The Battery Park Project is located on the footprint of the original Amsterdam Battery (circa 1792), a Dutch Fort second in scale to the Castle and demolished in the 1960’s by the South African Harbours & Railways.
In 2014 OvP were appointed to provide the landscape architectural input for the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) seeking to secure development rights for the Gateway Precinct, at the main entrance to the Waterfront, on the site of the original Amsterdam Battery.
The site had been the subject of numerous development proposals, none of which could secure the commercial rights which the Waterfront Company were seeking in order to balance the infrastructure costs of the precinct.
It was at this juncture that the concept of a ‘no building’ approach was put forward as a viable alternative. OvP further developed the idea that the footprint of the historic Amsterdam Battery be retained as the development envelope, including the ‘battered bastion’ character of the defensive fortified wall on the original rocky shoreline of Table Bay, and that the space at the upper level be developed as a recreational park with memorialisation elements.
Research revealed the original plans archived in the Netherlands, which provided in full detail the form, scale and massing of the original fort.
For the Heritage Impact Assessment, OvP then prepared a design concept indicating the key heritage indicators and design principles which was tabled in draft form for discussion with key heritage authorities in advance of finalisation for inclusion in the HIA and supporting submission documents.
Approvals were forthcoming and the professional team were appointed for the later design development and implementation of the design concept and in accordance with the adjusted Heritage indicators as a parking garage with ground floor retail to activate the frontage at canal level and an urban park at roof level.
The project is now complete and operational – the park, including basketball court and skate boarding track, are very popular and the heritage aspects are interpreted through discreetly positioned interpretation information located at the upper level.