WATERKLOOF CORNER
WATERKLOOF CORNER Pretoria
CLIENT Retail Africa
ARCHITECT VH + S Architects
PROJECT MANAGER MDSA Project Management
QUANTITY SURVEYOR Storm Sciocatti
CIVIL ENGINEER WSP in Africa
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER DG Consulting
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER RWP Consulting Engineers
MECHANICAL ENGINEER Q-Mech Consulting Engineers
FIRE ENGINEER DFS Consulting
HEALTH & SAFETY CONSULTANT Cairnmead Industrial Consultants
MAIN CONTRACTOR Mbale Construction
Waterkloof Corner is an existing 6,500m2 shopping centre , situated between the old upmarket suburbs of Brooklyn and Waterkloof in Pretoria - both areas ( including areas of Arcadia ) are famous for the collection of embassies .
The centre is situated close to the Brooklyn Mall , Design Centre and the Brooklyn Circle , with its prominent offices and parastatals . The centre was due for an upgrade and Venter Human Strydom Architects took up the task for Retail Africa .
Brief A changing brief ( as with most commercial developments ) turned out to be an architect ’ s dream . The intervention to the existing building was more drastic than expected and went as far as demolition of parts of the existing building in order to better the visibility to shops and to make way for a ‘ signature ’ building and the newly constructed traffic circle on the corner of the site , facing the corner of Waterkloof and Main Street .
The design was to be contemporary with design detail , public space , public art , lighting and mosaics as only Retail Africa centres are famous for . The design was to be bold , colourful and playful , creating a public space where people like to spend time .
The latter has been achieved with creative design by Cornus Strydom , Richardt Venter and Martie Human from VH + S Architects , artistic input by artists like Angus Taylor and Carl Jeppe , under the instruction and guidance of a visionary client , Hannes Pickard , from Retail Africa , in creating this niche mark centre , for a discerning market .
PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy of VH + S Architects
The tenant earmarked for ‘ the nest ’ is a restaurant that will occupy the entire space , which should be a great success due to its prominent position and dramatic space
328 Waterkloof Corner