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Retail
& Commercial Design |
AN ENDURING LEGACY |
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Alf
Abrahamsohn
'Happy chance,' says Alf Abrahamsohn, spurred him to become an architect. If so, it is a chance that he has embraced enthusiastically. Since 1969 when he joined Bentel Associates International, he has accumulated a stockpile of knowledge regarding commercial building and retail design. He was appointed in 1970 as a shareholder and over a period of time assumed the general management of the practice. In this capacity he has been involved in the steady growth of his firm and participated in construction forays that have dramatically changed the landscape of urban life in South Africa.
A very ordinary background defined his childhood years and that perhaps makes his achievements all the more remarkable. As the first generation of his family to attend University, he chose architecture out of determination rather than some latent passion for buildings or from following a family directive. His guiding principles are and have always been an unfailing dedication to his profession. However, beneath this somewhat sombre exterior, there is something else visible: a glimmer of excitement about what he is doing and a hint of the raw daring that led to some of the pioneering projects in which he and his firm have been involved. |
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Almost all architectural enterprises are risky- they do leave, after all, visible and enduring signatures upon the landscape. Retail shopping complexes are no exception. There are no rulebooks to guide developers and architects as to which project will work and which will not. The conviction that a project is right, says Abrahamsohn, comes with intuition and experience gained over years. Naturally, there is data available to assist in the assessment of the suitability of a particular location. Does a market exist? What will the market bear? These kinds of questions need answers. Factors such as road patterns, distances, populations, competitive shopping centres are taken into account when selecting sites.
Demographics then define the kind of shopping centre and determine the
caliber of shops and the tenant mix, not to mention the dimension of the complex. Most importantly, the overall design must promote the correct flow. How people move through the centre is key to making it a successful enterprise. This is achieved in a variety of ways, for example, the placement of particular types of shops in relation to the rest. Interrupting a cluster of fashion shops with the correct placement of a coffee shop provides a diversion that may transform the shopping experience into an outing rather than a chore. The use of correct lighting, décor, the disposition of shop fronts encourage people to move through the complex. Security and convenience are also important factors.
It is hard to imagine but shopping complexes that today proliferate our landscape have only come into being in the last thirty years. Bentel Associates International have been instrumental in the development of many of the major retail and entertainment complexes in this country; the Pavilion, Monte Casino, Canal Walk to name but a few. Each in its own way constituted a risk, a venture into the unknown because of the indeterminate nature of the potential shoppers. Trends, economics, even world politics factors in to the success or failure of a complex. There is no certainty that 'if you build it, they will come.'
However, perhaps one of the greatest ventures into the unknown was the firm's involvement in the very first Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket in 1975 in Boksburg. 'We had no idea what would happen,' said Abrahamsohn. 'It had never been done in South Africa before but it took off in a manner no one could have foreseen. We opened and from then on and for a number of years we never stopped expanding.' Today, the original Hypermarket has become absorbed into a shopping complex twice the original size known as the East Rand Mall. Other major retailers have hooked on to the phenomenal success of the Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket but it is the entrepreneurial courage of the original financiers, of the Pick n Pay management and of Bentel Associates International that have opened the way for this kind of enterprise in South Africa.
Making inroads into this unknown territory, Abrahamsohn confirmed, required a special discipline and a commitment to not only the client but also the end user. Those same rules still apply. The complexes have to be pleasing, easily accessible and contribute value to the general area. Projects must serve the client's objective but that does not mean sacrificing creativity. 'Rather,' says Abrahamsohn, 'we strive to find a way to marry creativity and practicality and to moderate the high-flying designs to the constraints of budget. To bring in a project on budget, on time, and to fulfil the client's objective is what we aim for.'
Fortunately, there is a full spectrum of expertise within the practice. This gives Bentel a considerable advantage over smaller firms due to their involvement in the full spectrum of building types not only shopping centres, therefore almost all of the client's demands can be satisfied in-house. 'Success or failure of a project,' says Abrahamsohn 'is oftentimes not only how well you do your job, but also how well you satisfy your client. A great deal of our work comprises repeat business for existing clients.' That is fair testimony of the attention paid to managing client relationships.
Alf Abrahamsohn can look back with some satisfaction over the past three decades of retail design and see the evidence of those relationships. It is a legacy - one built of happy chance and enduring stone.
Enquiries: Mr Alf Abrahamsohn
Bentel Associates International
Tel: +27 (0) 11 884 7111
http://www.bap.co.za
This
feature article is Copyright (c) 2003 Purple
Apricot |
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African
Masters Series