Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa November/December 2014 | Page 16

ProjectWatch

proposed, current and future projects from Southern Africa and abroad

TOUCHSTONE HOUSE, CAPE TOWN
Construction of FWJK Development’s latest office development in the heart of the new legal and financial services district of
Cape Town is well underway.
Touchstone House is located on the corner of Mechau and
Bree Streets in one of Cape Town’s historic precincts. The original
building on the site was built in 1895 as a warehouse, and although
this was substantially damaged in a fire, the original façade was
preserved and has been incorporated into the new building.
Axion Architects responded admirably to a tough design brief
and have produced a cost effective design which presents a lively
facade and respects the original heritage building by way of a 5m
setback and a contrasting palette of colours.
The building is designed to be as simple and efficient as possible with regards to the form of the building within the framework
provided by the zoning scheme. The consideration of developing
an energy efficient building guided the design of the façade.
The building comprises 8 parking levels, 3 below ground
and 4 above providing a ratio of 3 bays per 100m2 of office
space. The ground level offers a retail component providing an
interactive streetscape whilst levels 5 to 14 of the building all
offer premium office space in a range of Sectional Title suite sizes
from self-contained units of 79m2 to entire floors. Most offices

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have spectacular views of Cape Town. The top floor boasts an
entertainment area and cafeteria for the use of the tenants.
This 12,000m² development is being undertaken on FWJK’s
co-development at cost methodology and offers investors and
end users a unique opportunity to own sectional title office space
in the new business heart of C \H