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DESIGN OF THE WEEK
Newtown just gets cooler every day. While the rest of Gauteng is being subjected to the horror of developers insensitive to history and the environment, the continuous upgrades in Newtown just keep on making the grade.
Anyone passing through recently would have noticed The Market theatre precinct’s fresh additions – almost an entire city block of them – that are just about complete. Called The Market Square, the sprawling 10 500m² series of buildings, designed by architecture firm KMH and paid for by the department of arts and culture, puts all The Market spaces, including The Market Photo Workshop, into one new precinct.
Image credit: Mpho Mokgadi / City Press
The Market Square houses a new laboratory that features a multipurpose auditorium, theatre and rehearsal space – as well as The Market Theatre Foundation, and a new space for the staff of the theatre. But the really big move is the relocation of The Market Photo Workshop and the launch of its spectacular new gallery with a solo exhibition by Phumzile Khanyile, called Plastic Crowns.
The architects say that the concept is based on the “theatrics of movement, experience of journey, and allowing the existing infrastructure and history of the site to provide a strong narrative for the architecture” – a winning idea, which secured them a trophy at the Saint-Gobain Architecture for Social Gain Awards in 2015.
Image credit: Mpho Mokgadi / City Press
The best part of the upgrade, though, has got to be that Niki’s Oasis – the little eatery-cum-jazz house adjoining the development – has been retained, in all it’s simple, at times grimy, glory. It’s the sort of heritage the area can’t afford to lose, and the effort to keep it is what keeps Newtown at the centre of Joburg’s inner-city cool.
90-minute tours of The Market theatre will take place every Wednesday starting at 11am. A maximum of 20 people will be accommodated in each tour, so book online at webtickets.co.za
