The tallest building in Africa is set to open in October in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Dubbed the Leonardo, the building is a 55-floor mixed-use property development which stands at a height of 234 meters (768 ft.) on a 3 200 m2 piece of land. It is located in 75 Maude Street, approximately 100 meters from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton, South Africa.
Its architectural design is a brainchild of South Africa’s Co-Arc International Architects and the building is developed by Nedbank Property Partners in collaboration with Legacy Group and JSE-listed Aveng Grinaker-LTA as the contractor.
Features of the Leonardo
The development includes two levels of public areas off the street linked by an escalator to an interactive lobby space; which will be home to the reception area for the 230 apartments which rise up to the 41st level, penthouse suites with their own gardens and 7,500 m2 of sectional title offices. The building will also feature landscaped gardens, restaurants, a bar, a crèche, a gym and a spa which will be linked by shuttle lifts directly into the parking garage.
Legacy development has bought 10 floors in the building where they plan to establish a luxury hotel in the future. Above the development floors, there are eight penthouses and the Leonardo suite, reaching from the 49th to the 55th levels. In addition, the building will also feature 1,900 m2 under-roof living space and 1 300 m2 of outdoor patios and gardens, with a 20m lap pool and gym area.
In January this year, the Leonardo was declared by a US-based news corporation as “one of the most anticipated buildings on the world in 2019” alongside other exclusive projects like the world’s largest underwater restaurant in Norway dubbed Under and Beijing’s new Daxing airport. The building has replaced the Carlton Centre, a 50-storey building approximately 223 meters tall, in downtown Johannesburg.
