Design Language
The architectural language of the buildings is to
externally engage the surroundings and landmark
corner of Oxford and Glenhove roads and the
visibility of the site, reacting to site limitations
such as the Gautrain servitude in a beneficial way.
This provided the opportunity for the weaving of
the language of a multi-faceted gem like drama.
Countering this was the intent to draw the human
scale through transitional interior spaces into
courtyard inward engaging serene spaces.
Unlike a single tenanted commercial building
with a single identity for the user, here the
buildings themselves act as the front door or
threshold to multiple owned spaces; all of which
needed to benefit from the architectural language
as an identifying factor.
Perched on an apex in the topography, this
provided the opportunity for the users’ internal
environments to engage visually with the vast and
expansive panoramic views reaching to the edges
of the Johannesburg landscape.
There was a cognitive decision to engage with
the public/pedestrian and an unfenced, generously
wide landscaped area belonging to the site is made
available to the public.
Design Features
The Western glazed façade of the building is
inclined and encroaches over the servitude.
The building seems to loom over one, creating
a composition unique to this site. The corner of
the building peels away to create a reinforced
perspective view. The ground rises toward the
entrance and the façade angles down towards the
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Oxford & Glenhove