Architect and Builder February/March 2019 | Page 50

CROSS
SECTION
RESIDENTIAL LEVEL 1
FIRST FLOOR RETAIL LEVEL
GROUND FLOOR RETAIL LEVEL
During the design concept stage different
mixed-use models were tested with the final retail
lead, residential mix eventually selected. This mix
required a carefully considered design response
to create two distinct environments in the same
building; one with a contemporary retail character
and the other a welcoming residential character,
with both part of the considered whole.
The Site
To achieve the desired positive urban response
to the site the decision was taken early in the
project to provide the required parking across three
semi-basement levels. As the site falls steeply
from east to west this allowed for the residential
entrance to be provided on-grade on western
side of the site while the mall entrance could, in
turn, be accessed on-grade on the eastern side,
three floors above the residential entrance. The
mall itself is designed over two floors and there
are a further two residential floors above the mall
providing 49 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Design
At 130m long by 55m wide, Centre Point is a
large building. In order to articulate the mass of
the building and aid in its legibility and scale, the
overall envelope is formally comprised of a base,
accommodating the retail and residential entrances
and parking floors, a middle, accommodating the
retail mall and a top, accommodating two floors
of residential apartments.
Façade
The base is predominantly finished with a dark
brown facebrick that has been detailed as either
stretcher-bond infill panels or as an open ventilated
bond. The primary concrete superstructure has
been expressed to aid in the legibility of the
building and to de-scale the mass at street level.
The design of the retail mall façade is somewhat
more playful, acknowledging the coastal location
with abstract nautical references, and is wrapped
in a continuous ribbon comprised of three colours
of aluminium composite panels (ACP). The colours
have been blocked into an abstract pattern that
‘moves’ horizontally across the length of the
façades. The ACP ribbon rises and falls to reveal
the public facing areas of the mall and to signify
the main entrance on the Koeberg / Loxton Road
corner. The ACP ribbon is also used as a device
to frame and contain the external tenant signage
into managed zones.
Interior Highlights
The interior concept for the mall was to use a single
organising device, the 95m long, gently curving
triple volume atrium, to structure the space. Line
shops are arranged around the atrium providing
10,000m 2 of GLA over the two floors.
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Centre Point