Good Hope Centre: Important piece of history or pointless eyesore?

Pippa Hudson speaks with Dr Micaela Antonucci, an expert in the work of the Good Hope Centre architect, Pier Luigi Nervi.

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

The Good Hope Centre was opened in 1977 as a conference venue and exhibition space.

Despite opening during the height of apartheid, it was opened as a multi-racial spot.

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47 years later, the Centre is being leased and used as film studios and for general business.

The City’s Economic Growth Directorate is looking at options for the most suitable future use of the Good Hope Centre site.

Some people in the area feel it is an eyesore that should be torn down, while others say it has historic value.

Antonucci says this was the first of Nervi’s buildings in Africa, and it was a technological challenge to build at that time.

She says the City asked him to build this so it would be seen as a city of modern architecture.

She adds that it should be preserved, and it is part of Cape Town’s history, both for its architectural value and for being the first multi-racial building.

“It is a symbol of the history of Cape Town.”

- Dr Micaela Antonucci, expert in the work of the Good Hope Centre architect, Pier Luigi Nervi

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.