Robert Silke & Partners

Tuynhuys Apartment Building

Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© David Southwood

TUYNHUYS APARTMENT BUILDING

Robert Silke & Partners

AREA
4444 m²

YEAR
2020

MANUFACTURERS
AutoDesk, Geberit, Blanco, GEZE, Legrand, Meir, Nobilia, Villeroy & Boch, Aiphone, KONE, LG, OGGIE, Rauch, Smeg, TOSHIBA, Trimble

CLIENTS
Willbridge Property Company

PROJECT MANAGER
BTKM

QUANTITY SURVEYOR
BTKM

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
GJ&A

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Nadeson

MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Design It Green

DESIGN TEAM
Geoffrey Posnack, Alexander Geh, Robert McGiven, Wayne Muller, Robert Silke

FIRE CONSULTANT
Neil Moir

LOCATION
Cape Town, South Africa

CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
JLK Construction

HERITAGE PRACTITIONER
Johan Cornelius

CATEGORY
Apartments

Tuynhuys is a futuristic new block of 47 new apartments in the heart of Cape Town's old city legal district - directly opposite the Cape High Court.

Set in a stoic row of Victorian and Cape Dutch commercial buildings, this playful and exuberant (but never irreverent) new residential building proves that innovative modern high-rises are indeed possible (and even desirable) in the most sensitive of historic locations.

Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© David Southwood
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© David Southwood

The architectural ambition was to craft something futuristic and fanciful, but still responsive and respectful to the contextual environment.

Whilst the anthropomorphic new tower respects its neighbors, it is no shrinking violet and its joyful muscular curves aim to be at least as beautiful as the properties that surround it.

Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers

These stated ambitions could only be achieved through a magic relationship between a progressive, intelligent and sensitive developer and its architect - a merger of commercial imperative and creative aspiration.

The design is witty, optimistic, sculptural, and containing the DNA of all its neighbors - but stopping short of aping the historic environment.

Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers

The 47 compact apartments range from 24m² studios to 80m² 2-bedroomed penthouses spanning eleven storeys on a site no more than 460m² in extent and enjoying only thirteen linear meters of street frontage.

Whilst not exactly a “view site”, the fenestration is surgically micro-managed to extract mountain and cityscape views from angles that would not be immediately obvious.

Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers

Apartments without views are handsomely compensated with curved glass or lozenge-shaped windows, which frame even the most mundane aspect as if it were a precious piece of abstract minimalism.

Since completion, Tuynhuys has captured the public imagination, having been documented by the city's top photographers, lauded in the design media, and even drawn and painted by artists and illustrators from around the country.

Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© David Southwood

The building has been solidly occupied and well-held since completion (and is recovering remarkably post-lockdown) as tenants favor cleaner, brighter, modern accommodation.

For new developments to be successful in a more competitive, post-Covid environment, the architecture needs to be more generous and distinguish itself with quality differentiating features. If architecture could inspire loyalty, Tuynhuys has favorably endured its first major test.


Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© David Southwood
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
© Linley Meavers


Tuynhuys Apartment Building
Elevation
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
Section


Tuynhuys Apartment Building
Ground Floor Plan
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
Typical Floor Plan
Tuynhuys Apartment Building
Eighth Floor Plan

Robert Silke & Partners
T +27 21 2005966
Robert Silke & Partners
28 Wale St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa