>> B LU EPRINT
The great indoors PHOTOGRAPHY JAMIE THOM
I
n Greek mythology, Olympus was the name of the home of the 12 Olympian gods of the ancient Greek world. It was conceived of as a lofty mountaintop, and in all of the regions that the Greek tribes settled in, they named the highest local elevation Olympus. Fittingly, Olympus in the East of Pretoria is situated on the Southern slopes of the Bronberg, part of the Magaliesburg mountain range and now home to the training grounds for future Olympians: a new Planet Fitness Signature, designed by W Design Architecture Studio. Until the early 2000s, Olympus was agricultural land, but over the past 20 years it has densified and developed into a residential suburb with a combination of townhouse complexes, residential estates and freehold homes. This project is viewed as part of the next phase of the development or “settling in” of the suburb in which ancillary functions to the predominantly residential grain become viable, including retail, offices, schools and, in this case, leisure.
Continued next page
18 LEADINGARCHITECTURE & DESIGN OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
