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Ponte City

Ponte City

Manfred Hermer, Mannie Feldman & Rodney Grosskopff

Photo: Geoffrey Hancock · CC-BY-SA-2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Berea, Johannesburg, South Africa
Client / Owner
—
Year
Completed 1975
Access
Private
Typology
Residential
Style
—

Ponte City in Berea, Johannesburg, was completed in 1975. The infobox names Manfred Hermer as architect, while the text says Mannie Feldman was principal designer, with Hermer and Rodney Grosskopff, who is credited with making it circular. The article names no client for the original build and no style.

The concrete cylinder is 567 feet (173 m) high and has 55 floors in the infobox, though a records table says 54. Its open core, about 32,000 square feet (3,000 m²), lets light into wedge-shaped apartments, as bylaws required windows in kitchens and bathrooms. The text says the concept was borrowed from Marina City in Chicago.

It was the tallest residential building in Africa from 1975 until 2023. The core once filled with rubbish five stories high, and a 2007 redevelopment plan was cancelled after the subprime crisis. A rooftop sign advertised Coca-Cola until 2000.

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