the other side restaurant
johannesburg, gauteng
2011
The Other Side restaurant is situated in Monaghan farm, a nature estate in close proximity to Lanseria Airport. In the 1950’s, the farm was acquired by Jim Baily who was a WWII fighter pilot and the founder of DRUM magazine. The estate belonged to his father, Sir Abe Bailey (who also had popular farms in Johannesburg, namely Bryanston and Hyde Park). The estate has a sensitive approach to the development of the land and therefore the architecture needs to be subtle.
The concept for the restaurant is based on the idea of “palimpsest”. Palimpsest referring to the layering of experiences over time. Here it was translated into an architectural language. Using farm style architecture with contemporary materials within a natural landscape with its own history. The Other Side restaurant therefore embodies a simplistic approach to design with a conscious integration of the landscape.