PROJECTVIEW
PAARDEVLEI LIFESTYLE ESTATE , SOMERSET WEST
The Paardevlei Lifestyle Estate is a new retirement development by Balwin Properties in Somerset West , designed by dhk Architects . The estate caters for a range of residential needs and includes freestanding houses , duplexes , apartments , frail care and assisted living facilities . To the north of the site lies a row of nine restored Grade II unlisted Arts and Crafts-style family homes with a further row of seven new semidetached duplexes which are more contemporary in design . To the south is a collection of apartment buildings with around 260 units set over four levels , arranged around a series of courtyards with parking and storage below ground . The architectural form of the buildings transitions from the historic crescent houses with their original red roof tiles , pitched roofs , and shuttered sash windows to the more modern aesthetic of the pitched roof duplexes and clubhouse .
Developer , PM , QS : Balwin Properties Architects & Urban Designers : dhk Architects Structural Engineers : Bau-afrika Mechanical Engineers : De Villiers & Moore Electrical Engineers : Gibb Engineering Landscaping : Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architect Fire Consultant : Fire Safety Solutions Heritage Consultant : Henry Aikman Main Contractor : Balwin Properties
WHALE COAST MALL , HERMANUS
Whale Coast Mall has its origins in the need for a consolidated retail experience for the inhabitants of the Overstrand region . As such , it was envisaged as a regional shopping centre .
In keeping with the retail principles inherent in that description , the site was chosen for visibility , accessibility and the ability to provide a development with the necessary critical mass . The locality where the Hemel and Aarde road intersect the main road into the town of Hermanus was thus ideal .
Hermanus , as a town , has a unique village feel with an intact and functioning commercial aspect . From the start , it was realised that the mall would not compete with this character but would rather provide complimentary retail in support of the unique town character .
The physical manifestation of the building comprises a modern , contemporary building anchored at both sides by magnet national retailers . A full complement of national retailers are strung in-between with a lifestyle component comprising the lower level that takes advantage of the slope on the site . In keeping with a ‘ sense of place ’, traditional building materials in Hermanus were chosen as accents on the façade and no attempt was made to mimic historical architecture in any way . Internally , the mall design was intentionally kept neutral to put the focus on the retail shopfronts . Having said that , coloured mosaics with an aquatic feel predominate in the court areas .
Externally , the building is treated with a mixture of plaster , stomework and shiplap cladding . Some elements over entrances could be suggestive of abstract “ whale tails ”; a group of whales will be the subject of a sculpture to be suspended from the food court roof .
Developer : PKEF Dorpstraat , HCI , Sandbaai Development Trust and Shoprite Checkers Project Managers : MDSA Architects : JLD and BAI in a JV Quantity Surveyor : MLC Quantity Surveyors Civil : Integrate Civil Engineers Structural Engineers : Bigen Africa Mechanical Engineers : BVI Consulting Engineers Electrical , Fire & Wet Services : Solution Station Main Contractor : Isipani
12 Project Watch