32 ON KLOOF
32 ON KLOOF
Cape Town
CLIENT
Growthpoint Properties
ARCHITECT
dhk Architects
PROJECT MANAGER
MDSA Project Management
QUANTITY SURVEYOR
MLC
ELECTRICAL, FIRE, WET SERVICES,
MECHANICAL & LIFT ENGINEERS
WSP Africa
CIVIL, STRUCTURAL &
FAÇADE ENGINEERS
LH Consulting Engineers
HERITAGE CONSULTANT
Aikman Associates
INTERIOR DESIGN & FITOUT
Workshop17
TOWN PLANNERS
mlh architects & planners
LAND SURVEYORS
David Hellig & Abrahamse
MAIN CONTRACTOR
GVK-Siya Zama Building Contractors
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dave Southwood
A
heritage building situated along popular Kloof Street in Cape Town, has
undergone a metamorphosis. 32 on Kloof, originally constructed in 1922 by
prominent architecture firm Parker & Forsyth for the United Tobacco Companies
Limited (UTC), once housed the company’s administration department. Transformed
by multidisciplinary design studio, dhk Architects, 32 on Kloof’s rich history has been
respected via a contemporary aesthetic that references, rather than replicates, its
existing heritage.
UTC, a South African subsidiary of the United Kingdom’s Imperial Tobacco Company
and the United States’ American Tobacco Company, was founded in 1904. Shortly
thereafter, the company began to acquire portions of what had been the Nooitgedacht
farm on the doorstep of the historic Company’s Gardens to establish premises for manufacturing
cigarettes and tobacco products. Several buildings were erected in phases
between 1900 and 1922, forming the UTC campus which comprised a warehouse,
factory and staff facilities.
The sunken courtyard is a notable
element of the design. Constructed
at the rear of the building, the
courtyard was reinstated by
demolishing the two-storey 1990s
annexe building and lowering the
existing courtyard to align with the
basement level.
32 32 on Kloof