Architect and Builder January/February 2016 | Page 44
NORTH ELEVATION
Main Road whilst being a new contemporary home
for their new flagship Western Cape Regional office
incorporating their Southern Suburbs Sales and
Rentals divisions. In addition, it also houses PGP’s
National IT department.
The scheme was required to maximise on the
allowable bulk and visual presence and opportunities
facing on to Main Road. The ground floor had to allow
for an “anchor” tenant that was complemented with
at least two food-related tenancies. The balance of
the bulk would be housed over 3 floors comprising
AAA-grade offices of which they would be the
major tenant.
The architects were tasked with the design of a
building with convenient and adequate parking not
only for the requirements of the retail and office
tenants but also needed to provide a minimum of
30 bays of overflow bays for the general use of the
public that shop along Main Road.
Challenges / Planning
With an already approved scheme, the new design
was subject to a number of amendments of conditions
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and departures to that scheme. This process was
further complicated and delayed by a change in
market conditions with the advent of the 2008 world
economic crisis and a commercial requirement for
more office bulk and less retail rentable area.
Concept / Design Concept
The design strategy was to create a simple and bold
architectural intervention that would address and
re-inforce the pedestrian and retail environment of
Kenilworth Main Road. Historically, the Main Road
has always had a vibrant community feel to it and the
new building had to respect and build on this legacy.
The architects wanted this building to be the seed
that would help kickstart a hive of new Main Road
activity and regeneration of one of the last remaining
active retail “high streets” in the Southern Suburbs.
The architects design strategies, as with all new
projects, was to spend a great deal of time in the
area, understanding pedestrian movement patterns,
climatic conditions, existing context and building
materials, along with noting key focal points and best
view orientations.
Pam Golding