Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa March/April 2014 | Page 15

ALEX MALL - BRIGHT,
CONVENIENT SHOPPING
MDS Architecture has designed a new
shopping centre which will be located
on a prominent site adjacent to the N3 in
Alexandra. Construction is set to begin in
the second half of 2014 with completion in
early 2016.
Located just 6 km from the Sandton
CBD, Alex Mall is being developed by
McCormick Property Development in
association with Valumax.
Louis Pretorius is the partner at MDS
Architecture heading the project. “The site
is just off the London Road turnoff on the
N3. Once completed, Alex Mall will offer
42,000m2 GLA,” he says.
The multi-level design includes three
attractive, colourful entrances and a
long, cascading building. It will feature
two supermarket anchor tenants as
well as a house wares anchor tenant. To
accommodate the fall of the site, escalators
will be used in the building to step down.
The shopping centre will have ample
parking for vehicles, as well as taxi rank
facilities, in line with the requirement

to ensure that the development meets
the growing needs of the surrounding community.
Client: McCormick Property Development
and Valumax

Architect: MDS Architecture
Quantity Surveyors: TBA
Electrical Engineer: TBA
Mechanical Engineer: TBA
Structural / Civil Engineer: TBA
Fire Consultants: TBA

CHANGING SEASON - THE WESTCLIFF HOTEL
Some 15 years later, the new fully
transformed iconic Westcliff Hotel will
re-open its doors officially. The opening
is scheduled for around about the end of
August 2014.
The much acclaimed and soon to be
more impressive than ever and first in
the country Four Seasons Hotel Westcliff
Johannesburg welcomes its visitors to a
self-contained sanctuary in an affluent
residential area. Perched on a cliffside,
this resort-style retreat offers panoramic
views over the neighboring Johannesburg
Zoo and the dense forest of the city’s
prestigious northern suburbs.
As the original architects of the Westcliff
Hotel, DSA Architects International are
once again the architects responsible for
this prestigious renovation. The firm, which
has an office in Sandton, has a hospitality
portfolio that includes the Hilton Hotel
in Cape Town, Hotel Ritz in Madrid, the
Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg and
the Four Seasons Resort in Dubai.
The Westcliff’s stature is demonstrated
by the fact that 15 years after its
establishment, it gets mentioned in the
same breath as Cape Town’s stately
100-year-old Mount Nelson Hotel. Its
gilded guestbook is brimming with A-list
names such as Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron,
Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Thatcher but
to mention a few.
Project Watch

The R200 million fully transformed
hotel’s 114 guest rooms and suites will
offer cool, contemporary décor inspired by
modern Africa.
Discover Johannesburg’s best new
restaurant and bar concepts, highlighting an expanded outdoor terrace with
sunset vistas.
The new Spa comprises six treatment
rooms, a lap pool and relaxation deck
and a motivational fitness center. Dip into
the sparkling pool, then lounge on the

glamorous terrace with views over the
urban forest.
The most noticeable aspect of the
renovation will be the change to the
exterior colour. No longer will the hotel
sport its legendary salmon colour. The
architects in conjunction with ѡ