BLUCUBE STUDIO ARCHITECTURE + INTERIORS PROJECTS

Elangeni

The Elangeni project was born from a yearly event held for the Captain Morgan Spiced Gold beach party.

The Elangeni Entertainment Venue forms part of the Orlando Ekhaya Concept Masterplan, which is a Johannesburg Properties initiative and is a true monument to all things authentically Sowetan.

THE SITE

The 12 750 square meter north facing site, situated on the southern shore of Power Park Dam (Orlando Dam) along Old Potch Road, faces the decommissioned Orlando Power Station.

Power Park Dam is an old cooling dam for the now decommissioned Orlando Power Station, which in turn, will be transformed into a major new shopping venue.

The West side of the site has been earmarked for a green belt and wildlife corridor to and from the dam in order to protect the sensitive wetland echo system.

THE HISTORY

Orlando is a suburb of Soweto and lies in the centre of the township. Orlando is famous in the annals of South African history. It is here that Nelson Mandela lived in a little four room house organising and building the ANC and it’s armed wing Mkhonto we Sizwe. It is here that his lawyer partner and fellow Robben Island prisoner Walter Sisulu lived. Their neighbour was Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu, then a little known Anglican reverend! And most notorious of all on June 16, 1976, Orlando saw the killing of school students by the police and the famous 1976 riots down Orlando main street, now site of a multi million rand apartheid museum.

So it was this famous suburb of Soweto that the Spiced Gold Beach Party has been held in 2003, 2004 and 2005, moving across to the Elangeni Events Arena for the best event yet in 2006. Completely overgrown and unused, the overgrowth was cleared, 400 tons of beach sand laid down, 26-foot yachts were launched and a host of Caribbean style bars were built along the “seashore”.

THE VENUE

The venue can accommodate a maximum of 10 000 people and covers an area of 12 750 square meters.

• a peoples place

• an international destination

• theme restaurant, take-away

• festivals & concerts

• party and function venue

• picnics, braais & open space for recreation

• water & beach sports facilities

• beach volleyball, rowing, kayaking, fishing and sailing

The overriding theme of this parkland and entertainment development will be a celebration of the music and social character of the Sowetan people.

UTILISATION

• Ticket Offices

• Security Offices

• Management centre

• Access control through 10 turn styles arranged around the venue

• Info Office

• Sick Bays / First Aid Rooms

• Covered Seating for 1360 people

• Large stage on water

• Suites overlooking stage

• Theme Restaurant – 100 seat (local Soweto tenant)

• 2 Take-away Restaurants

• Offices - 500 sq m

• Beach Taverns (Bedouin Tents)

• Soweto Sports Council Region 10

• Jozi FM radio station

• Conference & meeting facilities

• Water and beach sports facilities

• Clubhouse

• Male & Female changing areas

• Recreation

• Braai, lawn and indigenous park areas

• Wetlands and green belt

• VIP Parking Area

• Emergency Vehicle Access

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics

The site is a North West facing site, situated on to the Southern side of the R24 on Electron Avenue, approximately 2,5km from the OR Tambo International Airport.
It is a long site of approximately 9 500 square meters, which comprises a head office building which is linked to a series of storage warehouses.

Due to it’s prominent location, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics decided to revamp their current premises rather than forsake their prime position.

Their request was for a new look on the exterior of the building which was very dated and in serious need of some attention. As they are an international company, they wanted to portray a newer and fresher image to suit their other companies worldwide. They also wanted the interiors of the offices to be revamped as the current furniture and equipment was also very dated and staff morale not where it should be partly due to this.

Our proposal included moving the reception to a new and better location, updating the spaceplanning, bringing in new furniture and equipment and putting a new façade on the exterior. We also added guard house facilities and an entertainment area for clients and staff.

After successfully completing this project, BLUCUBE STUDIO was approached by the client to proceed with Phase 2, which consists of demolishing an existing outdated warehouse and replacing it with a new high volume pallet storage facility. Due to the shortage of storage warehousing close to the airport, Hellmann requested a storage facility with maximum storage height as would be allowed by the local authorities, in order to successfully fill the demand.

The project is currently underway, so watch this space for some new developments.

Shead Residence –  Oaklands, Gauteng

The client approached us after we successfully completed a previous project for him.

The client had purchased a shell of a house in Oaklands that the previous owner could not complete.

The site inspection revealed a partially built north facing flat roofed contemporary residence comprising of 3 bedrooms all en-suite, kitchen / scullery connecting to double garage, open plan lounge dining and covered terrace, tv room, entrance court, 2 upstairs suites utilized as a study and guest bedroom with kitchenette and a small garden with a infinity edge pool.

As the architectural language was largely established, we concentrated on how to best finish the residence to the taste of our client. The residence was designed with entertainment in mind and we simply built on that.

Fortunately, the client did not put many constraints on the way we proceeded with the project. He requested a contemporary style, but did not want to live in a gallery. We were to use our imagination and incorporate new finishes and technology.
We proposed to use a lot of natural materials to make the residence warm and inviting as the open plan space was very large with a raised roof and clerestorey windows.

Openings to the outside were maximized with cavity sliding doors or folding stacking doors to invite the outside in. The covered terrace also had some sliding louvre doors added for inclement weather. The garden would be simple and maintenance free with architectural plant species like quiver trees, leopard trees, african grasses, papyrus, aloes, some sculptures and large features with timber decking and an outside shower.

We decided to have all exterior doors and windows in powder coated aluminium and all interior doors made from walnut. The interior doors were made as tall as possible to retain balance and scale and also to compliment the oversized spaces they were in.
The floors in the bedrooms were also done in solid walnut for warmth, as well as the built-in cupboards.

The main living areas and bathrooms received butt jointed rectangular travertine slabs on the floor with under floor heating below.

Wall finishes ranged from gamma-zenith, to granite, to cesar stone, to paint, to natural stone and also upholstered panels to add texture and interest.

Bathrooms were fitted with the latest sanitary ware and fittings Watercomfort had to offer. A water heating plant was also installed for instant hot water.

To finish it all off a state of the art piped music and security system was installed.
 

click on photo to enlarge
First site inspection photos
After
Plans