DHK Architects - Special Report

SPECIAL REPORT> DHK ARCHITECTS

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At night, the 15 on Orange Hotel becomes a striking and contemporary architectural structure through the innovative use of lighting design.

6> Ideally situated in Cape Town, the 15 on Orange Hotel has splendid views of Table Mountain in the background.

With hotels and universities being on opposite ends of the architectural spectrum, it required dhk Architects to approach the Taj Palace, 15 on Orange and the Life Sciences Building with very different architectural designs. Being active across the full range of architecture, this practice has experience in the creation of new buildings as well as the refurbishment and restoration of existing structures. It has undertaken projects such as hotels, public and institutional buildings, eco-sensitive and sustainable buildings and educational developments, among others, making this practice the perfect choice for these different projects.

“The three projects are so vastly different from each another. They posed different challenges. The Taj Palace is a seamless marriage of a new contemporary high

rise city building with two gorgeous heritage buildings that had to be restored and refurbished and converted into a luxury grand hotel. The owners of 15 on Orange Hotel wanted to make an ‘off the wall’ hotel statement, differentiating the establishment from all other hotels in Cape Town and even throughout South Africa. This hotel is a huge design statement. Finally, the Life Sciences Building at the University of Western Cape is an educational building and has its own challenges. It has been designed and built to inspire individuals, student communities and researchers. We are told that it has been enthusiastically received by all. The university wanted this building to place them on the map and herald a new international acceptance, symbolising excellence in education and research,” says Derick Henstra, founder, dhk Architects.

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Guests can enjoy drinks or dinner at the trendy and stylish bars and restaurants available at the hotel.

A view of the interior structure which is transformed by a light-filled and contemporary multi-volume atrium.

Profile and philosophy

The old and the new – 15 on Orange Hotel

This dynamic company, which competes successfully at the top level of the profession, provides the highest standards of design and professionalism throughout all phases of its service, from understanding the client’s brief through to delivering a completed building. For the partners at dhk Architects, it involves adding value to their clients’ developments.

It’s about correctly interpreting the clients’ requirements and designing solutions that integrate these requirements with the appropriate architectural responses. In addition, it entails incorporating international design influences, technical developments, sustainability, economic realities and the interdependence between architecture and the urban design framework in which the buildings exist. dhk Architects’ reputation for innovative, yet cost efficient design, has grown into award winning and international recognition. “Architecture is a most challenging profession. It is so complex and so incredibly interesting.

There is never a dull moment. It is my passion and I wouldn’t know what other profession I could do. As most of the world’s great architects are over 70, it is a profession that you go on practicing for ever. I started in this business as I was headstrong and determined to do my own thing,” says Henstra.

The vision of the client, New City Development (pty) Ltd, for the 15 on Orange 5 star hotel was to create a striking, iconic and contemporary architectural building. The building had to become an urban marker, responding sympathetically to its surrounding environment whilst maintaining dignity in a sensitive historic context.

This 108 key African Pride flagship hotel, valued at R250-million, is ideally situated at Orange Street, a key and very visible spot in the Cape Town City. With all the magnificent views that Cape Town has to offer, this hotel has views across the Michaelis gardens, Table Mountain, Lions Head, Signal Hill, Grays Pass and the Upper City.

Built on the former Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk Synard Hall site, the hotel maintains key elements of the façade of the previous apartheid era structure, whilst giving consideration to the merits of the existing building. The building is an expression of its era and for some people it embodies certain aspects of the country’s cultural heritage. Major efforts were dedicated to the architectural retention of the most dominant façade on Grays Pass. From an historic and urban impact point of view, great effort went into limiting

SERVICE EXCELLENCE

SERVICE EXCELLENCE

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SERVICE EXCELLENCE

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10 > the revised profile of the extended building envelope and its impact on the view of Table Mountain from the top of Long Street, whilst still maintaining the memory of the old building.

The original entrance portico with its stained glass windows, being an iconic element and secretive barrier to a solemn hall at the centre of the old building, was demolished. This opened the way to exposing the building to the street and the memory of the internalised hall being re-interpreted in the form of a light-filled atrium.

The closed street edges along Orange Street and Grays Pass have been reactivated with the addition of retail shopping and restaurant opportunities. These new active edges are softened and animated with the insertion of landscaping in the form of plants and trees.

The discreet original entrance at lower ground level on Grays Pass is maintained for the Porte Cochere dropoff and hotel security area. From this point, two refurbished lifts take guests to the reception area on the first floor.

At the reception area, guests enter into the spirit of the hotel’s structure, which is transformed by the imposition of a vast, light filled and contemporary multivolume atrium, surrounded at its foot by tiered restaurants bars and lounges. The immense atrium’s glazed height opens out towards the outside terrace from where guests can enjoy views of the Cape Town city, Lions Head and Signal Hill. Whilst responding to the original axis of the hotel building, it also affords passersby dramatic views into the interior area.

and of varying types and suite sizes, are arranged in single and double banked configuration around the atrium.

The hotel offers a spa, gym, wellness centre and pool deck. Also available are sectional title apartments.

The apartments range in size, in simplex and duplex configuration, and are all finished to exacting standards of luxury. These apartments inhabit the lightweight upper two floors which are set back to provide ample sun terraces with spectacular views, whilst reducing the mass of the upper levels, in accordance with heritage indicators that govern the hotel development.

The glass and aluminum hotel additions respond in a contemporary manner to the retained historical elements, specific orientation, views, room privacy and the requirements of greater transparency for all public areas within the hotel.

Whilst keeping important elements of the existing historic building, the whole hotel is transformed by the imposition of the vast, light-filled atrium and the addition of contemporary architectural elements. The hotel makes for a new and transparent Cape Town focal point, breathing life into this key junction.

The first of many – Taj Palace

The strong sense of opulence and verticality can be

The Taj Palace Hotel, located in the historic core of Cape Town at the entrance to the St George’s Mall, is the first of many luxury hotels to be opened by the Taj Group in South Africa. The client, Good Hope Palace Hotels (Pty) Ltd, wanted a 175 key luxury hotel for the Taj Group, valued at R450-million.

experienced in the three panoramic lifts, which take hotel guests to the surrounding access walkways and rooms at the upper levels of the atrium. The hotel rooms, outfitted to the highest quality and standards

The recently completed development entailed a partial demolition, a refurbishment, the construction of infill elements, the construction of a contemporary

A view showcasing the celebration of the synthesis between the historic fabric of the site and the contemporary interventions of the hotel.

14 > tower to accommodate 175 rooms and the preservaA view of the new Taj Palace Hotel situated in the historic core of Cape Town.

tion of two important historic buildings, namely the Old Reserve Bank building and the Temple Chambers building.

It was imperative to retain and carefully restore as much as possible of the two historic buildings that host the grand public spaces of the new hotel. The contemporary interventions on the site, in the form of an infill building on St George’s Mall and the new tower that rises out of the centre of the city block, house the back of house spaces and the hotel rooms.

The equal integration of the old and the new created a challenge for dhk Architects. It was imperative to celebrate the synthesis between the historic fabric and the contemporary interventions on the hotel site.

This was done by creating a building that maintains and echoes the architecture of elegance and the beautiful craftsmanship embodied in the historic buildings, whilst engaging with the purpose of the buildings as a ‘place’ for the people.

The Taj Cape Town, showcasing a combination of rich history and stylish contemporary architecture, offers a diverse variety of cuisine and culinary experiences including an Indian specialty restaurant, a relaxed and casual all-day dining restaurant and a champagne and oyster bar. The magnificent banqueting and meeting rooms combine the elegance of a historical era with state-of-the-art technology. A full Jiva Grande Spa and a fitness centre are also available to guests. In addition, the Taj Palace is also home to Heritage Rooms and Suites, Tower Rooms and Suites, The Presidential Suite and the Taj Club.

These exquisite rooms offer guests old world quality complemented by lavish amenities and contemporary features.

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Architecture is a ‘science’ – University of Western Cape Life Sciences building The term ‘science’ refers to, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. Science also refers to a highly skilled technique or practice. Architecture, a highly-skilled practice, is a science in it self. It is the art and science of designing buildings and other physical structures, predicting the outcome, in terms of function and appearance, of a particular structure. Many believe that, basically, architecture is a science first and then an art.

The new Life Sciences Building located on the University of Western Cape’s West Campus adjacent to Ring Road and flanked by Modderdam Road, is intended to place the university on the global map as a centre for teaching excellence and a research entity. By integrating six departments into a single development, this in turn allows for the facilitation of collaboration, promoting inter-departmental and trans-disciplinary

research. The building is positioned as a pivotal and iconic element of the urban planning of the university, as an embodiment of social and environmental scientific research in Africa. This cutting-edge institutional research laboratory is a symbol of the university’s commitment to science, technology, innovation, development and research, with the aim of reducing poverty and promoting social and environmental responsibility.

The main objective of the positioning and the design of the Life Sciences building was to create a landmark that announces the University of the Western Cape’s presence, forming the most significant element of the new science precinct.

The Life Sciences Building has been securely integrated into the existing campus framework from all aspects. Six different departments are housed within the macro zoning of the building. Two major components of the building are placed on either side of a social nucleus, comprising the entry lobby and gathering space, oversailed by a vast canopy which is supported by tree-like columns. This gathering space forms the main focus and the link between the

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This landmark has great presence within Cape Town and is positioned well as a pivotal and iconic educational entity.

major components of the university, namely the laboratory building, the interactive learning centre, cafeteria and auditorium.

The general layout of the rectilinear and orthogonal laboratory building is designed around a zone that stretches along the length of the site that fronts directly onto Modderdam Road. The intention was to create direct relationships between the support spaces on the south side, research and laboratory spaces in the centre and write-up spaces and cellular offices situated on the north side. Two service cores form the fulcrum for breakout areas. These are interaction spaces that act as vertical transportation for both people and services while forming easily interchangeable laboratories and service spaces, permitting adaptability and flexibility throughout the general plan. The cores interact with tea kitchens and extend out to balconies that are intended to facilitate informal meetings. The cores are the vertical elements that break the longitudinal façade, with vertical accents culminating in glass boxes that house the hot water plant which is linked to the solar water system.

In addition to being the centre for academic teaching, the learning centre is available for conferences as well as being a venue for various gatherings, presentations and functions. The centre houses a state-of-the-art auditorium, a collaborative computer lab and resource centre, seminar and tutorial rooms and a cafeteria opening onto the gathering space. The development incorporates both instruction and research facilities with shared classrooms, laboratories, faculty facilities and amenities to accommodate an estimated 800 students and researchers.

This six storey laboratory block is split vertically into instruction facilities on the lower two levels, with research and development (R&D) labs housed on the upper levels. The block is divided into three modules which are linked by service cores, providing public and service access and security filters for the various R&D labs. The laboratories themselves are designed to assimilate the users’ requirements into predominantly generic flexible and adaptable solutions that ensure short, medium & long term sustainability for the client where different departments can wax and wane as the needs arise. The laboratories are planned

View of the exterior façade.

along a horizontal stratification which facilitates a direct relationship and interface between the cellular senior researcher’s offices with open-plan write-up areas to the north, with research taking place in laboratories and their support spaces to the south. This horizontal stratification is created through virtual corridors traversing the length of the building, providing orientation and external expression through the bay windows at the ends.

Entry to the Life Sciences building is from the eastern forecourt via the entrance lobby. This gasket-like glazed entrance lobby joins the laboratory and learning centre, providing orientation and access to the various facilities and leads into the gathering space.

The design philosophy of this building focuses on energy efficiency, environmental responsibility, resource efficient design and a commitment to sustainability.

The orientation of the building reduces solar gain within the building and encourages natural ventilation throughout the building.

The use of grey water for the landscaping has been fully implemented and coordinated in the design.

The green areas and gardens are landscaped with indigenous vegetation and trees and the landscaping has been taken onto the roof of the Learning Centre as a scaling strategy and as an environmental thermal consideration.

The gardens are integrated into a landscaping plan that responds directly to the local environmental conditions by encouraging bio-diversity, protecting biomass nutrients, using permeable surfaces to minimise run-off, increasing retention of groundwater levels and adopting indigenous water-wise plants. Through life cycle costing, resource and environmental management and the adoption of cost effective strategies, namely optimisation of the thermal envelope, waste heat reclamation, harvesting of rainwater and grey water recycling, this building strives to limit its carbon footprint. <