@ central (formerly Ussher)

The @ Central residential development includes 250 residential units spread over four buildings with convenience retail for the residents on ground level. The residential units are aimed at young mid-income professionals who want to live and work in the city. The greater scheme will also include 90 000m² of office space and 10 000m² of retail facilities.

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lanseria maintenance depot

Lanseria Corporate Estate is a development comprising industrial stands currently under construction on a parcel of land adjacent to the airport. GAPP was responsible for the urban design of the estate as well as the architecture of the entrance precinct. The proposal for the Maintenance Depot building, to be constructed later this year, consists of two rectilinear wings hinged by means of a circular piece addressing a prominent corner of the estate. The rectilinear wings accommodate storage areas, a motor mechanical workshop, ablution facilities for maintenance staff and the estate telecommunications hub. The circular volume houses offices for estate maintenance management.

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lea bros and blakeman

Further to our urban design proposal for the Lea Bros site, GAPP has been commissioned to establish the site’s Development Manual, together with a proposal for 140-200 residential units to be developed on the site adjacent to the original development site.

The residential development will comprise a series of blocks; each made up 200m² duplex units. The 3-dimensional L-shape configuration of the block is designed to maximise the number of units within the lowest possible height. Each duplex has three bedrooms – an en-suite master bedroom, a study/guest bedroom and a self-contained guest suite. The living/dining/kitchen area is open plan and leads onto a balcony. Each block has a basement which allows for the required two bays/unit.

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nasco town

Situated 15km west of the Lagos CBD, is the 305 Ha Nasco Town site. GAPP has been commissioned to establish a development framework for the site which is intended to initiate a mixed-use development of “excellence” that would improve the address-value of the area. The framework suggests new retail market opportunities for those already trading in poor accommodation; ’exploiting the demand for distribution warehousing by virtue of the brisk freight and logistics traffic from Benin and beyond; offering a higher quality of retail, office, residential, leisure, hotel and lifestyle opportunities to a market of growing affordability which until now has not been satisfied on the western sector of Lagos; making higher quality commercial and light industrial opportunities available; and providing roads, service infrastructure, social amenity and a well –landscaped and maintained environment.

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freedom park phase II

Hlapo (the dream) is an interpretive centre and Pan African archive completing the final phase of the Freedom Park legacy projects. Currently under construction, the building is envisaged as a series of ‘boulder’ forms which endeavour to tell the story of South African history over 3.8 billion years.

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BURS Competition

Botswana Unified Revenue Service

The design of the proposed new BURS head office draws inspiration from African landscape, architecture and culture to create a contemporary and timeless expression of the client’s core values and space requirements. The massing of the office wings can be conceived as wrapped or screen boxes creating:

logical and clear architectural expression
sense of place
unique identity

The screen is conceived as a rich ‘lattice work’ of sustainable timber, reminiscent of traditional building methods and traditional screening. Its primary function is to screen the glazed offices which are situated behind the BURS head office. Building heights are dictated by CBD development guidelines and this, together with optimal floor plate widths, inspired the layout.

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kings beach

Kings Beach is an area along the coast line of Port Elizabeth. A manganese terminal situated along the harbour is to be relocated in 2016. Once this extremely valuable land has been freed up and any issues of contamination from the terminal cleared, GAPP has been commissioned to propose a complete redevelopment of the neighbourhood. The area will be more accessible and inviting with a new road network, the introduction of new shopping areas and a boulevard of restaurants overlooking the harbour. A new marina has been envisioned, which will be surrounded by world class hotels. Open spaces have been strategically placed to create links throughout the area, crossing through residential, retail and business areas leading all the way through to the beach.

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ladysmith black mambazo academy

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal style of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland and have won multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards. They were formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960 and became one of South Africa's most prolific recording groups, with their releases receiving gold and platinum disc honours.

The group has now become a mobile academy, teaching people about South Africa and its many cultures. The trustees of the LBM Music Academy invited architects to submit proposals for a music school in the town of Ladysmith providing for the following: Performance Auditorium, Lecture Rooms, Training Studios, Recording Studios, Offices and a Boardroom. Most importantly, the design must reflect the cultures, customs and architecture of the indigenous African people.

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rhodesfield

GAPP was awarded the tender issued by Erkurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to produce an Urban Design Framework as a new Gautrain Station is being built in Rhodesfield and some controls needs to be put in place.

Rhodesfield is a suburb located south of the Kempton Park CBD and west of the R21 highway, across from O.R. Tambo International Airport and the total site area is around 220sqm.

One of the biggest aspects of the design is to make Rhodesfield more accessible unlocking more development potential and making the implementation of the UDF more financially viable. GAPP has maintained a level of sensitivity to existing erf boundaries and road servitudes to keep the implementation of the UDF as inexpensive as possible.

The vision of GAPP’s proposed Rhodesfield Urban Design Framework illustrates seven different precincts, including a high density mixed use CBD, high density residential development, office parks and low density residential developments. Two green belts connect Rhodesfield to the Kempton Park CBD, one being an existing stream and the other a central park, located in the residential precinct that could serve as public open space, as well as sports fields for a school in the area.

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lanseria corporate estate gatehouse - architecture

Lanseria Corporate Estate is a 90 hectare development comprising 169 industrial stands currently under construction on a parcel of land adjacent to Lanseria Airport. GAPP has been responsible for the urban design of the estate and has also been appointed as designers of the architecture of the gatehouse as well as two other small infrastructure buildings on the property.

The gatehouse forms part of a larger entrance precinct, consisting of a series of concentric curves in plan which radiate from a central turning circle. The gatehouse is made up of 8 vehicular lanes, 4 for each direction, with a pair of reversible lanes on either side to accommodate tidal traffic flow during peak hours. The entrance and exit portals are staggered so as to facilitate the required “stacking distance” for waiting cars from the circle and intersections, while a curved feature-wall links the two elements together. Simple off-shutter concrete walls punctured by square arched opening shape the gateways. Signage boxes double up as roller shutter canopies, the grilles tucked into which are to be pulled down after hours to secure the entrance to the precinct. Guard cubicles are simple boxes articulated with dry packed stone plinths and floating roofs. The palette of materials is largely neutral with the colours of the Lanseria Corporate Estate logo – green and navy – used on certain elements and accents.

/ Updated March 2010

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the fields, phase 2 & 3

The Fields Phase 2 is a mixed-use development commissioned by City Property, which is situated in the retail hub of Hatfield, Pretoria. The project comprises the development of a multi-storey hotel, offices, residential units and retails at ground floor, which are to be centred around two open-air courtyards.

/ Updated March 2010

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