54 / 68
October 2015
P
roperty development and
constr
uction group, JT Ross,
bought the 90-year-old site
more than 10 years ago when Lion
Match moved its manufacturing op-
erations to Gauteng. Rejuvenation of
the site, on Durban’s inner city fringe,
began under the guidance of Dean
Jay Architects.
Listed as a heritage site, construc-
tion of the new buildings and refur-
bishment of the existing buildings
was carefully monitored with the
architects opting to blend the old and
new buildings seamlessly, yet with
pertinent distinguishing features.
Sarah Fourie of Dean Jay Archi-
tects, said the bricks used in the
refurbishment were a mixture of
reused old bricks from one of the
demolished warehouses, alongside
Corobrik’s range of terracotta satin
face bricks and burgundy pavers.
“We wanted to match the new
bricks with the older ones while
playing with different brickwork
styles throughout,” she explained.
“We highlighted the newadditions as
obviously modern rather than trying
to repeat the traditional design. While
with the new contemporary addi-
tions, we have used the same colours
and materials that were used in the
original buildings.”
Allin Dangers, Director of Corobrik,
said it was rewarding for Corobrik
to have its products involved in
redefining the spaces of this beauti-
ful Durban landmark. He said the
terracotta satin face bricks were the
perfect choice to blendwith the older
bricks and the variation in brickwork
Brickwork revitalises
Sitting aside Kings Park Stadium and near the iconic Moses
Mabhida Stadium, Durban’s Lion Match Factory holds its own
as one of thewarmcity’smemorable architectural landmarks.