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Made from used shipping containers placed seemingly haphazardly atop one another, this coffee shop-cum-studio has become a standout landmark in Midrand, Johannesburg. -
The corrugated interior container walls were left unpainted, Neil found the 1950s Bakelite chairs in France, and the light fittings are from Smiley’s Restorations in Cape Town. The wall-mounted table tops were custom-made by Securen in Pretoria. -
The huge coffee roaster, which is in daily use, was bought on auction by Neil. -
The staircase was designed by Earthworld Architects and built by in-house carpenters using timber from Neil’s personal collection. -
The table in this small meeting room was created by forming two wood offcuts into a jigsaw puzzle shape and placing it on a ready-made table base. The light fitting is from Spazio Lighting. -
The hi-tech look of the upstairs showrooms and offices is in direct counterpoint to the concrete floor and reclaimed ceilings that preside over the coffee shop on the lower level. The art on the walls is an evolution of the Foghound logo and the hand-drawn watercolour sketches are by Hein Botha. -
Sliding glass windows behind the thrown-open container doors flood the first floor with light; 10 mm steel plates give the outside platform a deck-like feel. -
The granite cobblestones that form the floor of the couryard outside the coffee shop are made from tombstone offcuts and the aluminium stacking doors are by DST Glass and Aluminium.
PHOTOS Dook PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes WORDS Tracy Greenwood
A flair for the unexpected and an abiding love of coffee have inspired the owner of this business to combine his passions in one striking workspace.
On a compact tract of land opposite the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg, stands an unconventional structure in the midst of what is essentially a neglected light industrial area.
Constructed out of used shipping containers, artfully stacked like Lego blocks, the home of the Foghound Interactive Coffee Company and Foghound Studios is a striking space that has become something of a landmark in the area.
Foghound MD Neil Symon – a coffee fanatic since the age of 14 and a 20-year media industry veteran – had a vision of a showroom and coffee shop that would epitomise the tradition of coffee-making culture while demonstrating a clear need to conserve the environment.
“I love experimenting, I love creating, and I love doing different things, from creating TV commercials to creating coffee blends,” Neil says. “It’s a way of creative expression. It’s the same with the new building. We used the very containers in which our coffee products had been shipped to South Africa from around the world to build the structure. We are aware of our carbon footprint on the planet, and this has meant finding creative solutions to keep the old shipping containers out of the waste dumps.”
Conceived and designed by Earthworld Architects, the eight-container structure comprises a showroom upstairs for the Sprada, Franke and Espresto coffee machine brands that Foghound represents locally, and an 80-seater coffee shop and café, complete with European-style counter seating and an outdoor courtyard, downstairs.
Leading to the showroom, sales offices and boardroom on the first floor is a striking glassed-in staircase with stairs made of reclaimed Oregon pine – a talking point in itself. As is the fully plumbed toilet space constructed from a vertically placed container and serviced with solar-heated water.
Braam de Villiers from Earthworld Architects says the containers were placed in such a way as to minimise having to cut them up. “The two containers that form the showroom on the first floor are placed and cantilevered from the ground-floor containers to form the coffee shop below. Clerestory windows fill the gaps between the two first-storey containers and allow in sunlight.”
In order for the containers to be perceived as the heroes of the structure, the interior finishing was kept to a minimum. “The materials were carefully chosen to create an ambiance that matches the functionality of the two spaces,” says Braam. The coffee shop has a raw concrete floor and a reclaimed timber ceiling, whereas the coffee-machine showroom and offices upstairs feature laser-cut steel and clean lines for a streamlined, high-tech look.
Structural detail aside, it is Neil’s deep love of quirky collectables – a passion he indulges by travelling the world in search of pieces that capture his imagination – that give the coffee shop its distinctive character. “The coffee bar in the studio building is a 1960s Boeing 747 engine cowl. It’s a work of art!” exclaims Neil.
And the chairs are all reclaimed, many from France. Old drive-in-theatre speakers form the sound system and patrons can adjust the volume to their liking by twisting the knobs on the speakers at each table.
“I’m an antique collector and a lover of all things retro and collectable,” says Neil. “This theme runs through the café. I have 20 people a day just walking in from Gallagher Estate and asking to see the space and find out more about it. The way I see it, container buildings might just be the way of the future. Maybe we’ve started a new trend.”
