The Ponte City apartments (also known as Ponte Tower) were designed in 1975 by the architect Mannie Feldmantogether with the engineers Manfred Hermer And Rodney Grosskopff. It is a high tower 173 meters and with a distinctive cylindrical form that stands in the Barea district of Johannesburgin South Africa. The building, made in style brutalistcounts 54 floors and initially it hosted 450 apartments. Destined to be a luxury residential center – as well as one of the highest skyscrapers in South Africa – its history took a different turn when, in the following years, it was diverted by criminal gangs, transforming itself into a slum and a refuge for illegal activities.
Ponte Tower, the architectural and engineering characteristics
There Tower bridgethe highest residential skyscraper in Africa, stands for 173 meters of height, in circular plan and cylindrical shape that develops in height. The apartments are in total 450distributed on 54 plans. There are also 570 parking spaces. The central part of the building is emptyWhich represented a solution to the request of the hour in force building regulations of Johannesburg, which required that the kitchens and bathrooms were equipped with windows, in order to improve the air recirculation inside the home and the natural lighting of the same. This last element, relating to the need to increase the as much as possible thenatural lightingwas the reason Rodney Grosskopff created the circularopen to the center. A natural rock floor was inserted at the basis of this opening.
The cylindrical shape of the building, which develops in height, is a typical expression of the style brutalist, in which imposing and clear forms, and the cement On sight, they master. The particular shape of the building has interesting implications at the engineering level. First of all, the cylindrical shape allows uniform distribution of loads to the ground. The vertical forces, due to the weight of the building, and the horizontal ones, due to the force exerted by the wind, are distributed in a fluid and uniform way.
The advantages of the curved shape
There City Tower Ponte by Johannesburg, with its distinctive cylindrical form, offers numerous engineering advantages, especially in terms of aerodynamic behavior. His curved structure significantly reduces the wind resistanceallowing the air flow to slide uniformly around the building. Unlike angular or square shapes, which generate turbulence and vortices behind the edges, cylindrical geometry distributes the wind for more homogeneously, reducing lateral pressure.
This not only minimizes oscillations and vibrations, but also improves the structural stability of the building during adverse weather conditions. In addition, the reduction of aerodynamic resistance contributes to a greater energy efficiencysince the load decreases on the structures and the ventilation systems. In summary, the curved shape of the Ponte City It represents a perfect example of how architectural design can optimize structural performance and safety in modern skyscrapers.
History of the Tower bridge, the “dystopian” tower of Ponte City
The Tower bridge was built in 1975. Born like residential centershould have represented a prestigious place to live, guaranteeing wealthy people the possibility of buying apartments with a breathtaking view of the center of Johannesburg, and the possibility of enjoying every service or comfort. From the end of the 80s This construction saw a inexorable decline. Following the Soweto revolt From 1976, the market underwent a heavy flexion and many of the wealthy people who lived inside the Tower bridge began to move elsewhere. Consequently many of the criminal gangs of the area had made the crime rate of the area and many of the members of these gangs decided to move, in a totally abusive way, inside the tower. The living conditions inside the skyscraper became terrible. Even people were forced by gangsters to pay to continue living inside the skyscraper, and drug dealing and prostitution became normal.
What happened is what it is called hijacking a buildingmeaning that situation in which a building, at the beginning designed and built for a purpose, is adapted, often in a unconventional way, in a different way. The reasons why this happens can be many, from socio -economic changesas happened in the case of the City bridge, but also for reasons related to urban redevelopment, or as an response to emergencies.
The Tower bridge today
In recent years, they have been made important renovations And urban redevelopment. Local authorities and individuals have invested in restoration work to update the structure he is Technological systems of the building. This includes improvements to infrastructure security, including modernized lifts, systems of ventilation And firefightingas well as the installation of solar panels to improve energy efficiency.
Johannesburg’s Tower bridge is a symbol of transformation, a building that has crossed the decades, adapting to social and political changes of South Africa. Today, it has become a point of reference for the urban community, representing both the difficult situations of the past and the challenges of the present, and whose particular architectural and design style was also useful in cinema, having been the setting of films of films such as Districts 9 And Chappie.
