Daffonchio Architects

DELIVERING DESIGN WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH

DAFFONCHIO ARCHITECTS

The

Qualitative

ARCHITECT With a hands-on approach to all projects, Daffonchio Architects is looking to expand its reach abroad as it continues to deliver landmark designs in Johannesburg and Cape Town Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Eddie Clinton

Enrico Daffonchio

CONSTRUCTION Since I was a child, I have always been fascinated by construction and beautiful design,” muses Italian architect Enrico Daffonchio.

“I was exposed to an architectural studio environment when I was 10 years old or so, when a friend’s dad who was an architect used to give us small tasks such as colouring up plans.

“My decision to set up my own firm was therefore not a business decision, but rather a case of finding a path that I enjoyed very much. Being an entrepreneur rather than following a corporate career I think is just what suits me best.”

In 1996 Daffonchio Architects was born.

Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, today its work covers not only its home city but also Cape Town, Dubai and Milan, the latter three combining to represent around 40 percent of its activities.

“Our home market is still tremendously exciting,” Daffonchio continues. “The Sub-Saharan Africa region is always more active than, say Europe, because so much infrastructure is still lacking.

“I love the variety of opportunities that this region offers. The tourism sector provides opportunities to design more hedonistic projects, while the need for mass housing poses interesting challenges in sustainability and urban design. We are based in the Johannesburg-Pretoria area which is one of the world’s megacities, and this is very exciting, as urban regeneration opportunities are enormous and well incentivised.”

The company’s move into a newly regenerated green building is reflective of its approach to design and the promotion of a more sustainable built environment.

For example, its recent project at 78 Corlett Drive in the Melrose North area of Johannesburg is ground-breaking in many ways, not least because it has achieved a Green Building Council

The David Krut Workshop at Arts on Main in the Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg

A grove of olive trees shade the pathway to the Arts on Main entrance past The Canteen

The Bank, in the Rosebank CBD, set to launch September 2020 6 Star Rating and Net Zero Carbon accreditation.

It is the first office development in Africa to be awarded such a status, fitted with electric car charging stations, full cyclist facilities, passive solar shading design and a full photovoltaic array.

“We worked on this for Legaro Properties, and it is an important milestone for us because as well as the green credentials, it is making an above average return for the developer,” adds Daffonchio.

Nuvola Shelf by Enrico Daffonchio, exhibited at the Southern Guild. Cumulonimbus in shape, this shelf houses a collection of carefully curated “found” objects.

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DAFFONCHIO ARCHITECTS “It is a beautiful building too, and people seem very happy working in its environment, so it is all-round a project we are very proud of.”

The Founder is quick to point out that the company puts equal effort and emphasis on quality and sustainability into all of its projects, its pipeline of completed works demonstrated such a commitment.

An ongoing development, also in Johannesburg, is The Bank in Rosebank.

“This is a great story because it rolls together urban regeneration, 7 Calais Road, Seapoint, Cape Town

sustainability, mixed-use, a privatepublic space interface, landscaping and more,” Daffonchio continues. “It is a very articulate project that I feel will uplift an area that needs more considered developments, at a time where generic towers are being piled next to one another.”

The Bank is far from a generic tower. Spanning 12 storeys and around 14,300 square metres, the project involves expanding on the structure of the current bank building while retaining its character.

The ground floor houses retail space and a restaurant, as well as a reception area for the hotel which occupies the other 11 storeys along with offices.

Again, sustainability is front and centre of the design. The building predominantly uses renewable energy from rooftop solar panels and a heat recovery system which utilises waste heat from the HVAC system to heat

water for the hotel.

This, as with all Daffonchio Architects’ projects, is the result of a highly personalised way of doing business inspired by the Founder.

“We are a boutique firm with only 20 architects in total, all highly talented and skilled, all capable of handling all the aspects of a project,” Daffonchio explains. “I chose a qualitative growth path rather than a quantitative one – I would not enjoy running a practice with hundreds of architects. This allows me to have a personal work relationship with each of our clients.”

It also enables the company to execute a wide range of projects, from luxury homes and urban regeneration schemes to off-grid office campuses and large residential and mixed-use schemes, its architects provisioned with a real-world approach to training and development.

“We look for talented and intelligent

PROJECT PRIDE Outside of Johannesburg, Daffonchio Architects has worked on a number of landmark projects in the likes of Cape Town and in Kruger National Park.

7 CALAIS ROAD, SEAPOINT, CAPE TOWN: A picturesque residential development on the Atlantic Seaboard comprising four luxury apartments designed for an ultramodern urban lifestyle.

UNTAMED PAVILION, KIRSTENBOSCH, CAPE TOWN: Designed in partnership with sculptor Dylan Lewis at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, this is a structure created for the pure purpose of communicating an idea or message, visually blending into the building’s surroundings.

THE OUTPOST LODGE, KRUGER NATIONAL PARK: Nestled in the most remote park of the stunning Kruger National Park, The Outpost Lodge was as created a result of a ground-breaking agreement between the Makuleke people and the South African National Parks Board. Made up of 12 freestanding units, it was named Wallpaper Magazine’s Best Safari Lodge in 2003.

Daffonchio, as well as praising his team of 20 highly skilled architects, also outlines the vital role played by external partners and suppliers in helping to bring projects such as the above to fruition.

He says: “The building contractors, clients, artisans and technical consultants are an integral part of our success, we always make an effort to work with them as one team.”

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young people and then train them internally in technical, legal and design skills,” Daffonchio adds.

“I encourage getting a ‘sense of the world’ rather than becoming ‘experts in architecture’, and by this I mean that a good architect must understand the global socioeconomic and cultural realities, and not just be great at our profession. I believe that the more an architect is interested in the reality outside the profession, the better.”

It is an outlook which has stood the company in good stead for more than two decades, the next chapter of its story very much centred around broadening its horizons in other parts of the world.

The UAE is a particularly exciting proposition for Daffonchio.

“Yes, I am very interested in the UAE because I feel that, while the financial muscle of the area is phenomenal, so much could be improved in urban design and architectural thinking,” he says.

info@blutide.co.za | www.blutide.co.za

The Outpost Lodge situated within a conservancy in the Kruger National Park was a collaborative effort between the firm, the developer and the Makuleke Tribal community. The project won the Wallpaper* Magazine Best Safari Lodge Award in 2003 “I feel that we could challenge the way things are done and be very competitive there. We have started our first project and we are definitely looking for more opportunities there.”

And Daffonchio is confident his architects can live up to a global billing, his concluding remarks restating his confidence in the team he has built up since building the business in 1996.

“In truth, I constantly benchmark our firm with the leaders in the region and in the world, trying to match and

exceed them in every aspect,” he says.

“So, while I don’t know if we are better or different, we certainly have a constant tension towards excellence.”

DAFFONCHIO ARCHITECTS Tel: +27 11 447 8118 info@daffonchio.co.za www.daffonchio.co.za

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