CHURCH SQUARE,CAPE TOWN | PAST MEETS PRESENT IN REJUVENATION PROJECT
Cobute Precast worked with Pr.Engineer Andy Cowie and contractor James Millborow, for alterations and additions to a spectacular Victorian building from early 1900 on the corner of Parliament Street and Church Square, in the heart of Cape Town. The property is developed by Urban Lime, a commercial property management company that adds value to the communities where it operated by regenerating the urban landscape. The architect studio in charge of the project is award-winning InHouse.
Top View of the Cobute slab on Parliament Street, in the heart of Cape Town. ©David Peter Harris/Cobute
The building, previously used as a warehouse, is now the Speaker's Corner, a 3,000 sqm creative office, specialist retail and restaurant space. This iconic building features exposed brick, original iron-work, industrial fire doors, 12-meter ceilings, high-gloss polished concrete floors and original interiors and exteriors. The structure made use of the Cobute precast deck for the creation of the two mezzanines, roof slab on the 4th floor, courtyard, filling an existing skylight and to cover a balcony; the beams were used for the 4th-floor balcony, and the stairs were designed for the fire escape.
Cobute provided perforated panels for the 4th-floor slab to ease the installation of electrical services.
In the pictures below, the Cobute precast slab has been used to fill an existing skylight, create a mezzanine and incorporating existing in-situ columns and beams.
The slab was left unplastered, in raw concrete, while in some sections it was painted white.
The underbelly of the roof slab left unplastered.
Speaker's Corner is part of a larger rejuvenation project of the square, which is one of the first public spaces in South Africa and we're proud of having worked alongside such a knowledgeable design team.
Get in touch should you wish to receive a proposal of the Cobute system for your project!
