African project
Work Shop New Town
Africa’s emerging design culture, curated to the best international standards,” she says.
Q What was the brief for WSNT?
AvZ: To create a cutting edge and completely unique retail experience in the heart of
Johannesburg.
Q What was the site formerly?
AvZ: The site was originally part of the 1910 potato sheds and a major landmark in
South African history. The shed formed a central part of Johannesburg’s first vegetable
and live stock market, which was in many ways the beating heart of Johannesburg’s
burgeoning commercial and cultural movement. A smorgasbord of traders, farmers,
speculators and artists; it was a place where people came to be social, trade and ignite
their political and artistic passions.
Q Were there any issues on site?
AvZ: The main difficulty was figuring out how to juxtapose the modern elements of
the mall with the existing heritage structure. Whenever working with Heritage (in this
case the entire roof structure) one has to be very careful to ensure the integrity of the
structure. Fortunately there were no major issues in doing so, and in the end, not only
was the roof carefully preserved, it was actually enhanced, by the new design.
Q What is the total size of the centre?
The market is 1 200m2.
Q What would you say is the most noticeable feature of WSNT?
AvZ: Wow, it is very hard to pick one, but there are three equally striking design
elements:
The central archway: By playing with the scale of the arches, constructing them in a
modern, almost gallery like way, and by using big glass windows we created an aura of
grandeur and drama.
The meat market and goldmine sections: We wanted to pay homage to the history and
culture of the space, hence the nod to the Witwatersrand Gold Rush (the biggest the
world has ever seen) as well as the more down to earth, yet equally striking olden day
meat market elements.
The roof structure: We deliberately opened up the space as much as possible to expose
the heritage roof, which really grabs your attention and draws you in.
Q How would you describe the style of the project?
AvZ: Modern historical – we wanted to make the story relevant again without having to
completely retell it. We very much aimed to push the boundaries and make it feel very
conceptually designed without being an imposition on the unique design offerings of the
traders.
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