Ash Müller

Sandton has no shortage of glass towers… but this one looks like a black-and-gold egg and somehow still works. The name (The Marc) is an acronym for Maude and Rivonia Corner, which is where the development is located in Sandton CBD. Also known as “The Jewel”, the edgy black-and-gold egg with a façade of 5,620 alternating gold-and-black triangular mesh panels, and “The Jewellery Box”, the ENS tower. Development details: •⁠ Completed: 2018 •⁠ Development value: R3 billion •⁠ Total lettable area: 83 000m2 •⁠ Developed by: Eris Property Group •⁠ Architect: Boogertman + Partners •⁠ Parking: 6.5 levels of basement parking with 3 462 parking bays Before this mixed-use development, the site was home to the Village Walk Shopping Centre. Today, there are two office towers and retail on the site. 🏙️ Tower one has 17 floors with 27 000m2 of GLA (Gross Lettable Area). It’s home to multiple tenants, with ENS as the anchor tenant occupying 12 floors. 🥚✨Tower two has 12 floors with 35 000m2 of GLA and is owned by Momentum Metropolitan Life. Commercial rental rates range from R260 to R306/m2 ex VAT. Lastly, there is retail on the ground floor with restaurants like SAINT, Tashas, Wok n Roll, coffee shops like Seattle and grocery stores like Pick ’n Pay and Food Lovers. This is, honestly, still one of the most striking commercial developments in South Africa, in my opinion. It feels futuristic, but not in a way that dates quickly. It still holds up years later. And what I like most is that it doesn’t try to blend in. From the bold “egg” design to the high-end retail, everything about this development leans into being different. And that’s exactly why it stands out in Sandton. Some people say Sandton’s skyline feels messy and inconsistent. But if you think about it, that’s actually part of its story. It reflects an exodus. A moment in time when businesses moved out of the Johannesburg CBD in search of something newer, shinier, and more modern. So instead of uniformity, you get character with a slight bit of design chaos. And The Marc fits perfectly into that narrative.

CASE UPDATE: Who is responsible for the residential building collapse in George that took the lives of 34 construction workers? This 5-storey development collapsed in less than 2 seconds precisely one year ago on the 6th of May 2024 while under construction in George, Western Cape. Rescue teams were at the scene for over a week to help survivors out of 6000 tonnes of rubble. The devastating collapse took the lives of 34 construction workers and injured 28 people. The residential development known as 75 Victoria was due to be completed in July 2024. Two-bedroom apartments for sale in this development were previously advertised at R1.7 million each. The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) and SAPS have been conducting a forensic investigation since the day of the collapse. To date, it has only been concluded that the cause of this building’s collapse was non-compliance with regulatory building standards, safety violations, unqualified personnel, and registration irregularities. Moreover, they discovered problems with the approval process for construction plans throughout the project, as well as inaccurate statements from the construction company about what they could do and their overall capabilities. George Municipality also approved building plans while construction was already well underway. The Western Cape Government also initiated their own independent investigation, and the findings were completed in January 2025. To date, their final report has remained under wraps and is now sitting with SAPS. Unfortunately, the issues mentioned above relate more to administrative matters rather than to the actual reasons behind the building’s collapse. It’s a structural failure, and whose fault is that? We still require clarity on the cause of the collapse and who is ultimately responsible for it. Time will tell… Some survivors are still recovering from this devastating collapse, and many remain unemployed. I watched a few of their most recent interviews, and it’s a painful watch to see their slow recovery, rising medical bills and the effect it’s having on their families. One survivor remained trapped under the rubble for 118 hours before he was found. I hope the victims and their families get justice soon.