SANDYS CENTRE
Status: Completed
Location: Pinetown, Kwa-Zulu Natal
Situated at the highly visible intersection of Old Main / Josiah Gumede & Stapleton Road in Pinetown; Sandys Centre was badly run down in dire need of attention. The brief from my client who recently purchased the centre was to turn the ugly duckling into a swan. Extending the building in anyway was out of the question as the existing development already exceeded the maximum coverage. The critical aspect of the revamp was to rid the building of the litter of signage & to ‘open the centre up’- enhancing visual access to the shops. This has been achieved by providing large open shopfronts, a raised clean lined ‘hulabond’ façade at both levels to receive regularized, top quality signage.
The monolithic, phallic concrete tower had to go & it was an enormous challenge to get it down whilst still providing a safe shopping environment for the public. To breathe some life into the centre, striking & colourful visual elements have been added on the corner & in-front of the main stair; this colourful & fun expression has been carried through in elements of the tiling & coloured Perspex ceiling in the upper floor passageway. The inclusion of much needed landscaping will soften the harshness of the currently barren tar & concrete backdrop. The end result will be a happy, rejuvenated centre that will provide the public with a fun, practical and interesting shopping destination.
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