“ The landscape architects were instrumental in conceptualising what will feel like an oasis once the landscaping matures. This is exactly what we wanted to create in the middle of a regional commercial centre,” says McGillivray.
A new learning centre is located above a portion of the new entertainment area, providing a safe, fun space where schoolchildren can go to learn, study and go online. This new facility complements the already operational children’ s crèche housed within the shopping centre, which is exclusively geared for the centre staff and retail staff.
Interiors Inside the existing mall, the transformation is equally considered. A major overhead timber structure- fluid and wave-like in form- was introduced at entrance 5( the first built section of the mall) to mask the existing gum pole trusses while referencing the course of the Sabie River. At night, lighting filters through this structure from above, creating an atmospheric play of illumination that changes the character of the space entirely. Bulkheads that once read as heavy and dated have been painted in graduated tones of grey, pulling disparate zones of the building into a coherent visual language. Large, contoured 3D timber panels with integrated illumination reference the geology of the area. These now anchor the Pick n Pay court leading to the new covered external food court and entertainment area, replacing what were previously blank vertical bulkheads.
In addition to the Pick n Pay court, large clusters of pendants, installed in all double volume courts throughout the mall, have transformed the previous scale and emptiness of the areas. Clusters of basket-weave pendants in varying scales and shapes from grand public spaces to refurbished public ablutions, appear throughout the mall as a unifying motif, their organic woven forms evoking both craft tradition and contemporary design sensibility.
The refurbished public ablutions are now welcoming, tactile spaces. Green, organically textured tiles line the walls behind white vanities and illuminated mirrors. Flat-woven pendants are mounted to the ceilings. At the entrance to the ablutions, a mural conveys the principles of
62 Lowveld Mall