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Top Billing Visits Designer Heaven At 99 Juta
Top Billing Visits Braamfontein's Coolest Creative Space - 99 Juta.
What happens when you take a old apartment complex in Braamfontein and allow a collective of creatives to settle in? 99 Juta happens.
At Top Billing, we’re always ready to be inspired, so when we received an invitation to visit Jozi’s coolest address, we didn’t hesitate. 99 Juta is a new retail development that doesn’t just house amazing design concept but is a masterpiece in its own right.
This unique project was a revamp job that called for the collaborative expertise of architects Local Studio, product designers Dokter & Misses & property developers Consolidate Urban and Play Braamfontein.
It was during the time of Katy Taplin & Adriaan Hugo’s search for a new showroom for their furniture brand Dokter & Misses that they opted to build their own showroom. They couldn’t quite find a place that suited their creative needs. It was behind this four storey concrete block that the two saw potential in.
“The brief called for the refurbishment of an existing four-storey building at 99 Juta Street,” says Katy Taplin, co-founder of Dokter and Misses. “Little was known about its history as the original plans had been lost and, with it, any record of its original use or exact age.”
When the team was presented with the project, they were delighted to find that the almost 80 year old building was still structurally solid, despite being in desperate need of some TLC.
Katy & Adriaan opted to replace the concrete cladding with pink & emerald tiling. The original plans of the building were lost but the structure as it was, was perfect for showrooms and thus the 99 Juta design collective brought it to life.
The collective spaces found at 99 Juta today are home to not only Dokter And Misses but to stable of renowned design collectives including The Urbanative, Joe Paine, Mash.T Design Studio and Monique Vee.
When the teams were designing this work of art they had to bridge the gap between making it stand out & at the same time be inviting to visitors too. Dokter And Misses were to be the tenants of the first floor so Katy knew that keeping the goods hoist was imperative but also needed to somehow be integrated into the facade of the building. In the end, it became a defining feature of the space, adding to the personality of the studios.
The exhibits featured in the many spaces of the building might change but one can constantly feel a welcome sense of continuity due to the staircase retaining its original steel & timber structure
The use of the clerestory windows between studios allows for natural light to travel deep into the building which is ideal for designer Joe Paine’s plants which he integrates into his works.
Much like their showroom on the first floor, the very top floor showcases the otherworldly sculptural light fixtures of Dokter and Misses. These unique pieces could have sprung from a Salvador Dali artwork & were created in collaboration with Swaziland-born glass blowers Ngenwa Glass.
For clients or anyone with a love of design who wants to get to know the journey of how an idea becomes a finished product, then visiting 99 Juta is a must.
