December 29, 2003
By Lucille Davie
JOBURGERS are moving into the centre of Joburg, into periphery areas on the west like Milpark, and now also the east end of town, in Doornfontein, to convert office and factory space into attractive loft apartments.
Interior decorator Ron Prentice has imaginatively converted an old factory ground floor space into a very liveable loft apartment, complete with indoor pond. Nowadays, it seems, loft apartments don't have to be on the top floor, any office or factory space that is transformed into a large, creative living space is described as loft.
Prentice, like more and more people, has re-discovered downtown Johannesburg as a place to set up home. He loves the city. "It's probably one of the nicest cosmopolitan cities you could wish to live in."
This is the eighth renovation project he's done, and he's obviously enjoyed it. The space is double volume, measures 30m by 18m and for an input of R30 000 he's converted an empty, soulless shell into a large, very agreeable open-plan living, cooking and dining space, with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a breakfast nook, a small office, and a lounge/TV room.
He admits he'd like to buy the apartment he's created but the building's owner is not prepared to sell. But he's got a good deal: a long lease, and a low rent.
The building, probably built in the 1950s, at the southern end of End Street, is a nondescript four-storey structure, surrounded by other equally nondescript buildings in a part of town that has always been light industrial.
To top it all, End Street runs under the eastern M2, a pretty noisy freeway to have as a neighbour. But this hasn't deterred Prentice. He's insulated the eastern wall of his apartment, abutting the freeway, with an impressive but not unattractive metal reinforced wall, and once inside the apartment, all that can be heard is a mild din of traffic, certainly not enough to interfere with everyday living.
Others also think it's a good place to live. Three of the four storeys are used as residential space, and on the top floor, the tenant lives in one part of the space while operating a business in the other. In all there're 10 people living in the building.
He's got off-road parking, behind two large metal factory doors. In any case, the building has basement parking, particularly useful, he says, for when he holds parties in the apartment. He's has "eight very successful parties" in the two years he's been in the building - from a kitchen tea where the women were most uncertain about hanging around that side of town, but only left at six the next morning, to DJ parties.
It's a remarkably sound-proof space, says Prentice, and once in full, noisy swing, the music won't be heard from the road outside his front garage doors.
Brick and plaster
The apartment is dominated by a pleasing brick and plaster finish, and a rough black painted floor. The plaster is waterproof, mimicking a sandstone look.
The attractive living area is enhanced by a dramatic black chandelier, otherwise lighting is provided is a row of hanging lamps. Several fans also hang from the ceiling, but Prentice says the temperature in the apartment is never a problem. The whole north facing wall is made up of large industrial windows, through which sun streams throughout winter. In summer the sun is further west, and the apartment is pleasantly mild. In fact, he says, the fans are more for keeping away mosquitoes, which breed on the surrounding rooftops, in pools of accumulated water.
Anyway, if it does get hot, there's always the small outdoor garden he's created, with its cushioned brick benches, plants, pebbled floor and water feature, to laze in.
The outdoor pebbled floor is continued into the entrance of the apartment, leading into a rectangular fish pond, with a single pipe trickling into the pond with darting fish, providing a gentle tinkle to the living space. Behind it is a matching rectangular flowerpot containing three ficus benjaminas ("They're artificial but the pot is designed to take real plants"). The rest of the floor is just rough concrete, painted black.
The kitchen is positioned along the north, windowed wall, and is a mix of shiny wooden tops and white-fronted cupboard doors, with a portable, stand-alone stove. Alongside the kitchen is a breakfast nook, and above the nook is a mezzanine platform the size of a double bed - "I go up there in winter to read the Sunday papers." Opposite the kitchen is a server, created from several long building lintels, supported by two brick waist-high walls.
The dining table is another innovative creation: it's large, made of industrial metal, and in two pieces, which means it can be shifted around to seat more people.
On the western end of the apartment are two bedrooms and a bathroom; on the eastern end is the lounge and office.
The electrics are exposed on the walls, but covered with industrial metal casing, blending in perfectly with the feel of the conversion.
Crime and squatters
Prentice admits that when he first moved in there were cases of petty crime in the area, and the surrounding buildings housed squatters. But the squatters have been moved out, and the streets have been cleaned, making for a cleaner, crime-free environment.
"You'd follow normal procedures of entering and leaving the building, of being observant and watchful, much as you would in suburbia," says Prentice.
And he knows the suburbs. He moved into town from Blairgowrie but doesn't see himself staying in End Street forever. He's itchy to move on to another conversion project, and is looking around the area. He would like to be closer to the centre of the city.
"There're huge spaces around here standing empty," says Prentice. It's clear he's passionate about living in the city. We go onto the roof of the building, and he points out various buildings that have been bricked up, or are simply standing empty.
"I'd love to get into that building," pointing to a green-roofed building a block up in Albert Street, that used to house the horses used to pull the city's first fire wagons. "It's got an inner courtyard with trees. It would be a wonderful space to renovate." It's occupied at present by a number of small businesses.
It's probably just a matter of time.
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