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Thabazimbi Square
in association with Franzsen Architects

The name of this town comes from the discovery of a lucrative iron ore reef in the area in 1919. Thabazimbi was proclaimed in 1953 after the full-scale production of iron and steel in the 1930's. The mine boasts one of the largest mining shafts in Africa and more than 2 million tons of iron ore are mined every year and hauled by train to Mittal Steel. (Mittal Steel South Africa is the largest steel producer on the African continent, producing 7,3 million tonnes of liquid steel per annum - previously known as ISCOR).

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The name means “mountain of iron.” As the mine's activities increased the town of Thabazimbi grew and prospered around it. Huge mountains are the setting for the mine and the town that has grown around it. Another leading economic activity in this town is cattle ranching. Many nature trails and hikes traverse the town's scenic bush veld surroundings and attract particularly birdwatchers and hikers. Thabazimbi is also known as the hunting Mecca of the Waterberg / Bushveld region and is visited by many local and overseas hunters. Marakele National Park just ten kilometres out of Thabazimbi, is one of the highlights of the area.

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The development of the high-end shopping centre became a necessity in this area and therefore the Pistorius Group developed the Thabazimbi Square. The gross lettable area of the centre is 7 500m² with Checkers as the main anchor shop. The centre is designed in a L-shaped footprint with the anchor shop in the corner.  An additional 19 supporting line shops are placed on the either side of the anchor shop. The design concept of a free flow line guides the shoppers past the line shops to end at the anchor shop in the corner. The paving, parapet walls and the walkway canopy follow the same flow of the free line to enhance the direction towards the anchor shop. The play-area and food court with restaurant is situated around a circular pergola with a curved seating area. In a couple of years, the pergola will be covered with a flowering creeper plant to provide the necessary shade for shoppers to relax under after a long day of shopping. At strategic places on the facade of the building, we introduce stone cladding feature walls to relate with the shape of the mountains surrounding the centre.

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