GLH Architects New Embassy Towers

As director at a residential property development company based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Laurence Grigorov follows current residential projects in South Africa. This allows Laurence Grigorov to read market trends in terms of design as well as functionality and to use these concepts in future developments he is involved in.

Embassy Towers

Situated in the prestigious suburb of Sandhurst and enjoying unencumbered views is the magnificent apartment building, Embassy Towers. Tucked behind the United States Consulate in Sandton, the building enjoys breathtaking views across to the Magaliesburg mountains as well as in the south, east and western directions due to the residential scale of the surrounding neighbours.
Embassy Towers sits on the crest of the Sandhurst Ridge, thus occupying a proud position on the southern edge of the Sandton CBD. The building itself is positioned as close to the street frontage on Empire Place so as to provide large, lush private gardens with many of the mature trees retained from the original residential property. This large gardenscape and the small residential scale of the surrounding properties ensure that views are unimpeded, thus creating the sense that one is occupying a large parkland property, but with the convenience of being within the Sandton CBD.
The sparkling lights of Sandton are juxtaposed with the ample privacy and greenery of the garden, reminiscent of the great apartment buildings of Central Park, New York or Hyde Park, London. The natural fall of the site allowed for the entrance floor of the building to be situated at street level while the elevation of the site allows for the ground floor public area to look out over the neighbouring properties. This allows for the view of Sandton to unfold as one enters through the large glass doors of the reception while also retaining a human scale on the street frontage.
The 12-storey apartment building is a seamless blend between contemporary and timeless charm creating an architectural gem with amazing exposure over the skyline of Sandton. The timelessness of Embassy Towers is amplified by the sleek and simple proportions of the building ensuring that the architecture will age gracefully, while the large window expanses allow ample light into the building making a luxurious statement for those that occupy it. The apartments all have large glazed windows to the north and south, ensuring that the units enjoy the range of different light offered at different times of the day and the different seasons of the year.
Oriented perfectly to maximise the northern aspect, the 90 unit apartment building enjoys full benefit of the sun as well as views over Sandton in the foreground and the rest of the city in 360º.
While the building is comprised of 63 two bed units, 18 three bed units, four simplex units and five penthouses, all apartments are sizeable, and the open plan allows the occupant enjoyment of ample living spaces and large bedrooms. The apartments have been specifically designed to ensure natural light penetrates deeply into the apartment from north and south. The interconnected lounge, living room and kitchen are bathed in light due to the large flush glazing elements that bound the apartment on the north and south façades. Even the bathrooms in the main bedrooms are fully glazed so as to allow the natural light to permeate into the apartment.
All of these elements have ensured that Embassy Towers has become the benchmark for luxury living in the city.

Photo and words courtesy of Architect and Builder magazine.