RETAIL DEVELOPMENT WINNER
Rosebankmall
Rosebankmall represents a dramatic departure for
Rosebank’s retail node. Designed by MDS Architecture
for Hyprop Investments, the new-look Rosebankmall has
almost doubled the GLA of the existing shopping centre
to create a critical mass of retail for the precinct, at the
same time reinstating the axes of Rosebank as a vibrant,
integrated urban node.
The well-known Mall of Rosebank was already
attracting shoppers from 25km away in an area which
has enjoyed an upsurge in pedestrian traffic in recent
times. The completed shopping centre, which is close
to the Rosebank Gautrain station, boasts about 160
desirable local and international brands in 62,000m2 GLA.
The mall was traditionally a linear mall and a throughroute from east to west between Cradock and Bath
Avenues – it sits between the Rosebank retail node and
Gautrain Station in the east and a large office component
to the west.
The fundamental requirement of Hyprop Investment’s
brief was to reposition Rosebankmall within the precinct,
thereby giving it the critical mass to sustain itself into
the future as well as compete against all the new and
upgraded retail offering close by.
Although the developer had considered demolishing
the building to reconstruct the shopping centre from
scratch, due to existing leases remaining in place, the
decision was taken to utilise the existing building.
The decision to utilise the existing building posed
quite a few design challenges, given that the existing
grid of columns needed to be retained. Adding to the
complication, the building had undergone a number of
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make-overs and ad-hoc additions over 35 years. Despite
the challenges associated with retaining the building, it
is a credit to South African developers and professionals
who are increasingly working with the existing
frameworks of building, thereby lessening the
environmental impact of total demolition and rebuild.
The previously L-shaped building has evolved into an
egg-shaped new mall. The curved mall entices shoppers
to explore further along the path, as it were. They
experience a seamless encounter between the old and
new elements of Rosebankmall.
The newly refurbished Rosebankmall is a significant
departure from the rather nondescript retail building
which preceded it. The addition of significantly more
retail space and the introduction of cohesion via a unique
identity, Rosebankmall now serves as a strong retail focal
point with a greater sense of community within the
context of an area with a vibrant street culture and
growing pedestrian traffic.
Client: Hyprop Investments
Architects: MDS Architecture
Quantity Surveyors: Norval Wentzel Steinberg
Structural and Civil: DG Consulting Engineers
Electrical Engineers: Rawlins Wales
Fire Engineers: Specialised Fire Technology
HVAC: WSP Group Africa and
Graeme Page Consulting Engineers in a JV
Tenant Co-ordinaton: MDSA Project Management
Main Contractor: WBHO Construction
Photography: Mike Pawley
SAPOA Awards