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Barracks & Battery Park architectural tour
May 4 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
R400
Two very different approaches to repurposing Cape Town’s heritage.
The Barracks on Cape Town’s Bree Street makes it clear what is old and what is new.
In Battery Park at the V&A Waterfront the old parts of the fort are carefully incorporated with the new; some of the heritage is easy to miss.
John Wilson-Harris will take us around The Barracks. He is principal architect and director at Gabriël Fagan Architects. John has been involved with this highly controversial development from the start. We begin by looking at the city block with the Lutheran church, one of the oldest church buildings in South Africa. It dates back to 1792 and became a National Monument in 1949.
Originally the land was granted to Martin Melck in 1764 for warehousing wine. Subsequently, it was used by the military, hence the name of this striking new development.
John will show us inside – the retail, offices, car park, apartments and roof top yoga studio.
Afterwards we’ll drive/Uber a short distance to Battery Park. Pierre Swanepoel, architect and partner at dhk, will be our guide. He led the Park’s design from the start. It cleverly incorporates the original shoreline, old battlements and cannons in their historically correct positions.
The skateboard park and basketball pitch are popular with many different communities in and around Cape Town. They are carefully positioned within the old outline of the fort.
Security and maintenance are by the V&A Waterfront.
This tucked away park is a public space success.
Saturday 4 May 2024 10am to noon
R300 early payment pre 21 April (then R400); email me to book and for banking details:
Parking and lunch suggestions and other finer details will be part of the briefing sent prior.
This public tour is a first and is available as a private tour.
