Cape Town World Design Capital 2014, South African Buildings News, Project, Photos

Cape Town, South Africa : World Design Capital 2014

Shortlist News: African Buildings – Contemporary Architecture

28 Sep 2011

Cape Town – World Design Capital 2014 Shortlist

Cape Town is Shortlisted for World Design Capital 2014

October will see the announcement of the winner of World Design Capital 2014, and Cape Town is the first African city ever to have made it onto the shortlist. Whatever the announcement brings, Cape Town’s nomination is fantastic news for a city that’s putting a divided past behind it to reinvent itself as a hub of architectural, design and cultural activity.

For culture vultures and design lovers with their sights now set on uncovering South Africa’s ‘Mother City’, the location of Cape Town’s “newest oldest” hotel, Taj Cape Town, provides unrivalled access to the heart of the city’s buzzing central district.

Cape Town’s recognition owes much to the numerous urban regeneration projects that have transformed the central city district. Whilst the popular V&A Waterfront and heady heights of Table Mountain continue to attract, many more visitors are being drawn to stay and experience the more authentic Capetonian culture and the historical significance of Cape Town’s ‘Old City’ centre.

Nowhere is the essence of this urban renaissance – so vital to the city’s World Design Capital bid – more visible than at Taj Cape Town, a project by South African firm dhk architects. Here, the careful restoration of two historically significant buildings (The 19^th-century Temple Chambers and James Morris’ Art Deco South African Reserve Bank building) merges with a contemporary glass tower, reflecting the revival of the ‘Old Town’ alongside the city’s growing status as a hub of cutting edge design.

Located in the nucleus of Cape Town’s cultural heartbeat, Taj Cape Town also resides upon the foundations of South Africa’s colourful history. The hotel is only steps from the magnificent St. George’s Cathedral (the former base of Desmond Tutu), the famous Company Gardens (where South Africa’s first vines were planted in the 1600’s) and the oldest church in South Africa, Groote Kirk. The SA Museum (the oldest in sub-Saharan Africa), the fascinating Slave Lodge Museum, and the city’s beloved art galleries are all only 5 minutes by foot.