CANAL PLAZA, CENTURY CITY
dhk Architects has designed a new commercial office development set within a natural sanctuary in Century City outside Cape Town.
Canal Plaza is a 10,816m ² commercial office development in Cape Town’ s vibrant Century City. The five-storey structure comprises offices and retail units, with basement and podium car parking, and a small food and beverage canal side retail space. It has been designed for Abland Property Developers and Gutsche Investment & Management Company.
The brief was to design a commercially viable office building on a green field site, located at the northern end of Heron Close, Century City. The site sits within a low to mid-rise commercial node. It is edged to the north and west by a public footpath that traces the canal edge. Century Boulevard forms the eastern edge of the site and provides a high degree of visibility as well as access via public transportation. The southern boundary abuts commercial properties and is where a servitude provides pedestrian connectivity that links Century Boulevard with the canal edge. The development overlooks the serene Intaka Island in Century City, an award-winning 16-hectare wetlands and bird sanctuary that is home to 177 species of indigenous fynbos plants and 120 bird species. The position adjacent to the wetland reserve of Intaka Island is seen as an advantage to the attractiveness of the location. dhk Architects Partner Peter Stokes explains that in response to this context and brief,“ we designed a building with a clean, confident and contemporary style of architecture compared with the majority of the surrounding buildings that reference historical architectural themes.”
The accommodation, in the five-storey structure, is arranged in an H-shaped plan with a central core. The wings of the“ H” splay to the south to reflect the geometry of the site and to receive visitors from Heron Close. The western wing is partially elevated from the ground to form an understorey for visitor parking and to allow for visual and pedestrian permeability. It is here that a small retail component has been integrated to service office workers as well as pedestrians on the north-south route along the canal edge.
The planning and servicing of the commercial office space is strategic and has been designed to be adaptable and versatile. This means it can accommodate several tenants per floor plate of a variety of sizes. This will assist with the development’ s long-term economic sustainability as space can respond to the dynamic nature of the workplace and needs of future tenants. Accessible external terraces have been provided on the west and eastern edges of the site. Provision has been made on the roof for access to amenities and photovoltaic panels.
The building is designed to minimise energy use and enhance thermal comfort with the objective of achieving a Green Building Council South Africa( GBCSA) 4-star rating as a minimum, in line with its setting within this natural sanctuary. It is a welcome addition to the Century City precinct, which has in recent years been transformed into a sophisticated hub, attracting a crosssection of local and international investors, global corporates, residents and visitors.
The project is set for completion in November 2026.
Project Watch 27