The Market Square Development is a key contribution to the urban and social regeneration strategy for the Newtown area. This development needed to create a positive connection to Mary Fitzgerald Square, re-use and repurpose the existing heritage protected fabric and unify the various buildings into a precinct of buildings that enhances and promotes the institutional and public’s interfaces.

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The Market Theatre Foundation (MTF) acquired the prominent erf in Newtown, Johannesburg, to develop new premises for MTF.

The design recognized the site’s existing building fabric and used these structures as a device to create spaces that would relate appropriately in scale to the square and surrounding buildings. It is designed to express sensitively the tectonics of the
Newtown aesthetic with a strong focus on public interface and allowing Mary Fitzgerald Square to engage with the inner courtyards of the building.

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The concept revolves around a central gathering space that serves as the heart of the design and is the meeting ground between the Market Theatre Laboratory and Market Photo Workshop.

The conceptual response is based on the theatrics of movement and experience of journey allowing the existing infrastructure and history of the site to provide a strong narrative for the architecture. This would be achieved by the seven design
principles: Refocus / Regenerate, Revitalize, Reconnect, Reinterpret, Reciprocate, Reinvigorate, Remember

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