hospitalitystyle.com

(Spring 2011) posted on Thu May 05, 2011 EDT

Local Accent: South Africa’s natural resources and home-grown artists lend a sustainable edge to an expansive gastronomic destination at Johannesburg’s Sandton Sun hotel.

By Mary Scoviak

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When Southern Sun Hotel Group’s corporate leadership sat down with the executive team at Johannesburg’s Sandton Sun to explore opportunities to re-energize this five-star hotel’s foodservice, they knew they wanted more than renovation as usual. Re-invention became the order of the day. “Our mission was to establish the Sandton Sun as the meeting place in this area,” says Peter Davidson, general manager. They challenged executive chef Garth Shnier and an international team of architects, designers and consultants to push the property’s 15,000-square-foot food and beverage (F&B) offer outside of the traditional hotel box. Fifteen months and $13 million later, these culinary and design experts responded with a fresh approach that replaces the usual menu of stand-alone drinking and dining venues with a marketplace of destinations housed in a uniquely South African-referenced design.

Shnier planted the seeds of change with a farm-to-table approach that could inform the entire range of outlets—from a fine-dining steakhouse to a contemporary three-meal restaurant, a market eatery, the first cheese room in South Africa, a business lounge, terrace dining and a bar. Whatever the price point, Shnier wanted the menus in each establishment to celebrate the best food and wine produced within a 70-mile radius of the hotel. Southern Sun brought in CCS Architecture (New York and San Francisco), restaurant consultant Block & Associates (New York) and a team of local design forces, including architect of record MDS Architecture (Benmore, South Africa), project interior designer Blacksmith Interior Inspirations (Sandton, South Africa), lighting designer Paul Pamboukian Lighting Design (Johannesburg) and art installation expert Shoote (Johannesburg) to create a showcase that would be as intensely South African as Shnier’s cuisine.

Finding inspiration was straightforward, says Cass Calder Smith, founder and principal of architect/interior design firm CCS Architecture. The vision became clear when he and Adam Block, head of Block & Associates, visited the World Heritage Cradle of Humankind site (home to some of the oldest humanoid fossils) in nearby Gauteng. “Stone, wood, fire and water—these elements informed this landscape since pre-history,” says Smith. “We wanted a look and feel that would be contextual to South Africa and we wanted it to be as green as possible. Incorporating local timber, local sandstone and locally made furniture was the simplest way to achieve both.”

These natural materials became the building blocks for the earth-friendly culinary experience that would occupy the heart of the hotel’s sixth level, where it links to the adjacent Sandton City shopping center. 

But, like any project, Sandton Sun had its demon. “Our biggest design obstacle was the hotel’s atrium,” says Block. The lobby, which is located on the building’s sixth level, soars more than 200 feet, which didn’t do much to promote a gathering space ambiance, nor did the fact that the F&B outlets had to cover 15,000 square feet. “We had to develop a pedestrian-scaled space people could eat and drink in without losing the drama of the vertical reach or shutting down sightlines from the mall concourse,” says Smith.

The designers attacked the problem by drawing the eye down with an art program that also addressed Southern Sun Hotel Group’s mandate to give back to the community—especially in terms of hiring and purchasing. The designers commissioned Shoote to photograph South Africans “in all settings.” Hundreds of images, printed on brushed aluminum panels, now wrap the perimeter with a graphic gallery that serves as a focal point.

To bring the overhead space closer to a human perspective, CCS introduced a voyeuristic range of false ceilings—from lattice-like wood grids suspended above much of the marketplace to the slat ceiling in the three-meal restaurant, San, and the glass expanse that hovers above the lounge that doubles as a lobby bar and the bar for San.

Judging how anything would look given the scale of the surroundings required intensive pre-planning. “After we did the initial design, we modeled it extensively on computers to get it right,” says Smith. “During construction, we had a full-size mock-up built. We reviewed that and continued to tweak it until we got the effect we wanted.” CCS used variations on the basic materials and color palette as well as strategic changes to floor, table and chair heights for each venue to carve out a different yet consistent identity for each destination.

With its sustainable wood, energy-efficient lighting and low carbon footprint, Sandton Sun’s new F&B floor has substantial green cred. However, Smith did not directly reference any specific set of environmental standards. “I’m not into certifications unless it’s something the client has to have. In cases like this, there’s no need for dogma,” says Smith. “We and our clients did what’s practical in a green direction and we made it socially responsible by being local rather than international. When guests are in the restaurants or bars, they know they’re in South Africa.”