Sovereign Quay Facelift
Sovereign Quay, a prominent building on Somerset Road in Green Point, was urgently in need of an upgrade to make it more appealing and marketable to its public company owner.
Despite having an expansive street facade, with retail and restaurants on the ground floor and offices and lofts above, the potential of this building was not fully realised, due to the busy parking area separating it from the street.
Our intervention began with a colour study which revitalised the façade, and accentuated the gables, which are a prominent feature of the building.
Reflecting the rhythm of these gables, a series of steel portal frames now demarcates pedestrian and vehicular access ways, adding depth to the facade and bringing signage, branding and lighting closer to the street edge.
‘Our design transformed an unfriendly parking lot into an urban precinct of its own.’
The street edge and entranceways are defined with new low stone walls referenced from the historic Green Point area, and a new paving design using bricks salvaged from the site, together with new cobbles and concrete pavers.
Indigenous landscaping includes water-wise planting with low-maintenance stone chips covering the beds. In keeping with this theme, new sculptural tree aloes were planted to replace the alien trees removed from the pavement.
Environmentally conscious LED lighting lines the steel portals and canopies, concealed from view during the day, but emitting a warm glow at night, maintaining the effect of the rhythm of portals and canopies after dark.
Our design transformed an unfriendly parking lot into an urban precinct of its own, with landscaped public spaces for visitors and tenants, and an income stream from parking for retail customers.
Sovereign Quay Facelift
Sovereign Quay, a prominent building on Somerset Road in Green Point, was urgently in need of an upgrade to make it more appealing and marketable to its public company owner.
Despite having an expansive street facade, with retail and restaurants on the ground floor and offices and lofts above, the potential of this building was not fully realised, due to the busy parking area separating it from the street.
Our intervention began with a colour study which revitalised the façade, and accentuated the gables, which are a prominent feature of the building.
Reflecting the rhythm of these gables, a series of steel portal frames now demarcates pedestrian and vehicular access ways, adding depth to the facade and bringing signage, branding and lighting closer to the street edge.
‘Our design transformed an unfriendly parking lot into an urban precinct of its own.’
The street edge and entranceways are defined with new low stone walls referenced from the historic Green Point area, and a new paving design using bricks salvaged from the site, together with new cobbles and concrete pavers.
Indigenous landscaping includes water-wise planting with low-maintenance stone chips covering the beds. In keeping with this theme, new sculptural tree aloes were planted to replace the alien trees removed from the pavement.
Environmentally conscious LED lighting lines the steel portals and canopies, concealed from view during the day, but emitting a warm glow at night, maintaining the effect of the rhythm of portals and canopies after dark.
Our design transformed an unfriendly parking lot into an urban precinct of its own, with landscaped public spaces for visitors and tenants, and an income stream from parking for retail customers.
