35 Lower Long is an elegant and dynamic tower designed for Abland Property Developers and Ellerine Brothers in Cape Town’s Foreshore precinct. It features14 floors of office space, flexible co-working spaces, a luxurious top-floor business suite, ground-floor retail space and 280 parking bays.
‍

The site contained an existing, unremarkable 1980s building. The initial brief was to remodel and extend that building. However, this proposition was deemed impractical due to the limitations of adding floors, the need to replace an outdated façade and challenges with long-term viability. The scheme was subsequently revised to create a significantly taller, more inspirational structure that would enhance Cape Town’s skyline and offer developers greater medium- to long-term viability. That said, the challenge remained to maximise the quality of multi-tenant commercial space while accommodating core components such as lifts, stairs and structured basement parking, all within a relatively small floor plate.
‍

The result is a building characterised by a singular sculpted massing with dynamic glazed façades that extend seamlessly over the office’s floors and parking levels. The façade terminates above ground level to emphasise and activate the street edge, particularly along entire length of the street frontage along Lower Long and Jetty Streets. This is enlivened by retail units at ground level, multiple entry points to the office building and a prominent double-volume main entrance.
‍

The two main corners of the building are chamfered towards the roof line, breaking the solidity of the building. The glazing on these corners soars upwards past the roofline, further articulating the façade and extending past the building’s chamfered corners, giving the effect of a crystalline screen rather than solid building mass. The sculptural form of the building provides dynamic views from across the city, both at street level and from nearby buildings.
‍

Visit The Rubik for more details of another project we completed in 2024 for Abland Property Developers.

_

Adam Letch - Photographer