44 PROJECT REPORT: HOTELS
ABOVE
Client Victoria & Alfred Waterfront owns 123 hectares of Cape Town’s former docklands
FACING PAGE
The shape of the atrium space is based on a 3D modelled single grain of maize All images © Iwan Baan
was exploited to create contrast, Biden tells ADF: “I tried to keep as much of the industrial feel of the building as possible, but added luxury comfort and colour to the look. We have some of the old machinery at our entrance and on our sixth floor. Each room has at least one new, one old and one customised piece of furniture in it.” The design for the refurbished building had to both respect the listed status and create a recognisable landmark synonymous with the city – a key requirement of the client, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which owns 123 hectares of the former docklands. Heatherwick Studio was wary of the modern trend, seen in many towns and cities, of creating iconic ‘trophy’ museums that are highly sculptural on the outside, such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by American architect Frank Gehry.
“Our building was already unique and present in terms of its significant
monumentality, so we chose to exploit that,” says Martinovsky. “We wanted to preserve as much of its soulfulness, richness and uniqueness as possible.”
Excavating a void through the building’s innards would create a spectacle to draw in visitors to see the art, considered a challenge in a region that has no established museum-going culture.
Grain exploded
The atrium space is based on the elliptical shape of a single grain of maize that was 3D scanned and scaled up to 27 metres tall. “We liked the idea that all the grain is now gone, but one tiny piece of it is carved out of the building forever to remain there as a reminder,” says Martinovsky.
The void is intersected by glass lifts and a spiral staircase that rise up into the sawn- off cylinders. The floor below is also cut through to reveal the basement, where conveyor belts once shifted grain.
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