Through their collaborative effort, designers, developers, architects and artists are changing the face of Johannesburg one brick at a time. At the epicentre of this revolutionary change in urban design lies the Maboneng Precinct.
Thanks to this initiative, crime has also decreased within the areas that have been uplifted. This shift has opened up everyone’s mind to the possibility of Johannesburg being the hub of business investment, commerce and tourism. The Maboneng Precinct embraces the African heritage and incorporates its flair throughout the district.
Where it all began
Maboneng had a humble beginning out on Fox Street’s Arts on Main. With an initial core focus on art, it soon expanded its boundaries to include new projects, such as the Work and Art Building and the Hallmark House, that would uplift the residential and tourism factor of Maboneng. The development started out in 2008 as the brainchild of real estate developer Jonathan Liebmann who founded Propertuity and then asked local architect Enrico Daffonchio to join him on his journey to incorporate urban design into old buildings in Johannesburg.
All of these developments have one thing in common. They take an old, iconic building and revamp it to make it better, while keeping some of the elements unique to the original building’s character. You could draw a beautiful metaphor from this when describing South Africa, by taking what we already have and making it better, at the same time not forgetting where we come from.
Maboneng boosts a unique character of fine dining mixed within an urban concrete setting. Let’s take a closer look at a few interesting developments that seem to have sprung out of an artist’s canvas.
Arts on Main
Arts on Main was the first development that Propertuity started out in 2008 and consists of five small buildings consolidated into one development all featuring different aspects of Johannesburg:
- David Krut Projects prints the works of art of well-known South African artists.
- Canteen is a courtyard restaurant that has an interesting rooftop bar.
- Market on Main is a food and design market.
- Baileys African History Archive showcases the African history in works of art.
- Hazard is a dedicated arts project space and exhibition that shows off works of art from all over the world.
Artisan Lofts
The Artisan Lofts residential building was inspired by artisanal design, meaning décor and furniture that has been hand-crafted rather than factory manufactured. All the apartments feature South African corrugated iron, typically found on shacks. You can find this motive scattered across the apartment and the artisanal trend featuring wooden boxes used as storage or popping out of a kitchen unit, recycled parquet floors and exposed electrical tracks that borders on industrial interior design.
The Rocket Factory
The Rocket Factory is a building speculated to once have been a site where rocket parts were manufactured because there is a chimney on the building that resembles a rocket. The myths surrounding the building adds to the ambiance of the place, besides – everyone likes a little mystery. The building consists of 35 residential units with unique features like wooden floors and balconies that lead to a magnificent view of Johannesburg.
Great artwork to honor a great man
The original photograph depicting a younger Nelson Mandela in a boxing stance taken by Bob Gosani was the inspiration behind the forty metered street art, The Shadow Boxer Mural. After Nelson Mandela’s death in 2013 this artwork was commissioned by the Maboneng Precinct as a gift, representing a symbol that showed everyone this iconic man’s legacy would live on through the city. This touching artwork can be seen by motorists as they move on the N2 highway going east and it peeks out slightly on Joe Slovo Drive. To catch a close up of the artwork head on over to the corner of Staib Street and Beacon Road.
New developments in the urban design landscape
A recent development by Propertuity is the Craftsmen’s ship located on 260 Main street that refurbished an old industrial building to make it resemble a dazzle pattern inspired by the camouflage used on battleships during world war two. The camouflage pattern technique was used all over the exterior and features in some instances within the interior such as passage ways and inside the apartments themselves.
Maboneng means ‘place of light’ which we agree with wholeheartedly, but one thing I picked up on was that all the windows within the district seemed a bit bare. Our vinyl art is hardy enough to strengthen old windows, while keeping in tune with the urban design feel of the district.
Download our vinyl art catalogue to shed more light on this.
Image Credit: http://www.greenegroup.co.za/maboneng-project/
