The building’s vertical circulation, a contemporary
glass-clad lift and stair core, was
primarily relocated from inside the building to the
sunken courtyard - outside the footprint of the
heritage building. The significance of relocating the
circulation is that it again acts as a ‘stitching device’,
which provided the required floor space within the
main building footprint and the opportunity for
an open-plan layout with a potential split tenant.
This maximised the usability and quality of the
rentable office area without detracting value from
the historic building.
Overall, the modernist and minimalist aesthetic
of the new addition is juxtaposed against the
ornate detailing of the original masonry building.
This allows a new tectonic extension to celebrate
rather than dominate the historic stereotomic
building below.
36 32 on Kloof