Architect and Builder September/October 2015 | Page 62
Mix of Old and New Brickwork
Revitalises the Landmark
Lion Match Factory
Sitting aside Kings Park Stadium and near the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban’s Lion Match
Factory holds its own as one of the warm city’s memorable architectural landmarks
P
roperty development and construction
group, JT Ross, bought the 90-yearold site more than 10 years ago
when Lion Match moved its manufacturing
operations to Gauteng. Rejuvenation of the
site, which is situated on Durban’s inner city
fringe, began under the guidance of Dean
Jay Architects, one of the many tenants
based at the premises.
Listed as an Amafa heritage site,
construction of the new buildings and
refurbishment of the existing buildings
was carefully monitored with the
architects opting to blend the old and new
buildings seamlessly yet with pertinent
distinguishing features.
Sarah Fourie of Dean Jay Architects, said
the bricks used in the refurbishment were
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a mixture of reused old bricks from one
of the demolished warehouses, alongside
Corobrik’s range of terracotta satin face
bricks and burgundy pavers.
“We wanted to match the newer bricks
with the older ones while playing with
different brickwork styles throughout,”
she explained. “We highlighted the new
additions as obviously modern rather than
trying to repeat the traditional design. While
the new additions are modern, we have
used the same colours and materials that
were used in the original buildings.”
Allin Dangers, Director of Coastal
Sales for Corobrik, said it was rewarding
for Corobrik to have its products involved
in redefining the spaces of this beautiful
Durban landmark. Brick is deep in the
fabric of this building and to see it being
re-expressed and incorporated in different
ways to enhance context and the buildings
aesthetic is a real pleasure.
He said the terracotta satin face bricks
were the perfect choice to blend with the
older bricks and the variation in brickwork
pattern gave character and charm to the
individual buildings.
The interiors of the existing buildings
have retained the industrial, factory design
with exposed trusses and clerestorey
lighting. The internal face brick has been
painted in shades of white and grey which
introduces different textures while staying
in keeping with the industrial feel.
The older buildings have also retained the
original English bond brickwork pattern on
the plinth which correlates with a number
of the signature building aspects such as
the “signage walls” which have been
constructed using reused old bricks.
“We wanted to sustain what we could
from the old structures but have made the
style quite obvious in the newer structures,”
explained Fourie.
This is evident when walking towards
the trendy Boiler Room cafe, housed in
the original factory boiler room which has a
much more modern feel. This sits alongside
the eye-catching chimney stack whic \