MATIAS DUARTE
MAT IAS DUARTE
ISSUE 140 AUGUST 2017
THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
NEIGHBORHOOD
The creative spirit of Maboneng is spurring Johannesburg’s rise. BY MARY HOLLAND
The Yswara tearoom in The Cosmopolitan.
Johannesburg has long sat in the shadow of its sister city, Cape Town, whose breathtaking topography of mountains and beach, not to mention worldly restaurants and hotels, has earned it much deserved adulation. But Joburg is starting to show signs that it deserves a fresh look from South Africa–bound travelers. Ground zero for the city’s ongoing transformation is the regenerated downtown Maboneng Precinct, an inner-city
swath that became a wasteland of shuttered factories and boarded-up buildings in the aftermath of apartheid. The arrival of the collective Arts on Main, in 2009, spearheaded an urban renewal movement, led by artists and entrepreneurs, that has turned unsightly facades into canvases for colorful street art, and derelict heritage buildings into community hubs for culture and design. Here, a lay of the land.
SURFACE
48
PHOTOS: (THIS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) COURTESY YSWARA. COURTESY HALLMARK HOUSE. COURTESY MUSEUM OF AFRICAN DESIGN. COURTESY THE COSMOPOLITAN. COURTESY OF ARTS ON MAIN.
Second City
NEIGHBORHOOD
HALLMARK HOUSE
MUSEUM OF AFRICAN DESIGN
ARTS ON MAIN
THE COSMOPOLITAN
Hallmark House
The Cosmopolitan
A former diamond-polishing center is now home to this highly anticipated
Situated inside a defunct Victorian structure is this upmarket retail develop-
boutique hotel, by architect David Adjaye and interior designer Aimee Hen-
ment that completely changed the makeup of the neighborhood when it
ning. The rooftop restaurant is the place to go for Karoo lamb and rooibos
opened, in 2015. A sculpture garden and foliage-filled courtyard mark the
malva pudding before retiring to one of the industrial-mod rooms outfitted
entrance to a collection of local purveyors such as the small-batch coffee
with colorful African headboards and secluded balconies.
brewer Firebird; Department Store, a concept shop with rotating curators; and the new location of Hazard Gallery, which showcases contemporary
Museum of African Design
art in a lofty space. The standout, though, is Yswara, an all-pink, Moroccan-
Across the road from the Cosmopolitan, a restored art deco building by
style tearoom that stocks an extensive selection of gourmet African blends.
British architect brothers Arthur and Walter Reid puts on avant-garde exhibi-
Designed by Mia Widlake of South African firm Studio 19, patrons order pots
tions. On show now: “Unfinished City,” a look at Johannesburg’s history as a
of oolong and honeybush from velvet couches on which geometric shadows
gold-mining town and its ongoing revival.
are cast by patterned window screens.
Arts on Main If it’s Sunday, head to this lively market selling pan-African cuisines and apparel from upstart fashion designers. The complex is also home to beloved printing workshop David Krut Projects and the studio of pioneering South African artist William Kentridge.
49
ISSUE 140 AUGUST 2017
THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
NEIGHBORHOOD
The creative spirit of Maboneng is spurring Johannesburg’s rise. BY MARY HOLLAND
The Yswara tearoom in The Cosmopolitan.
Johannesburg has long sat in the shadow of its sister city, Cape Town, whose breathtaking topography of mountains and beach, not to mention worldly restaurants and hotels, has earned it much deserved adulation. But Joburg is starting to show signs that it deserves a fresh look from South Africa–bound travelers. Ground zero for the city’s ongoing transformation is the regenerated downtown Maboneng Precinct, an inner-city
swath that became a wasteland of shuttered factories and boarded-up buildings in the aftermath of apartheid. The arrival of the collective Arts on Main, in 2009, spearheaded an urban renewal movement, led by artists and entrepreneurs, that has turned unsightly facades into canvases for colorful street art, and derelict heritage buildings into community hubs for culture and design. Here, a lay of the land.
SURFACE
48
PHOTOS: (THIS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) COURTESY YSWARA. COURTESY HALLMARK HOUSE. COURTESY MUSEUM OF AFRICAN DESIGN. COURTESY THE COSMOPOLITAN. COURTESY OF ARTS ON MAIN.
Second City
NEIGHBORHOOD
HALLMARK HOUSE
MUSEUM OF AFRICAN DESIGN
ARTS ON MAIN
THE COSMOPOLITAN
Hallmark House
The Cosmopolitan
A former diamond-polishing center is now home to this highly anticipated
Situated inside a defunct Victorian structure is this upmarket retail develop-
boutique hotel, by architect David Adjaye and interior designer Aimee Hen-
ment that completely changed the makeup of the neighborhood when it
ning. The rooftop restaurant is the place to go for Karoo lamb and rooibos
opened, in 2015. A sculpture garden and foliage-filled courtyard mark the
malva pudding before retiring to one of the industrial-mod rooms outfitted
entrance to a collection of local purveyors such as the small-batch coffee
with colorful African headboards and secluded balconies.
brewer Firebird; Department Store, a concept shop with rotating curators; and the new location of Hazard Gallery, which showcases contemporary
Museum of African Design
art in a lofty space. The standout, though, is Yswara, an all-pink, Moroccan-
Across the road from the Cosmopolitan, a restored art deco building by
style tearoom that stocks an extensive selection of gourmet African blends.
British architect brothers Arthur and Walter Reid puts on avant-garde exhibi-
Designed by Mia Widlake of South African firm Studio 19, patrons order pots
tions. On show now: “Unfinished City,” a look at Johannesburg’s history as a
of oolong and honeybush from velvet couches on which geometric shadows
gold-mining town and its ongoing revival.
are cast by patterned window screens.
Arts on Main If it’s Sunday, head to this lively market selling pan-African cuisines and apparel from upstart fashion designers. The complex is also home to beloved printing workshop David Krut Projects and the studio of pioneering South African artist William Kentridge.
49
