Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa March/April 2014 | Page 44

The mall floors are white
polished surface beds and
the materials used are
all maintenance-friendly
with an industrial feel

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read the signs, so to speak. By breaking up the
façade and by celebrating the entrances into
legible components on strategic positions of
the building that binds it all together, makes
Kenako Mall a more meaningful, friendly and
recognisable place to shop.
With the main entrance visible from Uitenhage
Road and the secondary entrance visible from
Spondo Road, the structures constructed out of
concrete framework technology and infill face
brick panels, in turn had a sensible and practical
function through clearly defining which tenants
were positioned at each entrance, by lending the
signage opportunities for them and also housing
the plant slabs for the line shops and food tenants

requirements so they were not visible from the
parking on main roads. The two welcoming
entrance roofs had to be carefully engineered
to stand up to the gale force speeds that are
experienced in the so-called windy city and yet
maintain a sense of elegance when viewed or
experienced as one enters the centre.
The mall is also naturally ventilated and the
roof overhangs were addressed by increasing
them in length so to maximise the smoke
extraction requirements prescribed by building
regulations but to avoid any water ingress