Nabilah Safira
TechInAfrica – As some reports have indicated, Leonardo, a building that’s deemed to be the country’s tallest one will be officially announced in October this year. The walking distance from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is the 234 m skyscraper with the construction works began in November 2015. The recent developments in Johannesburg have marked a flourishing business growth prospect in the area as it becomes a suburb hosting and high rise contemporary structures.
Leonardo the building was developed by a partnership between South Africa’s Legacy Group and Nedbank Group and Leonardo is situated in the middle of Sandton’s business. It will house a number of 254 apartments, a 3-floor penthouse and 5 floors of office space with in-built restaurants and shops. From inside the building, the clear view of the windows allows residents to enjoy the sceneries of airplanes taking off from OR Tambo International Airport, which is 30 Km away from Leonardo.
The majority of the construction team have predominantly consisted of women, which is a rare feat in the industry, especially the architecture field that is mostly dominated by male. Only 21% of South Africa’s registered architectural professionals are women. Designing the building was Director Catharin Atkins, Johannesburg’s Co-Arc International Architects, and also with Malika Walele.
“I love being on-site, and the growth trajectory is huge. So much more than being in an office. I’d encourage any woman to do this. Unfortunately, many women architects don’t believe they can, because it is so male-dominated. I’ve never understood why architecture needs to be a male-dominated industry. Women are more than capable of doing this. It’s frustrating that more women in the industry aren’t doing it, Walele said.
“These things tend to be islands is quite a big market so they tend to be successful. At the top end, we are dependent on purchases from north of our border buyers from elsewhere in Africa who have children in university” for instance, said Peet Strauss, Johannesburg developments sales manager at Pam Golding Properties.
Source: Weetracker.com
