Architect’s Gallery for Design Joburg, South African Architecture, Images

Architect’s Gallery for Design Joburg

Johannesburg Architecture Exhibition Pavilion in South Africa – design by SAOTA, ARRCC and OKHA

26 Jun 2019

Architect’s Gallery for Design Joburg Building

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Architects: SAOTA, ARRCC and OKHA

Architect’s Gallery Building for Design Joburg

photo © Sarah de Pina

The term “pavilion” derives from the Latin word for a “butterfly” and evokes an architecture that celebrates the contrast between permanence and permeance. From the Porch of the Caryatids in the Acropolis – built to hide the visual impact of a very deep temple beam- to the Barcelona Pavilion – an expression of the power of minimalist modernism to express continuous space – this inherently architectural duality has inspired a rich history of pavilions that are, often, buildings abut architecture.

photo © Sarah de Pina

Commissioned by Design Joburg to build a pavilion to exhibit the power and depth of architectural design in South Africa, SAOTA, ARRCC and OKHA took this concept to a further extreme by delivering an architecture that is about Architecture and Architects (and their architecture!).

photo © Andrew Mboyi

photo © Sarah de Pina

The plan is a fundamental device; a wall turns four corners, the resultant enclosure is, clearly, A Space. The wall is given depth, and the threshold into the space is thereby celebrated. Proportion is identified through the height and thickness of the walls and its contrast with a delicate roof. Multiple cuts are made into the thick wall, emphasising its depth whilst simultaneously dematerialising its weight.

photos © Sarah de Pina

Mass is carved diagonally, defining angled voids, its heft exposed in depth and then reduced to a weightless point. Monocoloured form is tinted into multicolours by numerous light sources. One game – solid and void – plays out against another – light and shade; and so some voids appear dark, full of shade, while others transmit the light through the space. These inherent ambiguities are the power and the magic of architecture and the pavilion is designed to tell this story clearly and simply through the form.

photo © Sarah de Pina

By enclosing a space, like a miniaturised Public Square, and then populating it with displays from a range of South African architects, the space celebrates the diverse and collaborative nature of the profession. The design developed using themes the studios have been experimenting with in their work. In particular, ARRCC’s Cheetah Plains provided built precedent for a concept which pays homage to how an unearthed idea of a shelter can be a celebration of a community within a Contemporary African Aesthetic.”

photo © Sarah de Pina

Design: SAOTA, ARRCC and OKHA

Sponsors:
Cheetah Plains
New Africa Developments (NAD)
BKC Lowveld Construction
MADE – Martin Doller Design
Floorworx
Paintsmiths
Trident Press
VISI
Sanlam Private Wealth

Photography:
Sarah de Pina
Andrew Mboyi

photo © Sarah de Pina

Architect’s Gallery for Design Joburg images / information received 260619

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

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