Tafelkop Mall
in association with Franzsen Architects

The shopping centre is located in the Groblersdal area which is part of the Cultural Heartland of Mpumalanga in South Africa. Interestingly, Groblersdal was proclaimed as a result of the irrigation scheme of the spectacular Loskop Dam and is named after the original owner of the Klipbank farm, WJ Grobler.

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Tafelkop is a town in the Sekhukhune District Municipality, 21km from Groblersdal. Developed by Fontis Developments, the Tafelkop  Mall will be a one-stop shopping solution, providing shoppers with a convenient and safe shopping experience. The Tafelkop Mall will aim to bring together the surrounding community to a central point of retail. The mall will serve the immediate community of around 7,790 households in Tafelkop and the surrounding smaller communities of Stadium View, Motetema-A and Sterkfontein. With strong anchor tenants like Shoprite, Cashbuild and Boxer; and with a gross lettable area of 15 500m², Fontis is certain that this retail centre will be an asset to the community and will stimulate other new and even greater developments in this area.

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The design concept is based on the traditional custom in this culture for people to gather in small groups around a tree, on the stoep or in a courtyard to build friendships. The circular forms in the design of the tile layouts, skylights, openings in the entrance canopies and directional signage place emphasis on this concept of people interacting and meeting with each other. The introduction of the bright colours at strategic places brings a joyful atmosphere to the shopping experience. Early in the morning and late in afternoon the sun casts colourful shadows onto the floor and wall of the mall, through the coloured monitor windows above. The circular tile patterns on the floor are in the branding colours of the developer and together with the colourful steel furniture it enhances the concept and strengthens the shopping experience.