Construction World July 2018

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT

S imeon and David Peerutin both qualified as architects at UCT and like many of their more ambitious colleagues (as well as a few who had come to dislike the political scene in South Africa) then almost immediately went overseas. Although not working together, they found employment in such diverse places as Jerusalem, New York and London. Both rose rapidly through the ranks of their respective firms and both now say that the exposure that they gained overseas put them in a position to challenge for South Africa’s most prestigious Cape large projects. Return to South Africa When in 1994 South Africa eventually opted to go the democratic route, Peerutin brothers decided to return to Cape Town in 1996. Here both joined local practices and progressed steadily to become key players in their respective firms. At the back of Simmy’s mind, however, there had lurked the conviction that with the skills and expertise they had already gained he and his brother could now establish in Cape Town a dynamic practice of their own, capable of competing on any level. Although they had their ups and downs, the new practice made rapid progress. Today, with 48 major projects completed and employing a staff of 25, they can look back on a history which has earned them the respect of the Cape Town construction fraternity and has seen them involved in some of the city’s most prominent high profile projects. Secret to success “To what do Peerutin ascribe their success?” In press interviews Simmy Peerutin has stated that Peerutin has benefited from the fact that he and his brother have complementary skills: his strength lies in management, budgeting and organisation, while David is now recognised in Cape Town as one of the most creative and visionary of the city’s architects. Looking ahead, the question now, of course, is can this suc- cess be maintained? The answer to this appears to lie in what is now known as the Peertutin Rebooted initiative. Simmy Peerutin explained what led to this in these words: “One and a half years ago, short space of time recognised as one of the most innovative but commercially efficient practices in the Mother City and, moreover, one capable of handling almost any sized project. RAISING THE STANDARD Peerutin Architects, now simply known as Peerutin, is celebrating 20 years as an independent practice – and the remarkable thing about this new team is that it ‘took off’ so quickly and was within a

after recovering from a severe shoulder opera- tion, one weekend I took stock of my position in the practice as well as

the practice itself and decided that to come to work every day and face the type of challenges that we as architects do, there had to be more than just showing up and doing work. Playing around with a Mind Map that weekend, trying to define what was important to me, I came up with Peerutin Rebooted.” This, Simmy Peerutin went on to say, was a radical attempt to de- fine the practice’s core values and the attitudes and actions required to ensure that these are incorporated in all that the practice does from here on. It resulted in a type of Diagram or Road Map for the future, at the top of which is the bold statement, “Challenge everything”. This is backed up and complemented by “advanced design technology, dedication to excellence and total integrity”. At the same time the management committed themselves to quality leadership and a mentoring and continuous learning process for the staff with, among other things, regular office ‘crits’ and weekly reviews. The aim of Peerutin Rebooted has been to create in this practice the best architectural staff in Cape Town and this is recognised by the end goal of the Diagram, The Exclusive Club of which Peerutin intends their staff to be members. This wholehearted attempt to raise standards still higher and to have a truly motivated and inspired staff ruffled a few feathers at first, says Simmy Peerutin, but in his view has resulted in a new staff mind- set and attitude in an already successful practice. Key projects In the book that they recently published to celebrate their 20 year anniversary, the Peerutin brothers list eight projects that they regard as ‘key’, i.e. revelatory of their design philosophy and ethics, each being in one way or another a milestone in their history. These eight projects are: • A 1 200 m 2 three level home with spectacular sea views in Nettleton Road, Clifton, sometimes referred to as the most expensive residential property precinct in South Africa – and this home is certainly one of the most attractive in the area. • Newmark Hotel’s four level Queen Victoria Hotel in the V & A Waterfront’s Portswood precinct. This was formerly an office block with a striking central atrium which has been retained and upgraded. It is surrounded by bedroom suites and the hotel today has already ranked among the top two in the city. • House One, another ultra-luxury home in the Nettleton Estate,

36

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JULY 2018