Greater Ellis Park Development – Johannesburg (with Albonico Sack Mzumara Architects and Urban Designers)
Project type: Urban Renewal
Client: Johannesburg Development Agency
Landscape value: R 61 000 000
Project description: Prompted by the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) earmarked the Ellis Park Precinct as an area in urgent need of rejuvenation and upliftment.
This inner-city development was to function as a Sports Hub connecting the upgraded Ellis Park Stadiums with the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system to the north and taxi rank to the south while featuring sculptural art work and including the rehabilitation of the adjacent railway embankment.
Focussing on durability and functionality, the design utilised the two soccer stadiums as catalysts for the development of a new inner-city network that was to create and connect the various nodes with the newly built Stadium Square – a ‘signature space’ between the two stadiums. Here, a water feature was designed with three phases of water (ranging from mist to a large moving body of water) to symbolise and celebrate the origin of the Jukskei River that connects and eventually forms the border of the city of Johannesburg.
From the onset of the project, it was clear that planting material would prove to be a particular challenge in this highly urbanised and harsh setting. In this regard, special attention was given to the choice of indigenous planting palette and as a result, the chosen street trees, feature material and evergreen planting successfully managed to ensure unity of the various precinct profiles, while adding value to the overall character of the precinct.