The Rissik Street Promenade is a new 200-meter pedestrian promenade which connects Johannesburg largest rail complex, Park Station, with the Johannesburg civic center. The project involved the planting of over thirty new large acacia trees, which defined the geometry of paving and benches which radiate out from tree centers. The promenade runs directly past Braamfontein Gate, which is a residential tower designed by Local Studio some years before. Through our relationship with this building’s owners, we were able to negotiate that basic management of the landscaping be undertaken by Braamfontein Gate. The city of Johannesburg embarks on many tax-payer funded projects like this without any clear plan as to ongoing management and maintenance. As urban designers, our role on projects like this is therefore both to design and manage construction, but also to negotiate the involvement of the private sector on issues of urban management. 

Client: Johannesburg Development Agency