African Design Magazine ADM #41 June 2018 | Page 22

MATOLA MALL
investment. In addition, the building was
required to positively respond to the
physical context and have the ability to
expand in the future. The centre also
had to have an attractive tenant mix,
comprising the main anchor tenant, retail
components and restaurants.
Novare Matola has a modern building
typology which SLTA designed to
appear smaller in order to allow the
building to seamlessly integrate with
its surroundings. This was achieved
by scaling the fenestration treatment
and avoiding long flat planes. “Creating
a value proposition for tenants, we
also created a meandering internal
mall where the endpoints are never
visible in a straight line of sight. This
encourages the visitor to keep moving
and exploring to see what the centre
has to offer around the next bend in the
passageway,” says SLTA’s Shanne Truter.
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AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE © | JUNE 2018
The budget was applied strategically in
certain areas to enhance the visitor’s
experience. Attention was given, for
instance, to double volume entrance
lobbies, inviting lighting treatment in
the overhead bulkheads and a wide
landscaped area to screen the parking
platform from the building and outside
seating areas.
Light wells were created to flood the
circulation space in certain critical
areas, which enhances comfort levels
and creates a sense of position and
orientation. Despite some use of bright
colours in very specific areas, the
majority of the interior has a neutral
colour pallet to intentionally allow
tenant branding to be accentuated. The
building has a clear front and back, which
responds to the physical conditions of
the site and service areas versus public
space.