African sanctuary

The building’s distinctive façade was inspired by shweshwe patterns, textiles and fabrics commonly found in the CBD, using facebricks turned 90 degrees to make pixelated ‘spray’ designs and triangular crenulations along the top.

Corner Fox presented Gregory Katz Architecture with the rare opportunity to design a green-fields project in the city centre. The site, a full city block surrounded by streets on all four sides, was previously occupied by a cluster of old factory buildings, predominantly single-storey sheds with no possibility of conversion.

The design concept for Corner Fox – a sanctuary following a classic courtyard arrangement – allows the building itself to create a protective barrier around the perimeter of the site, enclosing an internal courtyard with space for a parking and a raised recreational area with a lawn and swimming pool.

The buildings in the site’s immediate vicinity are mostly four- or five-storey high industrial buildings, although nearby precincts such as Maboneng, the Absa Precinct and Jewel City have introduced the concept of mixed use development, converting existing industrial buildings to suit a variety of new functions.

Given the proportions of the city block and the urban context, Gregory Katz Architecture and the developers, Lightwell Properties, decided on a similar height to the surrounding buildings for Corner Fox. This height also allows natural light into the courtyard, keeping it hospitable.

The project was designed to include approximately 200 affordable housing units on a strict budget, while maximising value for residents and for the community and urban context more broadly. On ground level, along the street-facing edge on the outside of the building, retail spaces create an ‘active edge’ to ensure active street life during the day, which not only improves safety around the building, but also contributes to the local economy. Depending on which street the shop fronts face and its individual character, appropriate frontage was selected to help support their viability: long, narrow windowfronts along the busy thoroughfares and smaller, spaza-type units with roller shutters where there is less traffic.

The floor plates of the building itself, rather than being repeated as they often are in residential buildings offering affordable apartments, are varied to create a unique character for each floor. Each has been given its own distinctive bright colour to enhance the sense of place and identity. Not only does this prevent monotony, but also fosters a sense of community by recreating the micro-context of the street in this urban setting, as many residents are former township-dwellers accustomed to casual interactions in the shared or public spaces around their homes.

The building wraps around the perimeter of the site, enclosing a protected internal courtyard with space for a parking and a raised recreational area with a lawn and swimming pool.

Each level has five or six horizontal punctures that run right through the building, adding a sense of variety and surprise to the experience of each level, and also drawing natural light and airflow into the courtyard. Although this decision involved sacrificing a certain amount of gross lettable area, it created the opportunity to enhance the quality of the common areas. Often, residential buildings in the CBD are deserted during the day because they lack break-out spaces that create opportunities for interaction. Slightly larger ‘luxury’ one-bed units have been placed adjacent to the punctures, diversifying the offering of one- and two-bed units.

Rather than treating the corridors purely as thoroughfares and building them according to minimum regulations, they have undulating perimeters or edges, bulging outwards at points to create opportunities for interaction. At other points along the corridors, multipurpose spaces with laundry basins have been included – another strategy to activate communal areas, encouraging interaction and catalysing a sense of community in and around the building.

The building also offers roof access with braai and entertainment facilities. The building’s distinctive patterned façade was inspired by shweshwe patterns, textiles and fabrics commonly found in the CBD. Its concrete structure means the walls are not load-bearing and the brickwork can be used for decorative detailing while costing no more than a regular façade. The walls combine plastered, painted stock bricks, jointed to create a textured surface, combined with facebricks turned 90 degrees to make a pixelated ‘spray’ pattern. The triangular crenulations along the top of the building create a silhouette that carries through the surface pattern, while also making a playful reference to the protected courtyards at the heart of the building. The patterning in the brickwork is deliberately allowed to continue across the surface of the façade according to its own logic rather than being arranged around the windows, which randomly punctuate the façade, hinting at the arrangement of internal spaces and the life within the building.

Each floor has been painted a different bright colour to enhance its sense of place and identity while undulating perimeters create opportunities for interaction.

The apartments have been finished simply and effectively to create a sense of warmth and comfort while maximising a sense of light and space. The floors have been finished with black oxide and the bathrooms are also black, leaving the borders of each room somewhat undefined and enhancing a sense of space. Warm lighting keeps the interiors cosy, while in the one-bedroom units, polycarbonate screen walls allow natural light to penetrate deep into the interiors.

While the interior architecture of Corner Fox maximises a sense of space and comfort in these compact units, the larger strategy of the building remains to create generous common areas throughout the building. These are animated with individuality and variety, and together with facilities like the pool, foster a sense of identity and community within and throughout the building, catalysing a vibrant, friendly and safe environment.

The floors in the apartments have been finished with black oxide to enhance the sense of space. In the one-bedroom units, polycarbonate screen walls between the bedroom and living areas allow natural light to penetrate deep into the interiors.

PROFESSIONAL TEAM ARCHITECT: Gregory Katz Architecture DEVELOPER: Lightwell Properties PROJECT MANAGER: David Segal STRUCTURAL/CIVIL ENGINEER: MMA Posten Engineers SA (Pty)Ltd ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: KKA Consulting Electrical Engineers QUANTITY SURVEYOR: Danie VD Walt CONTRACTOR: Belo And Kies Construction