Property giant wants to demolish acclaimed Werdmuller Centre

If financial services giant Old Mutual gets the green light, a hotly contested building in Claremont, the Werdmuller Centre, will be razed to the ground and a new development will rise up in its place.

A sculptural pedestrian ramp and staircases rising over a vehicular ramp below.

The building was designed by Roelof Uytenbogaart in the 1960s and was praised as a masterpiece of modernism inspired by the work of Le Corbusier, a Swiss architect who is seen as the father of modernism in architecture.

Heritage Western Cape has confirmed that an impact assessment, in compliance with the National Heritage Resources Act, is under way to address the proposed demolition of the centre which occupies a block between Main Road in Claremont and the facade of the train station.

But, because of the significance of the building's design, some in the architecture and heritage industries have raised concerns.

Ashley Lillie, an independent heritage specialist who was chosen by Old Mutual and endorsed by Heritage Western Cape to facilitate the process of public participation, says a draft report based on public input will be written within two weeks., kickstarting the process for authorities who will decide on the building's fate.

"It is vitally important that people who have a real interest in the Werdmuller Centre - and what significance it may have - come and register and participate in the process," Lillie said.

"And when the draft goes out, there will be a public meeting and the report will be amended accordingly before being submitted to the authorities. Anyone who has not registered their views by then will be left behind in the process and it will be too late to cry foul. We would like the decision to be made on as informed a basis as possible."

He said interest has primarily been expressed by those from architectural backgrounds, but members of the general public with an interest should come forward because it is not just for academics and professionals to decide on the fate of a public space.

"What is driving the application is Old Mutual's interest in demolishing the building, but we need to hear all the opinions - however strong - from both sides," he said.

Architect and UCT lecturer Ilze Wolff said the Werdmuller Centre has been a "contentious building more or less since its completion in the late 1970s".

She said the owners "struggled to attract their desired upmarket tenants, which was exacerbated by the fact that they also developed Cavendish Square at the same time - an antithesis to the Werdmuller Centre".

Five years ago there were plans to tear down the building and redevelop it, but these were abandoned. Lillie said the process has started anew and anyone who registered themselves as an interested party and gave their input in 2007 should re-register and repeat the process.

Today, says Wolff: "The Werdmuller Centre presents to us a conflict - a conflict between the hardlined financial asset managers who want to demolish the building in order to recuperate lost profits, and the idealistic urbanist who wants to retain the building because it represents a notion of an inclusive sustainable city."

Old Mutual declined to comment on its plans.

Cape Times

Posted at 12:02PM Feb 06, 2012 by Editor in Commercial  |  Comments[8]