Village Square

Village Square was a mixed retail and office development on the corner of Oxford and Queen Streets in Durbanville. Retail shops and restaurants were constructed on the ground floor, with two basement parking levels and offices on the first and second floors. The design included open-air dining areas and water fountains help to create a village square atmosphere. The retail space has Woolworths Foods as an anchor tenant, and 36 additional retail shops and restaurants.

The project included the restoration, preservation and development of two heritage features: a Cape Dutch Revival Style house, the Pink House, that was built in the 1930s, and the Queen Street Furrow that dates back to the 1880s. The Pink House’s internal layout was adapted to fulfil a commercial function within the retail complex, while the Queen Street Furrow was restored and incorporated in the house’s landscaped garden. Restoration work on the Pink House was completed in June 2019.

The Village Square development has a number of green features, including a solar system comprising 2,040 solar panels. The shopping centre’s water is derived from a borehole on the site. The water is collected in storage tanks, circulated through a BIRM filter before passing through a UV sterilisation lamp to destroy any remaining microbial activity.

“Village Square was a mixed-use project with a very tight programme. Isipani put in a great effort to finish the project on the due date.”

Yan Bathfield

PQS, MLC Quantity Surveyors

“Isipani were especially effective in dealing with the changing nature of the retail project during the construction process. This is a very important characteristic that a contractor should exhibit, as critical deadlines and late changes have unfortunately become the norm, especially on retail projects. ”

Jan Loubser

Concept Architect, JL Design

Project Details:

Value: R194.2m

Date: 2019

Client: Estantia Holdings 1990

Architect: Bentel Associates International in association with Chameleon Architects

Awards: MBSA National Safety Competition (2018), 4th place in Category F (Projects R75m – R150m); MBA Boland Regional Safety Competition (2018), Floating Trophy, 1st in the category for projects above R40m.

“Isipani ensured that the Durbanville Village shopping centre opened on time. It was a pleasure to deal with this professional outfit. Words like proper planning, good workmanship, proactiveness, trust and teamwork come to mind. Problems will always arise in construction projects and especially with a fast-track approach, but Isipani will always put things right. As a result, we completed the project with happy clients and shopping customers.”

André Wiid

Project Manager , MDSA