Villa Arcadia

Villa Arcadia: A building of unique beauty and artistry since 1910 Hollard preserves heritage and art for the future.

Not only does Hollard's Villa Arcadia remain one of Johannesburg's enduring architectural jewels, it is also of special significance by virtue of its commemoration of Johannesburg's pioneering history.

The century-old Villa Arcadia mansion, home to Randlord Sir Lionel Phillips and his wife Lady Florence Phillips, was designed and built by master-architect Sir Herbert Baker in 1910. When the Phillips family eventually sold the Villa to the South African Jewish Orphanage in 1922, it became home to 400 children but these numbers dwindled steadily over the years until the orphanage was no longer sustainable.

Hollard bought the Villa and surrounding 16-acre estate from the orphanage in 2003 and, in keeping with an entrenched business principle of balance and partnership, opted to develop the Hollard Campus as a carefully considered office environment that would foregrounding both heritage and modern use. Villa Arcadia was extensively restored to its former glory and now takes pride of position within the Hollard Campus.

Baker's design concept for Villa Arcadia deftly incorporated both European and Cape Dutch architectural styles, while retaining his signature H-shape. The Villa's enduring beauty and uniqueness can be attributed to Baker's meticulous attention to detail: he trained local craftsmen, used local materials and encouraged the local production of materials usually not available in South Africa. In fact, the clay roof tiles that give Villa Arcadia its distinctive Spanish elegance were specially designed and commissioned from Vereeniging Brick & Clay. The Villa still boasts its original Italian palazzo-style marble flooring, with Delft tiles adorning Lady Phillips' original bathroom. Elsewhere, the restored craftsmanship of masters George Ness and Anton van Wouw share the interior space with works from Hollard's contemporary South African art collection.

One could argue that the incorporation of indigenous materials into the Villa's construction set it apart as a building ecologically ahead of its time - and this point extends to the Villa's garden. Originally developed under Florence's direction, it combined a formal Italian garden and English rose and herb garden with a 26-acre site planted with trees and indigenous aloes, chosen specifically for their ability to attract the local birdlife. Although now much reduced in size, the Villa's garden still retains a sense of the grace and tranquility of its origins.

Hollard's restoration of Villa Arcadia presents it, once again, as a dynamic gathering place of exceptional beauty for Hollard and its network of partners.