African Design Magazine ADM #40 May 2018 | Page 13

LOFTUS PARK PRECINCT
“With 31 years in the market and a number
of mixed-use developments, such as
Lynwood Bridge, under our belts, Abland felt
we were perfectly positioned to interpret
their vision for this 55 000 m 2 development.
The next step was the purchase of the land
from the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and the
subsequent application to rezone the land
from agricultural land to commercial,” says
architect Dirk Henzen.
Earning approval
In 1936 a clubhouse was built to service the
bowls and tennis fraternities. Later years
saw the clubhouse devolving into a place
of somewhat ill repute colloquially known
as ‘The Sin Bin’. Its dubious reputation
aside, the clubhouse, situated in the centre
of the land earmarked for the proposed
development, is a Heritage building and
permission to build on the site centre d
on the developer’s modus operandi for
preserving this building.
The Provincial Heritage Authority finally gave
permission in 2015 for the deconstruction,
storage and subsequent reconstruction
of the building and following the
carefully documented storage of the
various elements in a warehouse,
the main construction programmed
kicked off. The old clubhouse, with its
gabled, pitched tile roof, was lovingly
reconstructed and now forms a focal
point in the main piazza area as the
home of the Vovo Telo Restaurant.
Henzen explains that both the central
piazza and the landscaping played a
large role in the conceptualisation of
the final design. A team that included
AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE © | MAY 2018
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