Architect and Builder September/October 2015 | Page 12

PROJECTWATCH
PROPOSED, CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND ABROAD

PROJECTVIEW
THE PAVILION,
V&A WATERFRONT
The redevelopment of the former
BMW Pavilion in Cape Town’s
V&A

Waterfront

Zenprop

will

by

owners

provide

approxi-

mately 4,000m2 of AAA Grade
commercial office space over two
floors. The existing building was
completed in 1994 by dhk and at
the time housed a BMW exhibition
centre as well as the first Imax
theatre in South Africa.
The redevelopment respects the
integrity of the original design
and its prominent V&A Waterfront
position. The design preserves
the main entrance for the new
commercial tenants on Dock Road
and creates a secondary entrance
for owners Zenprop on the same
side, as well as an additional
tenant entrance on Beach Road.
Office space is located around
the central atrium, an original
feature, and a new lift core and
tenant toilets have been added in
a central position.
Additional floor space has been
added to the southern corner in
the triple volume space which
housed the former Imax theatre,
and new windows added to this
elevation which was previously
closed to the street edge
www.dhk.co.za
www.zenprop.co.za

10

CENTRAL SQUARE, SANDTON
Lushaka Investments is the development arm of the Lushaka Group of companies.
Since 2002, Lushaka Investments has developed high-rise luxury residential buildings,
an iconic commercial office building the World Trade Center Johannesburg, in
Sandton, and is now developing its latest and most ambitious project to date –
Central Square Sandton, which includes residential apartments, retail areas with
landscaped gardens onto a 5,000m² piazza and additional office areas to complement
the existing office tower, World Trade Center Johannesburg. Central Square promises
to be a magnificent development – offering the best value, highest quality, within a
mixed-use precinct.
Formerly known as Green Park Sandton, Central Square has enabled Lushaka to
demonstrate its green consciousness into a mixed-use development, in excess of R3
billion, in the heart of Sandton. The development is situated on 23,500m² of open land
and is a three-phase development.
Together with Mercantile Bank, Mota-Engil Africa and Lushaka Investments, an
innovative and unique business and financial model was developed to unlock the Central
Square project. Mota-Engil is a multi-billion-dollar full-service construction company,
one of the largest in Africa, and in the Iberian peninsula of Europe, with an international
footprint. Mercantile Bank signed the single biggest lending transaction in its 50 year
history by granting a R600-million loan to Lushaka Investments.
The size of Mercantile’s balance sheet and its prudent credit policies recommended
the bank to fund R300-million of the R600-million needed. The remaining half was
funded through a partnership within the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) group. CGD is
the largest bank in Portugal.
Design
The expressive contemporary architecture of Central Square is minimalist, subscribing
to the ‘form follows function’ principal. An example of this is the curvilinear balustrading
that varies in accordance with privacy requirements. Solid concrete up-stands in front
of bedrooms rake down in front of living spaces to take advantage of the breathtaking
views through frameless glazing. The resultant fluid forms define the architectural
aesthetic of the building.
At the heart of the development is the nearly 5,000m2 landscaped Central Square.
This urban park is bordered by restaurants, boutique retail over two levels, and a 3,700m2
health spa and gymnasium.
The park meanders into the central atrium of the apartment block which provides
a well ventilated green lung at the core of the high rise apartment structure. A curved
Project Watch