The V&A Waterfront’s innovative Silo District development received six of the 2018 South African Property Owners’ Association (SAPOA) awards, including three coveted Best Overall awards.
The Silo District won the prestigious Best Overall Building, Best Overall Heritage Building, and Best Overall Refurbishment awards for the Grain Silo conversion to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA).
The property also won the Best Mixed Use Development and Best Green Development awards for the overall Silo District and Best Other Development Award for the Radisson Red Hotel.
The primary objective of the awards is to define excellence in the property industry.
It also aims to provide public recognition for top quality design and functionality. Judges look for commercial viability, aesthetic appeal, innovative design, efficient functionality and environmental sustainability.
V&A Waterfront CEO David Green said: “The SAPOA awards affirm the V&A Waterfront’s commitment to achieving the highest possible development standards in design, innovation and sustainability. Our aim is always to deliver to global best practice in all that we do. Our vision for the Waterfront is to create efficient and sustainable spaces that are also vibrant, inspiring and authentic.”
The old Grain Silo, originally built in 1920, remains the tallest building in the Waterfront at 65m.
The R500 million refurbishment of the Grain Silo required converting over 100 27-metre tall concrete silo tubes, each with a diameter of up to 5.5 metres, into a functional space to house the not-for-profit Zeitz MOCAA. About 9 500sqm of space has been custom designed to showcase the art collection over nine floors, while 6 000sqm has been dedicated to exhibition space.
The remainder of the space was used to create the Silo Hotel, a 28-key luxury boutique hotel.
In addition to Zeitz MOCAA, the Silo District comprises of No.1 Silo, a commercial building and corporate head office for Allan Gray, the No.2 and No.3 Silo with 31 and 79 residential units respectively; the No.4 Silo which houses the Virgin Classic Health Club, and the No.6 Silo, home to the new Radisson RED Hotel.
Development at the Silo District is based on offering a creative space in which people can live, work and play. The district has also set benchmarks with a 6-Star As-Built rating by the Green Building Council of SA Awards for No.1 and No.5 Silos and a 5-Star, hotel design rating for the No.6 Silo.
Among the environmental features is a district seawater plant that heats and cools the buildings by using energy from the sea.