PROJECT
How was it done?
The core goal was to restore and celebrate the building’ s legacy and historical value, ensuring its preservation. The project demonstrates how architectural heritage and digital transformation can coexist and thrive, honouring the past while embracing the future.
According to the project architect, Sean Hayden of KMH Architects, the adaptive reuse plan was based on a blend of preserving original materials and integrating new elements to modernise and animate the space.
Legacy materials
The building ' s core is an original concrete frame structure, forming a robust skeletal foundation. windows provide unparalleled 360 ° views to the working harbour, the rest of the V & A precinct, the Cape Town CBD and Table Mountain for patrons and visitors. An eye-catching feature, the glass window shopfront with curved corners, sparkles in the sunlight.
A modern-day panoramic lift of steel and glass is appended to the building on the south side, connecting all floors and saving lettable space within the building. This appendage catches the eye and further heightens the tension between legacy and modern-day design.
Project team
Client / developer: The V & A Waterfront Company Project management and principal agent: Candor Architect: KMH Architects Structural engineer: LH Consulting Engineers Civil engineer: KLS Consulting Engineers Project heritage practitioner: Rennie Scurr Adendorf Quantity surveyor: BTKM Quantity Surveyors Main contractor: WBHO Construction
The original concrete roof, with its folded and pitched sections, features a thin concrete slab that is both structurally sound and visually distinctive. This showcases the ingenuity of its original engineers.
The design called for the first-floor plate to be cut back, creating a double-volume space. This posed a significant structural engineering challenge for the design and implementation teams.
The original façade materials were stone and plaster. As a result, the exterior features a rusticated, battered stone base. The original plaster quoining accentuates the building ' s corners, and a prominent plastered cornice and decorative parapet crown the structure, adding grandeur to its classical design.
East facing side – Marble Restaurant and generous balcony area. Note also the laser-cut aluminium sunscreen.
The existing timber windows and doors were repaired and restored, an element of the redesign required by the heritage overlay. According to Stevens, where the original form and colour of the timber could not be preserved or where functional concerns predominated, the relevant authority approved substitution with similar-looking aluminium windows.
Inside the building, terrazzo floor tiles finish the mall area, enhancing connectivity between retail and the terrazzo concrete.
On the top floor stands a fashionable restaurant, Marble, housed in a lightweight structure and encased in glass. The glass
The Contours of the Cape sign is a popular social media spot, providing a focal point for the busy Alfred Plaza.
28 autumn 2026 | www. tobuild. co. za