African project
Quality Hill – Uganda
“
Initially, the brief was to refurbish
the restaurant,” explains Felix
Holland Director and Principal
Architect of Studio FH Architects.
“It had been in place for over fifteen
years and needed an architectural
overhaul. During the concept design
stage we then convinced the client
to look at a much wider picture; the
overall mall had grown organically
over the years, without a masterplan, and
needed a much more streamlined circulation.
Visibility of some of the tenants was also an
issue. The requirement for an additional shop
unit – a deco/furniture outlet – was later also
added into the brief,” he says.
The project was to be implemented in stages
with the aim to minimise the interruption of
the day-to-day business. Phase 1 comprised
of the creation of a central ‘piazza’ from
where, gradually, all major functions of the
development will be accessed. The piazza has
been paved with a combination of cobble stone
and terrazzo pavers and has a water feature
at the centre that helps improving the micro-
climate for outdoor seating.
The second phase consisted of a complete
remodelling and enlargement of both the
restaurant and the coffee shop and the creation
of a new deco shop pavilion. Pre-fabricated
timber structures were added to the front of
both grass-thatched structures. For the coffee shop they create a well-visible,
elevated seating terrace; for the restaurant, they help enclosing a cosy garden
space that has become the centre of a completely new dining experience.
The tip of one of the five original hexagon-shaped grass thatch huts in the
restaurant was cut off to create a little greened-up courtyard at the heart of
the restaurant.
“The restaurant could only be closed for six weeks,” notes Holland, an
incredibly short time for such a far-reaching refurbishment, while the
remainder of the mall needed to remain operational throughout the project.
Uganda’s gentle climate allows for outdoor dining throughout the year; yet
at the same time, heavy downpours present a challenge which is partially
addressed by curtains that can be drawn during rains. “The pavilion roofs
– made of concealed sloping metal roofs at very shallow angles – require
a large number of downpipes to deal with the rain; downpipes are made
of rectangular hollow steel sections hidden within the inner row of timber
columns,” explains Holland
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africandesignmagazine.com