2006 -2007

Appointed by the City as architects for this stand-alone addition to the Joburg Metro Centre. The Metro Link Reception Centre provides a public interface and legible front door to the Metro Centre, optimises existing infrastructure and improves the connection between the Centre and surrounding facilities in Braamfontein. The mound on the west of the site was used to place the building, which was configured to integrate with the landscape and act as a bridge to the existing metro complex. The design intention was to detach the new building so as not to have to modify the existing building, while removing all barriers to entry by integrating it with the surrounding public environment.

The site is on a very well-used pedestrian route and the public engage with the new facility by literally walking over it. The existing knoll of birch trees was preserved and new landscaping was configured to complement and enhance the architecture. It was important for the building to have a strong and distinctive identity, to enable it to hold its own against the massive scale of the existing complex. Given its purpose as the main customer relations facility, it needed to provide an open and welcoming look and feel. The building is therefore very transparent, forming a window through which the activities on the inside can be viewed from outside and those on the inside remain aware of the urban environment in which they are situated.

The interior is conceived as a generous public concourse which is fitted out with state-of-the-art data and electronic information systems. Ease of access and a pleasant and friendly atmosphere were important goals to achieve.
Materials were selected with a view to durability and longevity, with a preference for natural material in the slate flooring and wall cladding and the timber joinery. Double glazing has been installed on the shopfront type windows to reduce both the winter and summer temperature extremes and minimise the need for heating and air-conditioning. The art works selected and commissioned, adorn the building with commentary, contemporary views and reflections about the city of Johannesburg.

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