Hood Napier Architects

With “infill” buildings trending in cities around the world, Hood Napier Architects has created a smart apartment between a wall and a warehouse in downtown Joburg.

The Wedge is a 40m artist’s apartment in downtown

2 Joburg with an environmental impact that has been minimised by using sustainable building materials and alternate energy sources.

“The starting point of any green design is the siting,” says architect Lara Hood. “The studio is located between two existing structures, effectively recycling their existing walls. They [also] act as massive insulators against which the space snuggles.”

The remaining side of the triangular plan is a steel and glass double-glazed curtain wall, created by welding together industrial steel windows and doors salvaged from the existing warehouse.

“One of the challenges of the site was its northwest orientation,” says Hood. “Our solution was to install a ‘green screen’ of plants with collected rain water circulating through it.” Vegetables and herbs planted in the screen mean it also functions as a small food garden. Photovoltaic panels on the roof then generate enough power to satisfy the apartment’s minimal electrical needs. hoodnapierarchitects.com