The Old Biscuit Mill gets more creative
The silo at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock is being turned into a state of the art design space, adding to Cape Town’s allure as the World Design Capital in 2014.
Indigo Properties, which owns the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, one ofthe most creative and commercially successful hubs in the country, is turning the 6-storey high old silo on the property into a state-of-the-art design space.
And in an exciting first for Cape Town, an academy devoted exclusively to design is moving in – a perfect fit with Cape Town’s designation as World Design Capital (WDC) in 2014. The Cape Town Creative Academy (CTCA) will occupy five floors and will open its doors to students in 2013, offering degrees in interaction design, audiovisual studies and communication design.
“We’re taking the creative domain out of the playground and placing it on a professional level,” says Francisca Gebert, chief executive officer of CTCA. “It’s all about ‘design thinking’, in which science and art come together and we think beyond prettiness, to functionality, sustainability and usefulness.”
The CTCA is also formally linked to TiP Publishing, a trend-setting custom publishing company and one of the first to see the potential of the Old Biscuit Mill as a creative hub. Housed at the Mill since 2006, they have joined forces with CTCA to offer their clients enriched capabilities for digital design and communication.
“Creativity is fast becoming the most dynamic business resource as distinguished from traditional resources like capital, manpower. It will be CTCA’s objective to make a meaningful difference to our environment through the skills we will impart,” says Theo Pauw, director and investor in both CTCA and TiP Publishing.
That vision fits in perfectly with Cape Town’s WDC title, given to cities dedicated to using design for social, cultural and economic development.
“The Old Biscuit Mill has already had a major up-liftment effect on Albert Road, Woodstock, with new businesses opening all the time”, says Barry Harlen, director of Indigo. Indigo has also recently purchased the Woodstock Industrial Building, now called the Woodstock Exchange. It is located at 66 Albert Road, and is currently being redeveloped into a hub for creative tenants.
In line with this, Indigo had always had its eye on the old grain storage silo standing on the property, and two years ago plans were approved to develop it. “We’re keen to keep as much of its heritage value as possible,” says Harlen.
Heritage is clearly important to the company, as it also restored Victorian buildings in Upper Long Street in the city, leading to the rejuvenation of the area. Indigo owns most of the buildings there.
But tackling a silo is a whole new thing and Harlen explains that they had to think very carefully about how to let light in at the same time as keeping the integrity of the structure.
The building is windowless now, of course, and from our courtyards we’ll have small windows so as to preserve the look as much as possible. The big windows allowing light in will be on the far side. And then we’ll have a frameless glass lift going up the silo on the courtyard side.
We had no idea what was inside the silo when we started – and we found more silos and tons of concrete. It’s a much bigger project than we thought and it’s been an incredible process of demolition. We’re doing something quite unique, using concrete cutters to cut panes of five to eight tons each and lifting them out with a crane.
“The next step is casting floors. There’ll be five new levels, with CocoáFair in the basement, floors one to five for the Creative Academy, and the top, the sixth floor, will have a glass floor and panoramic views. We’re looking at a good food operator up there,” says Harlen.
For Gebert, the prospect of the Creative Academy opening up soon is incredibly exciting. “Our mission, besides good design, is to seriously improve a student’s chance of getting a job. To help this along, we’re working with the Stellenbosch University Business School so we can have entrepreneurial and management courses as well.”
Creatively, they’re working with lecturers like architects, engineers, product designers, artists, photographers and more. “Today, the designer’s input on a new project is as important as an engineer’s or architect’s,” Gebert says.
One of the many pluses will be the possibility of subsidies for fees. “From their second year on, students will compete for internships with industry, getting a place based on merit and skill. If they are selected, industry will help with their fees.” Prospective students can find more details on the website.