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Disa Park

Coordinates: 33°56′32″S 18°25′35″E / 33.94222°S 18.42639°E / -33.94222; 18.42639
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Disa Park
The three towers of Disa Park viewed from Signal Hill
Map
General information
TypeApartment block
Architectural styleBrutalist
Location33°56′32″S 18°25′35″E / 33.94222°S 18.42639°E / -33.94222; 18.42639
Town or cityCape Town
CountrySouth Africa
Completed1969
CostR3,000,000[1]
Height54.8 metres
Dimensions
Diameter24.3 metres
Design and construction
Architecture firmBergamasco, Duncan & James
Main contractorMurray & Roberts

Disa Park is one of the best-known pieces of architecture in the Vredehoek area of Cape Town, South Africa. The towers were built in response to a "white housing crisis" in the city and completed in 1969.[2] The buildings were designed by architectural firm Bergamasco, Duncan & James, they also designed most of the contemporary Catholic churches in Cape Town.[2]

Overview

Built by the construction company Murray & Roberts in the 1960s, these three 17 story, cylindrical towers, called Blinkwater, Platteklip and Silverstroom, are nestled on the slopes of Table Mountain, and are almost universally proclaimed to be a blemish on the face of the majestic mountain. The three towers are popularly known to Capetonians as "The Pepper Pots", "Toilet Rolls" and "Tampon Towers". It has 287 apartment units providing enough housing for roughly 1,000 residents.[1]

Murray & Roberts found a loop hole in the building restrictions on the mountainside, and built the base below the allowable development line, then built upward, above the line.

With the suburbs of Devil's Peak, Vredehoek, Oranjezicht and Higgovale in the foreground, the unrestricted view enjoyed by residents of Disa Park can be appreciated

The residents tend to disagree with the demolitionists; their homes have access to dozens of trails and hikes on their doorstep as well as a tennis court, squash courts, braai area and a swimming pool. The towers also provide an excellent vantage point for scenic views over the region, but dominate views of Table Mountain from below.

  • Disa Park with Salt River and Woodstock in the background.
    Disa Park with Salt River and Woodstock in the background.
  • Disa Park viewed from Chelmsford Avenue, Vredehoek.
    Disa Park viewed from Chelmsford Avenue, Vredehoek.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "How Cape Town's "Tampon Towers" came to be". www.capetownetc.com. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  2. ^ a b Building An Icon: Disa Park Visi. 13 March 2023
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