ODE TO OAK PAVILION

Rising from the lush green landscapes of The Country Club Johannesburg in Auckland Park, the Ode to Oak Pavilion is a masterfully crafted, sculptural, and functional canopy — even as it disrupts the formality of the surrounding heritage structures. The pavilion’s undulating roof creates a light and voluminous, intimate space for visitors. It hovers above the original Art Deco handrail, complemented by a new material palette of steel, concrete (in various forms and finishes), recycled clay paving, and glass. The rounded, perforated ceiling surface also allows for optimal acoustic performance by reflecting sound in different directions to minimise direct reverberation. The hero grand old oak tree is celebrated through a semi-circular cut-out in the eastern-most vault.

Challenging what has traditionally been held as sacrosanct heritage is clearly contested in a very deliberate and sophisticated way. The project is lauded for its contribution to opening up the dialogue about what it means to merge contemporary typologies, technologies, and materials with a more traditional Western architectural language. Indeed, the project provokes interactions and shifts perceptions of how we should approach historicised sites and build form within contested landscapes.