The Johannesburg Development Agency is proud to announce, in collaboration with the City of Johannesburg and Designing_SouthAfrica, The Pavilion at Park Station.
The Pavilion, which will convey an African ethos, is being designed by world-renowned architect David Adjaye, and will be erected within the Park Station Precinct in Johannesburg’s inner city. It forms part of a much larger project to develop the area into a food and culture hub, and will be launched on 23 September in the Blue Room at Park Station. Adjaye will attend the launch, which will coincide with a seminar on democracy and space, and a tour of Johannesburg.
PARK STATION: JOHANNESBURG’S AFRICAN HUB
Park Station Precinct is the primary transit exchange in the city, with more than 1 million commuters using public transport such as Rea Vaya, Gautrain, Metrorail, and taxis, among others. As a major transport hub, the area’s redevelopment is being prioritised in line with Johannesburg’s Growth and Development Strategy, which emphasises safe, convenient and affordable public transport. In deference to it being Africa’s transport hub, the Station’s revamp will reflect the continent’s rich diversity, through the development of the African Food and Cultural Hub.
This new project also forms part of the City’s Corridors of Freedom – well-planned transport arteries designed to link people to work and leisure spots. The Corridors of Freedom aim to undo the social boundaries created by apartheid planning and make Johannesburg a cohesive, comprehensive, liveable city. It includes developing mixed-use spaces, where city dwellers live, work and play.
BUILDING A SOCIAL CITY
Adjaye has extensive experience designing mixed-use developments, having worked on projects like the Sugar Hill social housing scheme in New York’s Harlem, and a mixed-use retail and arts complex in Beirut, Lebanon.
Born in 1966, he lived in a number of cities across Africa before settling in London, where he obtained a B.Arch from London South Bank University and then a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Royal College of Art in 1993.
Principal architect at Adjaye Associates, his largest commission to date is to design the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum for African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington DC.
His experience and talent promises an iconic development for the City’s inner landscape, continuing to reshape Johannesburg to reflect the people who live in this world- class city.
The project is supported by Designing_South Africa, which encourages people-centred cities through design.
Further details on The Pavilion launch will appear on Designing South Africa’s Facebook page, or on its Twitteraccount.