THE erection of a gabion structure between Ntemi Piliso and Gwigwi Mrwebi streets in the city has helped revitalise the grimy face of the Bree Street Taxi Rank with its picturesque elements.
The city’s skyline as rendered by Ikemeleng ArchitectsThe city’s skyline as rendered by Ikemeleng Architects
“The challenge and the opportunity was not just to make a reclining wall but to create something that will draw the public’s attention away from the mess inside the taxi rank,” said Sibusiso Mauze, a partner at Ikemeleng Architects.
Completed in May, the reclining wall is a large steel-mesh basket structure filled with recycled bricks and rocks. Mauze explained that it was constructed to prevent the soil from spilling from the embankment on to the pavements.
“Since completion of the gabion structure, the amount of soil reaching the pavement has been noticeably reduced.”
The biggest challenge was making the gabion walls look attractive and blend naturally with the surrounding environment. To do this, red bricks that were taken from the pavements along Kerk Street were recycled and used with normal dump stone.
Mauze noted that the structure encouraged pedestrians to interact with design elements and enhance adjoining development.
Gabions, also known as rock cages, are double twisted, steel-wire mesh boxes used as a confinement system for stone and earth. They are typically built to stabilise an unstable or eroding slope, or to create more usable level land.
The structure is at the Bree Street Taxi RankThe structure is at the Bree Street Taxi Rank
Mauze explained that the wall symbolised an abstract skyline of the Joburg CBD, focusing on the city’s three most important buildings – Carlton centre, Ponte and Brixton Tower. “We decided to put up something that people who stay in Johannesburg can easily identify with,” said Mauze.
The gabion wall was constructed after the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) approached Ikemeleng Architects for a solution regarding the soil that kept spilling on to the pavement from the embankment after a building was demolished.
Joy Jacobs, a JDA development manager, said the gabion structure would prevent soil erosion and create an aesthetically more appealing space for those walking or driving over Nelson Mandela Bridge.
“It is not often that one gets the opportunity to use a functional intervention creatively. This was a great opportunity to do so and the outcome I feel is an interesting and fun rendition of the City’s skyline,” said Jacobs.