The area has seen a massive increase in development & urban renewal, sparked by the popular Cape Quarter commercial & lifestyle centre. The redesign of the building had to accommodate a pedestrian right of way at the ground floor level created as part of the main route to the FIFA stadium. A further challenge has been the requirement to design the building for future vertical expansion, in turn needing larger stairwells.

Due to the tight constraints of the small site, as well as the prescribed pedestrian route, the plan essentially takes care of itself. The elevations have been broken down into components in order to scale the little building to feel like it can punch in a bigger weight class. In response to the colourful nightlife of the area and deal with the harsh northwestern daylight, a series of coated vertical aluminium fins have been introduced onto the facade. The fins are laid out in an organic shape both in plan & elevation taking reference from a soundwave. This creates of softer face to an otherwise hard edged building and, who never looked cool in these...