| J'Town estate draws a step closer |
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| Written by Makoena Pabale | |
| Monday, 25 August 2008 | |
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A developer has been appointed and construction is expected to start in June 2009 at J'Town, the winner in the Jozi Style Housing Design competition.  A base structure and module example by the Palace Architects, who got first place for the competion THERE has been significant progress in the Joburg Property Company's Jozi Style Housing Design competition since the winner was announced in September 2007. According to Alan Dinnie, the project manager at Joburg Property Company (JPC), the company set up by the City of Joburg to manage its properties, a developer has been appointed and talks about the designs are in their final stage. "We have not yet started with construction but we are expecting to start with it as early as next year June and go on for the next 18 months, which means that we will finish building in 2010," Dinnie said. The competition was launched in February 2007 at the Design Indaba in Cape Town; the search was for a residential design to match the style and new identity of Joburg, and reflect on its unique and extravagant character. J'Town, the winning design by Palace Architects, will be built at a 6ha site in Bryanston, in the north of Joburg. It will consist of 100 to 150 houses. According to the JPC's website, the company's submission was the winner because of its potential to create a "vibrant, integrated community". The proposal made use of the concept of "open architecture" as a key design strategy. Dinnie said the competition was launched out of a sense of responsibility as the council's developer to champion appropriate models of indigenous design. "It is the JPC's hope that the competition will contribute to the emerging ‘appropriate architecture' debate, and form part of a watershed from which will flow a new understanding of appropriate local design processes," Dinnie said last year. "These processes would also bring about an identity and style appropriate to African cities." The competition, which was evaluated by an independent jury of prominent architects, consisted of two stages - the first was idea-only, which identified possible inspirations of a Jozi Style. The second required the submission of detailed proposals for the site. Architects were required to submit designs for housing estates suitable for a wider Jozi market. Some 200 applications were received, including from Russia, the United States and Canada. In their plans, architects had to focus on the role of public space as it maximises the end users' participation. "Effectively, [in J'Town] people will be able to design their own homes within a developer-delivered townhouse complex. To date, people have been offered choice in the floor finishes or the kitchen counter tops," Dinnie said. "In an open architecture project people will be able to choose the finishing of the facades and even roof designs. In terms of this design style, development is viewed as a process rather than the conceiving and selling of ideal and finite products." Related stories: |
