Mall 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 offerings 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 .
on all four sides by roads and / or other buildings , so when the adjacent Nedbank Gardens site was incorporated into the development , it provided an opportunity to expand the shopping centre , giving rise to the concept of a looped mall . To attract tenants , this would have to be done seamlessly and without the shoppers being aware that they would be physically ‘ crossing ’ the road .
The fundamental requirement of Hyprop Investment ’ s brief was to reposition Rosebank
A Voyage of Discovery The decision to utilise the existing building posed a few design challenges , given that the existing grid of columns needed to be retained . The building had also undergone a number of makeovers and additions over 35 years . “ It was like a voyage of discovery . Every bit of structure that was exposed needed to be addressed , we simply had to make it work ,” says Pat .
Despite the challenges associated with retaining the building , Pat comments that he is pleased that South African developers and professionals 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 which crosses over Bath Avenue . The original Stuttafords / Pick n Pay link was retained on both levels as a cross 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 Rosebank Mall and are not aware of crossing over Bath Avenue at the point where this happens in the mall ,” explains Pat .
446 Rosebank Mall