Architect and Builder January/February 2016 | Page 34

Client Brief Axion Architects received the design brief for Touchstone House late in November 2012. The project had been in development for some time and previous architectural practices had done initial work on the redevelopment of the site, but the numbers did not work and we were briefed to rationalise the design efficiency of previous attempts. The site is located within the Cape Town Foreshore – an area that has seen rapid development in recent times. Consisting of several individual properties, all owned by a single owner, the brief was to optimise the site, but to remain within all the existing planning parameters. These included a set height restriction and challenging building setbacks from the two street frontages. No departures were allowed by the developer, as these would negatively impact the tight project programme. History Touchstone House is a historic building. Constructed in 1895, but extensively damaged in a fire a number of years ago, it posed a further challenge to integrate parts of the structure that had remained relatively undamaged into the new design. A Heritage application process was already underway as part of the previous 2008 development process and Axion had to slot their design proposal seamlessly into the process to avoid a new heritage submission. The client, FWJK Developments, had certain strict pre-set requirements for the building design and required maximum bulk and maximum flexibility, as the size of eventual office suites were 32 unknown and could vary widely and, furthermore, they had to accommodate office suite sizes from 80m² to entire floors. Concept The historical Touchstone warehouse façade and a portion of the entrance was relatively unscathed by the fire. It was decided that the façade and the entrance section be retained and incorporated in the design during the preceding heritage processes. Hence the design stayed within the parameters as agreed with Council and Heritage Western Cape. Set-backs were utilised in order to achieve a layered appearance for the building. The heritage façade was retained as the strong visual anchor at street level and the new façade was set back by 5m. The façade was then further layered by the use of varying solid and lighter elements. Use was made of full glass corners with strong unbroken linear windows to create the impression of a glass façade partially covered with solid elements. It was decided, based on similar developments that FWJK had undertaken elsewhere, to use vibrant colour and texture to emphasise specific elements and features on the building. Due to the massing (a direct result of the building line and height setbacks) the building at once gives the impression of a number of smaller components, and also of visual coherence. The colour palette comes straight from Cape Town itself. Panoramic shots were taken from the FNB Portside building and these influenced the development of the colour palette into bold, clean and distinct blocks. Touchstone House