Architect and Builder Dec 2017 / Jan 2018 | Page 28

PROJECT FEATURE NO 6 SILO NO 6 SILO V&A Waterfront, Cape Town OWNER & DEVELOPER The V&A Waterfront PROJECT MANAGERS Mace Management Services QUANTITY SURVEYORS MLC Quantity Surveyors ARCHITECTS Luyanda Mpahlwa DesignSpaceAfrica Peerutin INTERIOR DESIGN ARCHITECTS GRAVEN (Dublin) Source (Cape Town) STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS Arup (No 6 Silo), Sutherland (Basement Car Park) FAÇADE ENGINEER Arup (No 6 Silo) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS Sutherland (No 6 Silo) Solution Station (Basement Car Park) Arup (Basement Car Park) ACOUSTIC CONSULTANT SRL T he V&A Waterfront approached DesignSpaceAfrica in 2014 with a brief to develop a new mid-range hotel on the site known as No 6 Silo, situated in the Silo District. Luyanda Mpahlwa DesignSpaceAfrica were appointed as architects in association with Peerutin Architects. The new Zeitz MOCAA Museum in the centre of the District, was envisaged as becoming “a new architectural icon for the exhibition and preservation of contemporary Art from Africa”. This museum has become a key design informant for the rest of the District and all buildings around were expected to take design cues from this building. The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group was awarded the operational rights for a Radisson RED Hotel with 252 rooms over six floors. The brief for the building had to incorporate the requirements of the operators. At that stage, there was no precedent for the Radisson RED since RED was the Rezidor Group’s new brand. The design brief was based on the concept design developed by GRAVEN. In terms of the realisation of the brief, the design team, working closely with GRAVEN, had to present the design concepts to the V&A Waterfront design review panel, to ensure that the design concept complied with the intended design guidelines and the aesthetic considerations for the Silo District. The Silo District: Historic Context After receiving the brief, the history of the Silo District was researched in order for the architects to better understand the design imperatives. The concept for No 6 Silo SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CONSULTANTS Arup WET SERVICES Sutherland INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONING AGENT Matrix Consulting Services LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Planning Partners MAIN CONTRACTOR NMC (No 6 Silo) & WBHO (Basement Car Park) PHOTOGRAPHY Wianelle Briers The design captures the character of the Radisson RED brand, which is represented by a contemporary aesthetic which is youthful and combines art, music and fashion with an African flavour 28 No 6 Silo