taj palace hotel cape town, south africa - dhk · the taj palace hotel in cape town was the first...
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Cape Town9 Somerset Road De Waterkant Centre6th Floor 8001+27 (0) 21 421 6803
Johannesburg20 The Piazza Melrose Arch 3rd Floor 2076+27 (0) 11 684 1234
Port Elizabeth21 Donkin Street Donkin Square 6001+27 (0) 76 168 2320
Project Data:
Client: Good Hope Palace Hotels
Status: Completed 2010
Area: 18 000m2
Awards: 2011 SAPOA Excellence Award - Other Category - Commendation
The Taj Palace Hotel in Cape Town was the first luxury hotel to be opened by the Taj Group in South Africa. The project consisted of a partial demolition, refurbishment and extensive preservation of two important historic buildings, the Old Reserve Bank building and the Temple Chambers building, plus contemporary infill and additions. The challenge was to celebrate the old and the new equally, by creating a synthesis between the historic fabric and the contemporary interventions on the site.
As much as possible of the two historic buildings was retained and carefully restored in order to house the grand public spaces of the hotel. Contemporary interventions and additions take the form of an infill building on St George’s Mall and a new tower that rises out of the centre of the city block, which will house the back of house spaces and 167
hotel rooms. A skeletal steel grid which covers part of the tower facade creates a dynamic contrast with the historical aesthetic of the existing buildings.
Taj Palace HotelCape Town, South Africa