The Silo District at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town is a landmark mixed-use precinct that combines the city’s industrial harbour heritage with contemporary architecture, residential development, offices, hospitality and cultural spaces. This aerial photograph, captured on 2 January 2015, records the area during a major phase of redevelopment, with extensive construction visible around the historic grain silo complex.
At the centre of the image is the historic Grain Silo Complex, originally constructed in the 1920s and later decommissioned. Its transformation into the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) became the defining project of the Silo District. The conversion was designed by Heatherwick Studio, which retained the industrial concrete structure while carving a dramatic central atrium from the original silo cells. Zeitz MOCAA ultimately opened in September 2017.
The photograph is particularly valuable as a record of the district before its transformation was complete. Construction activity can be seen alongside the working harbour, fishing vessels, warehouses and marine infrastructure, illustrating the transition from a predominantly industrial port environment into the mixed-use waterfront neighbourhood that exists today. The V&A Waterfront describes the Silo District as having developed around the historic grain silo and now comprising offices, residential buildings, hotels, galleries, restaurants and public spaces.
Architect
Heatherwick Studio — architect and designer of the Zeitz MOCAA adaptive-reuse project, working with local and international collaborators including VDMMA, Arup, WBHO and others.
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