Green Point Stadium with Luyanda Mpahlwa, Design Network
The euphoria of the 2010 FIFA World Cup may have faded, but it has been 15 years since the Green Point Stadium was completed, and what a legacy this big build has left on our urban environment. The bold stadium remains one of the most iconic designs of any stadium in the 21st century, and the transformation of the urban landscape around the Stadium only enhances this marvel. The Green Point common was transformed to a world-class urban park which offers better connectivity to the V&A Waterfront, extending the walkability of the entire precinct, resulting in an incredible revitalisation of the broader Stadium Precinct. The other significant legacy was the improvement of Helen Suzman Boulevard which incorporates the MyCiti Station directly adjacent to the Stadium. With the urban transformation not yet complete, these developments, launched through the Green Point Stadium, are undoubtedly set to further broaden Cape Town’s urban horizons.
Kingsway Tower with Roxanne Kaye, SAOTA
Embodying the feeling of Lagos and designed by SAOTA, Kingsway Tower is my favourite big building. It has this distinctive form, subtly mimicking the square sails of the traditional boats on the lagoon which have long been part of the horizon. In a sense, the building conveys that gentle city breeze. The folded perforated aluminium screens on the tower’s façade (in addition to being functional in responding directly to local climatic conditions) have become its iconic identifier. Careful to avoid any directly literal comparisons, arranged in multiple shifting layers, they create interesting shadows, and the pattern abstracts its inspiration from the tropical vegetation, especially the palm trees, making the building really ‘of its place’. I keep going back to this building; it captures a moment in time for me of my early career at SAOTA, and it continues to inspire me.
Parc Clinchy-Batignolles with Georg van Gass, GASS Architecture Studios
The Parc Clichy-Batignolles, in the Martin Luther King Precinct in Paris, exemplifies the transformative power of large-scale, sound urban design and thoughtful architecture in revitalising a formerly neglected area. The park serves as a masterful anchor, grounding the urban landscape and fostering a harmonious dialogue between the towering built forms that surround it. The adjacent buildings, with their carefully considered envelopes, not only respect the pedestrian experience but also contribute to a rich and cohesive urban fabric, demonstrating a successful synthesis of architecture and urbanism.
Noom Hotel with Danielle Reimers, SAOTA
Our recently completed 23-storey hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast really reflects the vibrant energy of the city-not only by referencing the city’s characterful brutalist architecture (through its bold angular forms), but by speaking to the region’s rich heritage of pattern making and textiles. This we alluded to through the playful geometry of the tower’s Alucobond cladding, and the animated folded-plate screens that envelop the plinth. I like how the plinth screen gives a layered experience–up close, the pattern reads like city blocks, but from a distance, it becomes a graphic fabric ‘wrapping’ the building.
This article is an extract from our May Issue. Read the full issue here.
