Work of Art

Between Cape Town’s bustling V&A Waterfront and traditional harbor business the London architect and designer Thomas Heatherwick has made a bold architectural statement. His conversion of an old silo might be considered South Africa’s response to the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie – just much less expensive and completed on time.   

Not far from the V&A Waterfront London-based architect Thomas Heatherwick transformed and reactivated a rustic cement block, a former grain silo, into a spectacular cultural center and a one-of-a-kind luxury hotel. Atop the 42 cement cylinders supporting the former storage container, he set up a series of curved windows plus four additional glass-fronted storeys and a rooftop terrace. The art is revealed behind the thick cement walls. Hotel guests enjoy the view of Cape Town’s natural attractions through floor-to-ceiling windows. The windows themselves are an attraction. Their bowed, three-dimensional shape faceted by a framework structure, says the architect, resembles „a mirrored disco ball under a ceiling“. The glass panes reflect the observer, the surroundings, Table Mountain, the clouds. „Or maybe a glass pillow,“ he says. „As if the building were breathing.“