Construction World December 2021

ARCHITECTS

M al l of Thembi sa i s an iconic new shopping mal l des igned by MDS Archi tecture for rural retai l development special i st McCormick Property Development (MPD) . The new 44 781m² GLA mal l i s s i tuated on the busy Ol i fantsfontein Road in the North Western quadrant of the growing township of Thembi sa. The development includes a standalone Cashbui ld and KFC, a taxi rank for 56 taxi s as wel l as a communi ty- based market garden ini t iat ive on s i te. Earthworks commenced mid-2019 and Mal l of Thembi sa opened to the publ ic on 20 November 2020. The presence of pockets of dolomi te on the s i te created engineering and construct ion chal lenges which requi red the addi t ion of special i st consul tants to the project team. The s igni ficant slope of the s i te and the requi rement to strategical ly deal wi th the stormwater run-of f away f rom the bui lding due to dolomi t ic condi t ions , created further des ign chal lenges for the team. The des ign solut ion was the cutt ing into the slope of the s i te to create a central ly located double-storey rectangular bui lding, wi th the publ ic entering the lower ground level along the east façade and upper ground level along the west façade. The MALL OF THEMBISA

centre i s surrounded by on-grade parking wi th a fal l away f rom the bui lding, wi th numerous external entrance roofs and walkway canopies ensuring that the water i s kept away f rom the structure. The des ign response to the slope of the s i te and bui lding’s shape and central locat ion wi th the entrances along the two s ides , essent ial ly gave the bui lding two prominent f ront façades . Thi s requi red strategic and innovat ive des ign thinking in terms of the placement of ser vices and del iver y areas , which are extens ive components of any retai l development , especial ly one of thi s s i ze. In response, a ser vices passage ensures easy access to mul t iple ser vice areas , whi le des ign elements along the façade enhance the aesthet ic and mask potent ial ly unattract ive aspects of ser vice areas . The main features of the Mal l ’s external archi tecture are the di st inct ive entrance canopies which compri se columns in the shape of styl i sed tree trunks and branches and leaf shaped roofs , and various walkway canopies along the bui lding’s perimeter, ensuring that the bui lding i s external ly orientated as much as poss ible. The innovat ive des ign moves away f rom the idea of the shopping mal l as a ‘shed’ where the des ign

80 20 th Best Project Awards 2021