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Plaques mark the historical sites of Turbine Hall and the Jeppe Street Power Station in Newtown, reminding modern Johannesburg of its past stories.
Looking from the South Boiler House into the new office building
THE City has unveiled another pair of plaques – for Turbine Hall and the Jeppe Street Power Station in the new AngloGold Ashanti headquarters in Newtown.
The two plaques are positioned on a plinth in Turbine Square, on the edge of a small garden in the heart of the western CBD, with stunning views of major downtown buildings - the Reserve Bank, the Diamond Building and the old Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
"The plaques are to celebrate what's been achieved here, but also the heritage of the site," said Eric Itzkin, the deputy director of immovable heritage in the arts, culture and heritage department.
A lot has been achieved – the new offices of AngloGold Ashanti have risen from the historic site, after the implosion in 2005 of a section of the Turbine Hall complex.
Concrete diagonals link with the old Turbine Hall buildings
The area was home to the city's coal-fired power station, dating back to 1927, consisting of south and north boiler houses and a large hall-like building, its walls filled with windows. The Turbine Hall was closed in 1961 but the south boiler house was re-opened in 1967, with two gas turbines powered by jet engines.
An earlier power station was built in President Street in 1906. This became the Electric Workshop, and is now the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre. A second station was built in 1910, and converted to a substation in 1938. This was later demolished and that site now contains the SAB Museum. In 1942 Orlando Power Station in Soweto took over the function of supplying power to the city.
In 2005, the north boiler house was imploded and a new, four-storey building, with three levels of underground parking, was constructed in its place. AngloGold Ashanti moved from its offices in the diamond-shaped 11 Diagonal Street, to its new offices in early 2007.
Superb buildings
The Turbine Hall plaque describes the hall and the remaining south boiler as "superb industrial buildings distinguished by their massive scale, fine proportions, inspiring interior space and delicacy of detail".
The diagonals of the South Boiler House
"This is a magnificent ruin," Itzkin said. "We need to appreciate the transformation that has happened. Buildings can take on new lives and functions."
The architects, TPSP, created a new building that perfectly complements the space, picking up and enhancing features that stand out in the industrial buildings, like the diagonal lines.
Several atriums in the new building have crisscrossed diagonal features, offsetting the attractive spaces. The broad spaces on the stairways promote social interaction, and give with energy.
The foyer of the new building is a large, four-storey space, perfectly matching the voluminous spaces of the south boiler house and the Turbine Hall.
Architect Guy Steenekamp of TPSP Architects says the group tried to incorporate the underlying structure into the new structure, "touching Turbine Hall as lightly as possible".
The small square garden, with its raised centre point, is meant to be "slightly surprising", Steenekamp says. It has restricted public access, with benches for employees to take a break from their offices and take in the sights of the inner city.
The two plaques that were unveiled on Friday at Turbine Square
The new building seamlessly feeds into the south boiler house and the huge Turbine Hall. The south boiler house will remain a large, empty space, available for events. Its high ceilings and plentiful windows offer an exciting, innovative venue in the inner city.
"We have tried to re-use the debris," adds Steenekamp, referring to chimney shafts that have been placed on the perimeter of the garden. The space, design and skylights are "our nod to the old building".
A rectangular box of several floors of office space has been built within the large Turbine Hall, giving the effect of floating within windowed walls. A function for this multi-level area has still to be decided, at which point the finishing touches will be put in place.
The canteen has three round skylights high in its ceiling, with tall lime green light features hanging down, picked up by the lime green plastic chairs, contrasted against the black and white floor tiles. Diners look up at potted trees around the balcony – a very pleasant place to eat and chill.
Floors throughout the building are covered in a mix of dark tile and attractive brown carpeting. The main staircase is wide and carpeted, and portraits along its walls make for an interesting stroll up and down. The lift is glass-encased, giving fabulous views of the three-storey beadwork mural in the large foyer, with long strips of colour representing a cross-section of deep-level mining.
Energy efficiency
The building is energy efficient, says Steenekamp. It has solar water panels that provide hot water; light sensitive switching (lights switch off when there's no movement around them); dual toilet flushing systems; and a generator powers 80 percent of its requirements.
The South Boiler House with its attractive square garden
Rob Finlayson, AngloGold Ashanti's project manager of Turbine Square, remarked, "It's like working in a five-star hotel." Just off the foyer area is a Waltons stationery shop and around the corner is a men's clothing store.
At first, AngloGold Ashanti staff was doubtful about moving from the offices in Diagonal Street to the new building. It took some two-and-a-half years to get their collective buy-in, but once there, it took just three months to persuade them that it was a good move.
Says Steenekamp, "We're very proud of our building."
Itzkin recently unveiled a plaque at the Pass Office in Albert Street. In future, plaques will go up outside the Johannesburg high court, Melville Koppies, Weltevreden House and the Kliptown Museum on the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication. Some 100 plaques are in place around Joburg, or are being created for the city.
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