harrison
helped Brian to channel the inspiration that art
had to offer into his own development. Also, during
his youth, Brian seriously considered architecture
as a career, a subject he still loves to this day, but
PREVIOUS PAGE LEFT: XES Sculpture.
RIGHT: XES Sculpture Carbon Fibre White.
THIS PAGE LEFT: Zodiac Baracuda Zoom Poolcleaner USA.
RIGHT: Hulette Sweetner Dispenser.
206 >
eventually discovered that industrial design was
actually his calling. This was like discovering the
true answer to life for Brian and he immersed him-
self into Industrial Design studies, which is still a
hallmark of his dedication to design.
Steinhobel Design Pty, founded and still headed
up Brian, is a prolific consultancy serving both cor-
porate and individual clients as well as inventors
across diverse industries – electronics, packaging,
white goods, mining, medical, furniture, pharma-
ceutical, automotive, sports equipment and many
others, across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Through Steinhobel Design, Brian continues to
work in a multitude of industries, applying a wide
range of materials and technologies to hundreds
of designs which have been carried out. These
range from aerospace to consumer goods, amongst
others.
The industrial design carried out at the company
spans both the design and engineering of new prod-
uct development with Brian’s personal creativity
and direction based on more than 30 years of in-
tense passionate work and experience. Steinhobel
Design uses leading edge technology to execute
the design process significantly compressing prod-
uct development cycles and reducing unit manu-
facturing costs.
A large selection of products and projects are being
rolled out globally and three decades of intense
work is culminating in the Brian Steinhobel brand
being more prominent with products based on an
207 >
PREVIOUS PAGE LEFT: Skala Desk System
Ukhuni Business Furniture.
RIGHT: Coca Cola Limited Edition World Cup
International Bottle – art interpretation, gold
plated.
THIS PAGE LEFT: Coca Cola Limited Edition
World Cup International Bottle.
CENTRE: Supercart UK Shopping Trolley.
RIGHT: Fast Forward Energy Drink.
impressive track-record of technical ability and de-
sign understanding, using the most sophisticated
manufacturing processes, materials and a dedica-
tion to the pursuit of excellence.
Steinhobel Design, continues to be one of the most
pre-eminent product development centres in Africa
and consistently delivers a level of design solution
extraordinarily ahead of the curve with hyper-creativity
as a core value.
The industrial design and product development is a
multifaceted highly stimulating world, which is re-
flected in Brian’s personal life. Design at this level
requires a ‘beyond normal’ understanding of the
world, as we know it and humanity that occupies it.
208 >
The subtle nuances of high design, driven by cut-
ting edge technology, sub-conscious and con-
scious psychologies, ergonomics, anthropomet-
rics, computer aided design (CAD), manufacturing
technologies, marketing strategies, intellectual
property and contractual issues, business and en-
trepreneurial skills and a plethora of dynamic sym-
biotic influences must all be orchestrated and cul-
minate in products that will impact for the
betterment of society.
Brain’s mission is to design products that enhance
life’s journey and vastly increase profitability and
market share.
Apart from Steinhobel Design Pty, Brian continues
to contribute to arts and design – locally and inter-
nationally. Brian has served on a number of design
competition and award juries in South Africa and
around the world including the Australian Design
Awards, the British D&AD Awards, the German
Braun Design Prize and the South African Bureau
of Standards Design Excellence Awards.
Brian has also started planning and is in pursuit of
establishing a Museum of Contemporary Design
and Art in Cape Town. This is a multi-billion Rand
project with the intent of boosting Africa into the
future in these fields and raising awareness of de-
sign and its potential to dramatically boost the
economy in the region.
Inspiring and teaching the youth as well as up-and-
coming industrial designers, art-lovers and designers,
is another priority for Brian. At his recent exhibition
titled Brian Steinhobel Alumni Exhibition, held at
209 >
the University of Johannesburg Bunting Campus’s
FADA Gallery, in collaboration with the Faculty of
Art, Design and Architecture (FADA), he displayed
a variety of his designs spanning his career, ranging
from trolleys, plastic water bottles, sugar dispensers,
taps and knife handles, amongst others. Showcasing
some of Brian’s old and new designs, a mere time-
line in his design evolution, one could see where
Brian had come from and where he is going. The
exhibition, that ran from 30 September to 25 October,
gave a glimpse into the future of design. Nothing
else but inspirational.
For Brian Steinhobel and Steinhobel Design Pty,
the future holds many exciting prospects. <
PREVIOUS PAGE TOP LEFT:
Mellaware CJ 2000 Continental Kettle.
RIGHT: Lasher Wheelbarrow.
BOTTOM: Brush-T Golf Tee.
CENTRE TOP: Tsik Tsak Brian Steinhobel
Brand Light Planters.
BOTTOM: Striking Tools Series Brian
Steinhobel Brand.
THIS PAGE LEFT: Cobra Watertech
Leading Edge Range of Taps.
RIGHT: Cobra Watertech Callisto
Range of Taps.
HEAD OFFICE:Tel: +27 (0) 11 493 6833Fax: +27 (0) 11 493 7760
JOHANNESBURG:Tel: +27 (0) 11 493 6833Fax: +27 (0) 11 493 7760
CAPE TOWN:Tel: +27 (0) 21 510 8023Fax: +27 (0) 21 510 8025
DURBAN:Tel: +27 (0) 31 700 4881Fax: +27 (0) 31 700 4811
www.graphica.co.za
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212 >
THE 32ND
ANNUAL LOERIE
AWARDS
When one thinks of the most renowned
and prestigious award ceremony celebrating
cinematography, the Oscars come to mind.
Similarly, when it comes to awarding those
in the music industry, it’s the Grammy Awards
that takes the cake. Considering advertising
and marketing, the 32nd Annual Loerie
Awards, amongst other awards ceremonies
of this ilk, ranks top in Africa and paves the
way to the Clios and Cannes Lions.
GRAND PRIXCRAFT GOLDAGENCY: King James
PROJECT: Allan Gray’s
TV commercial, Legend.
213 >
Hosted from 2–3 October 2010 at the Good Hope
Centre in Cape Town, the Loerie Awards is the Africa’s
biggest advertising, communication design and
experimental media awards. Once again paying
tribute to the creme da le creme of the creative
elite, the Loeries gave annual recognition of the
best work produced in the brand communication
industry.
Panels comprised of over 160 local and interna-
tional experts in their fields judged the awards.
Out of 2 895 entries, inclusive of students and pro-
fessionals, a total of 267 awards were handed out
to winning entries, who reflected a broad spec-
trum of the industry. A selection of awards, within
each category, were given out to winners, includ-
ing Grand Prix, Gold, Silver and Bronze, Craft Gold
and Craft Certificate, amongst others. The compe-
tition was tough and 1 059 finalists competed for
the ‘rare birds’. Four Grand Prix awards were made
this year, with 28 golds, 64 silvers and 124 bronzes.
Fourteen gold craft and 32 craft certificates were
also awarded.
According to Andrew Human, Loeries CEO, awards
entries are a good indicator of the industry’s
health, because they reflect a number of indica-
tors: the volume of new work that has been pro-
duced during the year, client propensity to risk
daring work, and the agencies’ willingness to pay
for entries. Human says: “It’s a first-line indicator
of the overall health of the economy, a measure of
the health of the brands behind the advertising,
and their available marketing budgets.”
This year’s entry numbers were down from 2009
(4% for professionals and 11% for students), but
the number of finalists increased by 70 compared
to the previous year. Human says that standards
have not dropped, though several categories did
214 >
215 >
GRAND PRIXAGENCY: Boogertman + Partners Architects
PROJECT: Soccer City Stadium, The Melting Pot.
GRAND PRIXAGENCY: VWV Group
PROJECT: 2010 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony.
216 >
not have gold medal winners. “It wasn’t about a first,
second and third place contest. Every piece that de-
serves gold will win, based on our quality standards.”
Industry commentator Tony Koenderman explains
that it is not surprising that the design category
experienced the biggest drop in entries, probably
because this is the first area of the industry’s ac-
tivities that gets cut back or postponed during
tough economic times. The second biggest fall
was, disappointingly, in digital media, a fast-grow-
ing sector where South Africa is struggling to
catch up with the rest of the world in effective uti-
lisation.
According to Koenderman, advertising, the big-
gest category in the 2010 Loerie Awards, matched
the overall decline, but entries for experiential
marketing awards (such as direct marketing, pro-
motions, alternative media and events) bucked the
trend with an 11% rise. This was partly because of
the introduction of a new category (in-store pro-
motions) and a big jump in live events.
217 >
GRAND PRIXAGENCY: Grid Worldwide Branding and Tonic Design
PROJECT: Mixed-media Campaign for
Comair/British Airways, SLOW Lounge.
218 >
Not surprisingly, two 2010 FIFA World Cup-related
entries won Grand Prix awards. A Grand Prix in archi-
tecture and interior design (a fairly new category
addition to the Loeries) went to Boogertman &
Partners, architects of Soccer City Stadium, and
another was awarded to the VWV Group in the Ex-
periential Category (live events) for the closing
ceremony of the global event.
Other Grand Prix winners were Grid Worldwide
Branding and Tonic Design in the Communication
Design Mixed-Media Category for the Comair/British
Airways SLOW Lounge campaign, and King James’
TV & cinema award for the Hollywood-inspired Allan
Gray Legends campaign, featuring iconic figures
such as James Dean and John Lennon.
Topsy Foundation, FIFA, Nike, Yuppie Chef, POWA
and Levi’s, to name but a few, took Gold Loerie
Awards home. Winning Silver awards were some
to the likes of Chicken Licken, Vodacom, Coca-Cola,
Warner Brothers, Exclusive Books and Otees. Cele-
brating their Bronze wins were KFC, Student Life
Magazine, Canon, MK and Diesel, amongst others.
Being awarded one award from the Loeries is an
achievement in itself, but scooping several awards,
as some brands did, speaks volumes.
In any industry, there are those individuals, groups,
agencies and companies that go above and beyond
their call of duty within their particular industry
sector. This was not overlooked at the 2010 Loeries.
Special awards were presented to those who inspire,
innovate and contribute to the marketing, commu-
nication and advertising industry – whether locally
or globally. A Lifetime Achievement Award was
posthumously awarded to Robyn Putter, former
WPP creative head, for his outstanding contribu-
tion to the South African and global advertising
industry over the course of a career spanning
GOLDAGENCY: King James
PROJECT: Print
advertising for Allan
Gray, Legend.
GOLD AGENCY: DDB
Cape Town
PROJECT: Advertising
poster for Nikon
Coolpix S8000, Power
zoom.
219 >
GOLDAGENCY: King James
PROJECT: Print
advertising for Allan
Gray, Sea Monkeys,
Soccer, Karate.
GOLDAGENCY: disturbance;
Noel Pretorius
PROJECT: Publication
design for them-and-us.
220 >
GOLDAGENCY: FOXP2
PROJECT: Print advertising
for Masterlock, Puzzles.
GOLDAGENCY: TBWA\Hunt\
Lascaris Johannesburg
PROJECT: Advertising
poster for Endangered
Wildlife Trust, Trash
seabirds..
221 >
GOLDAGENCY: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Johannesburg
PROJECT: Advertising poster
for International Organisation
for Migration, Counter human
trafficking.
222 >
more than 30 years. A man revered for his creative
leadership, Putter inspired the creative communi-
ty throughout Africa and internationally. His wife,
Margarita Putter and Nunu Ntshingila, CEO: Ogilvy
South Africa, accepted the award.
Graham Pfuhl, Director: Marketing & Sales of Mul-
tichoice, received the Marketing Leadership and
Innovation Award for his active contribution to the
success of the Multichoice brand in our region, nota-
bly with the M-Net and DStv offerings. The Loeries
committee recognised Pfuhl as a marketer who
believes that creative brilliance drives business re-
sults. He is an outstanding example of the leader-
ship, dedication, loyalty and commitment that it
takes to build a successful brand.
The 2010 Loerie Awards also saw the launch of the
Ubuntu Award, for brands contributing to social
and environmental change. A Gold Loerie was
awarded to Matchboxology for Levi’s Red 4 Life
HIV awareness programme and four Bronze Loeries
were also awarded in the category.
This year, the SABC New Voice Award for non-English
Radio Gold award went to Draftfcb Johannesburg
for the Vodacom campaign Bua FM Part 2 (which was
also a winner in the main Radio category), the Silver
award also went to Draftfcb Johannesburg for Voda-
com’s AmaGugu, and the Bronze award went to
TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg for the Standard
Bank campaign Bagasi. The winning agencies all re-
ceived SABC Radio airtime as well as special trips to
Cape Town for the creative teams.
The Vodacom Mobile Media Digital Award, in part-
nership with Vodacom Mobile Media, recognises
the recent growth in the use of mobile devices in the
advertising mix. The award went to Gloo Digital
Design for the Juicy Details mobile advertising entry
223 >
LEFT: GOLDAGENCY: King James; Atmosphere
Communications; +one; Mnemonic
PROJECT: mixed media campaign
for kulula.com, The you know what.
BOTTOM LEFT: GOLDAGENCY: Ogilvy Cape Town
PROJECT: Goodbye Citi live
campaign.
BOTTOM RIGHT: CRAFT GOLD
AGENCY: McCann Erickson.
PROJECT: Where diets go to die
campaign for The Patisserie.
224 >
GOLDAGENCY: Switch
PROJECT: Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Poster.
GOLDAGENCY: Trigger
PROJECT: Strategic CRM programme for Nike, Write
the future.
225 >
LEFT: GOLD
AGENCY: MetropolitanRepublic; The Jupiter Drawing
Room (South Africa); Octagon; Aqua Online.
PROJECT: Through the line communication for MTN
Ayoba.
ABOVE: GOLD
AGENCY: Grid Worldwide Branding and Nike Design
Team.
PROJECT: Architecture & interior design of football
training centre, Soweto, for Nike.
226 >
for Cosmopolitan magazine. The winning agency
received R50 000 worth of media on Vodacom’s
mobile platform, and an Apple iPad.
Joe Public scooped the SAPPI Creative Use of Paper
Award, another special award, for the Clover Cook-
ing Calendar. The award included a 17” MacBook
Pro and R30 000 worth of Sappi paper.
MEMAC Ogilvy & Mather (Dubai) won the prize for
their Resize-A-Room online banner for IKEA. The
SpaceStation Internet Advertising Award included
a Sony 32” Bravia plus an Xbox 360 console with
Final Fantasy XIII and LIPS Karaoke, as well as media
worth R50 000 across the SpaceStation network.
Now in its fourth year, the Young Creatives Award
recognises outstanding achievement by talented
individuals at the beginning of their careers. This
year the award went to Mbuso Ndlovu, art director/
designer at Y&R and Reijer van der Vlugt, art direc-
tor at FoxP2. They each received a Gold Loerie and
an all-expenses-paid trip to an international award
show.
Not only did the Loeries celebrate achievements
from the professionals, but it also acknowledged
achievements made in the student sector – a recog-
nition of all those up-and-coming. This year, two stu-
dent Gold Loeries were awarded. Chrizanne van Breda,
Marize Engelbrecht and Shannon Devy, from AAA
School of Advertising Cape Town, for their National
Geographic Calendar where the firsts to receive this
honourary award. Secondly, students Clayton Swartz
and Jessica Crozier, from AAA School of Advertising
Johannesburg, were awarded for their print adver-
tising campaign for the Leatherman campaign.
Craft Gold Loeries were also awarded to honour
three student’s achievements within this sector.
LEFT: GOLD & CRAFT GOLD
AGENCY: Ogilvy
Johannesburg.
PROJECT: TV commercial
for Topsy Foundation,
Selinah.
CENTRE: GOLD
AGENCY: Matchboxology.
PROJECT: Levi’s® Red 4
Life HIV prevention
campaign.
RIGHT: GOLDAGENCY: The Jupiter
Drawing Room.
PROJECT: TV infomercial for
Scotland from home TV
Series.
227 >
228 >
Chad Goddard, from the Vega, the Brand Commu-
nications School Johannesburg, was awarded for
his book, Fortywords; Michael Tymbios, from AAA
School of Advertising Cape Town, for his graphic
novel, Onwards! and Johan Horn, from AAA School
of Advertising Cape Town, for his publication, 10
Things you should know about: Sport.
“Congratulations to all the winners in this year’s
awards. Overall, the work was of a very high stand-
ard, in spite of a small drop in the overall number
of entries. This is a clear indication that we are still
battling with the effects of a global recession,
however this is driving brands and their agencies
to utilising more creativity in their solutions,” con-
cludes Andrew Human. <
THIS PAGE TOP: CRAFT GOLD
AGENCY: Joe Public
PROJECT: Clover Cooking Calendar.
BOTTOM: CRAFT GOLDAGENCY: Wireframe Studio;
Formula-D Interactive
PROJECT: Multi-touch timeline table for
Museum of Science & Technology of Islam.
OPPOSITE PAGE LEFT: CRAFT GOLD
AGENCY: Egg Films
PROJECT: TV commercial for Old Mutual,
Nature of wisdom.
CENTRE: CRAFT GOLD
AGENCY: Plank Film Productions
PROJECT: TV commercial for Chicken Licken,
Bunker Family – Where have you been?
RIGHT: CRAFT GOLDAGENCY: Bouffant
PROJECT: ABSA L’Atelier, Koos.
229 >
PG BISON 1.618 AWARDS
Exposing young creative minds
230 >
231 >
The saying ‘The whole is only as good as the sum
of its parts’ is true no matter from which angle
ones perceives it. When looking at the design and
architecture industry, the ‘whole’ is the design in-
dustry itself and the ‘parts’ are those who make it,
including designers, architects and other creatives.
It is false to believe that it is only the heavy-weights
and design leaders that make the industry success-
ful. Recognising the new, up-and-coming designers
and their role in the industry is imperative. Not
only should we be celebrating the cream of the
crop designers who have excelled within this field
for many years, but we should also be celebrating
Mia Jordaan, overall winner of the PG Bison 1.618 competition.
232 >
the new generation of designers, who bring fresh
and innovative ideas into the world of passion and
all things cutting-edge. Offering student profiling
opportunities that are associated with this plat-
form, the PG Bison 1.618 Awards 2010 helps “us to
be exposed to the young creative minds emerging
into the industry,” says Chris van Niekerk, Executive
Chairman of PG Bison.
The prestigious PG Bison 1.618 awards ceremony
for students of design and architecture, held in
October 2010, took place at the stylish Forum at the
Turbine Hall in Johannesburg’s CBD. Noteworthy
design experts and high-profile authorities – Brian
Steinhobel, Derek Patrick, Greg Gamble, Phil
Mashabane, Kim Fairbairn, Pat Henry, Nthabi Tau-
kobong, Naomi Larkin and Andrea Kleinloog – were
judges on this year’s adjudication panel.
The brief for the competition entailed creating a a
look and feel for the next three to five years for @
home’s up-market retail space focusing on the con-
cept ‘Store of the Future’. The entrants needed to
consider how their design would excite and engage
with the customers; how their design would take
the customers on a journey and how it would entice
customers to shop when homeware is currently
considered a luxury rather than a necessity.
233 >
Second place was awarded to Lizette Rossouw.
234 >
Mia Jordaan, from Johannesburg’s Greenside Design
Centre, was announced the winner of the PG Bison
1.618 competition. Jordaan explained how she draws
inspiration from nature and her surroundings and
thanked PG Bison for providing this platform for stu-
dent’s to be exposed to the industry and to showcase
their work. Jordaan and her lecturer from Greenside
Design centre, Monica Di Ruvo, will attend the 2011 Milan
Furniture Fair. Jordaan also received an @home Gift
Card for homeware and furniture valued at R15 000 –
an impressive package awarded to her as the overall
winner.
Second place was awarded to the talented Lizette
Rossouw of the Tshwane University of Technology
and third pace was shared between Marelise Dann
also of the Tshwane University of Technology and
Claire Hort from Durban’s Style Design College. The
Award of Merit was awarded to Rhodene Botha, from
the BHC School of Design. Other top ten finalists in-
cluded Thatayaone Mathumo, Michael Craig, Tamryn
Stewart, Ariel Herslikowicz and Jacques Botha.
“It’s always exciting for us to see what design and ar-
chitectural students today have to offer, and we are
thrilled with the work produced by this year’s en-
trants, as well as the efforts of our judges, co-spon-
sors and all parties involved,” said Jason Wells, Brand
Manager of PG Bison. “This year over 500 students
participated in the competition and we therefore
take our hats off to Mia and the other top ten finalists
for the caliber of work that has got them this far.” <
Claire Hort shared the third place.
235 >
Marelise Dann shared the third place.
Rhodene Botha received the Award of Merit.
