Construction World May 2015

CONSTRUCTION WORLD

MAY

2015

PROJECTS AND CONTRACTS

The multimillion-rand develop-

ment, positioned to become the

most enviable address on the

African continent, is scheduled for

completion in May 2016.

Residential sales opened recently, with

Hallmark House offering a curated lifestyle

experience, merging art, design, culture and

architecture to appeal to a variety of life-

style needs. Central to the African aesthetic

is the overall minimalist feel, encompassing

finishes of the best quality, with interiors

reflecting the lines and silhouettes of the

surrounding urban metropolis.

The development will be home to

apartments with floor-to-ceiling views of

the city and surrounds, situated above a

secure access-controlled multilevel parking

garage and a ground-floor retail space.

Designed to rival apartments in similar

neighbourhoods around the world, in a

spacious, minimalist style with interior-exte-

rior layouts that frame the surrounding city-

scape and iconic Joburg skyline, the apart-

ments are priced from R495 000. They range

in size from 35 m

to 300 m

, and are avail-

able as studio, one-bedroom and two-bed-

room options, with different-sized terraces

and large balconies.

The studio apartments are perfect for

young creatives, while the one and two-bed-

room options suit businesspeople and

couples looking for an ideal inner-city life-

style side-by-side with like-minded urban-

ists, while still wanting the freedom to lock

up and go.

Hallmark House will also have an on-site

spa, fully-equipped gym and swimming

pool, and residents can kick back at the The

Grand Café and Rooftop Bar, situated along-

side The Bioscope outdoor cinema. Smack!

microbrewery and Firebird roastery are

additional tenants in the building.

The development is underpinned by

solid security and a high-speed-technology

infrastructure, offering 24-hour security

staff, an in-house concierge, a biometric

fingerprint system, a CCTV-camera system,

high-speed internet and wifi.

The 66-metre-high modular structure

was originally designed by Greg Cohen

in the early 1970s to house a growing

diamond-polishing industry. Flexible and

modular in structure, it was versatile enough

to house light-industrial, showroom and

office spaces.

Archtecture

David Adjaye, who oversees a global archi-

tectural practice with offices in London, New

York and Accra, is leading the team to trans-

form Hallmark House. Adjaye is currently

working on the USD360-million Smithso-

nian National Museum of African-American

History and Culture in Washington DC, while

overseeing a luxury condominium develop-

ment of the city’s Four Seasons hotel.

“Aside from being a fellow African,

Adjaye’s indelible trademark of allowing art,

music, science and civic life to permeate his

ability to transform disused buildings into

architectural masterpieces, is what drove us

to appoint him. And it resonates with Prop-

ertuity’s core purpose of combining design

in all forms with culture to enliven degener-

ated neighbourhoods,” says Jonathan Lieb-

mann, CEO of Propertuity, the visionary and

developer behind Maboneng Precinct and

Hallmark House.

“The rate at which Maboneng Precinct

has developed since 2008 is solid proof that

there’s a thirst for more world-class regen-

eration of residential, retail and commer-

cial space in Johannesburg’s CBD. Hallmark

House will be meeting that need, and more,”

adds Liebmann.

Adjaye says that Johannesburg’s Eastern

CBD regeneration is perfectly in line with

what is happening around the world, and

points at Hackney in London’s East End and

New York’s Meatpacking District as exam-

ples. “It’s incredibly exciting to be working

with Liebmann to re-envision Johannes-

burg’s CBD,” he says. “The transformation of

Hallmark House is an opportunity to apply

fresh thinking to urban communities and to

create a new typology that reflects changing

lifestyles and a more fluid approach to the

way we inhabit cities.”

British conceptual artist Mat Chivers,

who for the last four months has worked in

residency at Nirox’s Sculpture Park in the

Cradle of Humankind, will be installing a solo

exhibition called Altered States at Hallmark

House. The exhibition explores the evolution

of modern consciousness, creating a bridge

between human evolution and the current

technological age. The exhibtion consists of

a five-tonne carved boulder from the Cradle

of Humankind, an installation work, perfor-

mance and 25 print works.

Maboneng

Launched in 2008, Propertuity combines

architecture, art, design and culture to

re-energised degenerated neighbourhoods.

It all started with the refurbishment of

an inner-city building to the east of the

CBD that would become Arts On Main,

home to world-renowned artist William

Kentridge’s studio.

This preceded a series of retail, commer-

cial, industrial and residential refurbish-

ments in what is today Johannesburg’s

to enhance Maboneng

HALLMARK HOUSE

Siemert Road’s (Johannesburg) Hallmark House is being

transformed into a stunning glass-panelled tower of expansive

residential apartments, an all-suite luxury hotel, and a vibrant

mix of health, entertainment and leisure facilities.

Jonathan Liebmann, CEO of Propertuity.

David Adjaye, who oversees a global

architectural practice with offices in London,

New York and Accra, is leading the team to

transform Hallmark House.