Mall architects open offices in PE
THE architects involved with the Baywest Mall opened new offices in Port Elizabeth last night.
The firm, dhk Architects, is working on a number of projects within Nelson Mandela Bay including the R1.7-billion mall and Baywest City development located along the N2.
The 87500m² mall is part of the first phase of development of the greater 320ha Baywest City precinct and last week marked one year until the opening of the mall. The developers, Abacus Asset Management and Billion Group, plan to open the mall on March 19 next year.
Baywest managing director Gavin Blows said yesterday the roof of the mall was going up and would be completed by July.
Thereafter construction would start on the interior of the mall.
Work on major tenants Woolworths, Pick n Pay, Checkers and Game – which together represent 30000m² of the mall – would start first.
Group chairman of dhk Derick Henstra said the reason for opening the Port Elizabeth offices of the Cape Town-based architectural firm was because the Eastern Cape showed good promise for future growth.
"The investments being made in new developments such as Baywest, the urban renewal of parts of Port Elizabeth as well as infrastructural projects such as Coega bode well for the future.
"Forming partnerships with local developers and planners has been a blueprint that has worked well for us in the past and we look forward to making a contribution to the social and economic development of the region," Henstra said.
One of the other major developments within the Eastern Cape which dhk architects are involved in is the upgrade and renovation of the historical landmark, the Drostdy Hotel in Graaff-Reinet.
The company is also involved in projects throughout Africa and Europe, including countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.
The dhk group offers architectural, urban and interior design services and achieved a five-star rating under the Green Building Council of South Africa's Green Star rating system for the Portside building in the Cape Town city centre.
The building design encourages the use of alternative methods of transport and 70 parking bays within the Portside are dedicated solely for the use of hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles. - Business Reporter
