A lantern-like light box and inverted pyramidal roof draws light into the interior of the Kloof 119A home, dramatically sited overlooking Table Mountain and Cape Town. Dug into a sloping site, the house, designed by Cape Town-based firm SAOTA for director Greg Truen, is a cluster of spaces arranged to maximise the visual connection with its setting. "The architecture is … [Read more...]
10-company partnership create compelling vision for Cape Town’s Foreshore Freeway Precinct
What to do with Cape Town’s incomplete Foreshore Freeway Bridge is an issue that has puzzled the city (and its citizens) for decades: to complete or demolish, and how to develop a solution that will create long-term value for the surrounding precinct and the city in general. To answer this conundrum dhk, in a 10-company partnership including Urban-Think Tank, developed CITYLIFT … [Read more...]
Addis Ababa’s first Contemporary Art Museum to revive a local architectural tradition
Skyscrapers, shopping malls, and residential developments are rising all over Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s booming capital. Tons of concrete are poured every day across hundreds of construction sites, all thanks to a rapidly-growing population currently estimated to be between 3.4 and 5 million people. That number is on track to double in the next 10 to 15 years. Fueled by foreign … [Read more...]
Decadence personified at new Johannesburg restaurant
Since it opened in 1983, the Sandton Sun hotel has capitalised on its location in Johannesburg’s Sandton quarter, informally known as Africa’s richest square mile, by luring power suits, celebrities and top brass politicians alike. The arrival of Alice & Fifth in the hotel’s basement will only raise the stakes for competitors. Local designer Tristan Plessis Studio has … [Read more...]
New mosque aims to becomes a religious icon for all of Senegal
Following the decay of the old mosque in Adeane in the Ziguinchor region of Senegal, the community decided to re-launch the image of the city with the design of a new mosque, giving the community a unique and representative place of worship and attraction. Description by the architect, Raoul Vecchio: Based on Adeane's centuries-old religious history, the project aims to … [Read more...]
Redefining a new vernacular architecture in Goma, DRC
Nyiragongo Villa I is the expression of resilience of the city and people of Goma. A city of one million people located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, in the North Kivu province, DR Congo. Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. On 17 January 2002, after several months of increased seismic and fumarolic activity, a 13km … [Read more...]
Could Zaha Hadid’s Nile Tower still become a reality?
In 2007 Zaha Hadid drew up plans for the ‘Nile Tower’, a 70-storey skyscraper intended to be Africa’s tallest building. Planned as a landmark structure for Cairo, the development was to be built on the banks of the Nile, offering sweeping views towards the country’s famous pyramids. At its base, the scheme features a glazed atrium housing communal programming, with a hotel and … [Read more...]
Masterplan proposal for Moroccan beachfront blurs the boundaries between city and sea
UK and Iraq-based AMBS Architects and local partner Archgues Guessous Associates have submitted a new masterplan for Rabat’s beach in Morocco, which blurs the boundaries between the city and the sea. Aiming at becoming a true urban intervention, the project extends its role as a literal ‘support platform’ for the public, with a design meant to create and shape social … [Read more...]
Doing justice to office design Part 2: The evolution of the workspace
Kuba Granicki, Alessio Lacovig and Mike Rassmann, the three partners behind Johannesburg-based Architects Of Justice, sat down to have a discussion on how the workplace, and the architect’s role in its design, has evolved over the past few decades and point out areas where they feel it can be improved. How do you see office spaces having changed over the years? Mike … [Read more...]
Mauritius’ first Green Star certification
The Mon Trésor Business Gateway, a 13 500sqm office park in the district of Grand Port, has recently become the first project in Mauritius to receive a Green Star certification, achieving a 4-Star Green Star SA Office v1.1 Design rating in July 2018. Owned by MAREF Mon Trésor Investments, the development was designed by Architects’ Studio and Boogertman + Partners, with … [Read more...]