Tashas Café
Location
Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg
Client
Natasha Sideris
Architects
BASStudio
Completed
2016
The lighting is not noticeable – it’s not a stand-out feature. Though very subtle, the physical effects of the light and lighting are very real. Colour and intensity are critical factors applied differently in each of the four spaces: the outdoor terrace, the entrance area, the fine dining area known as The Flamingo Room and the café. Each has its own lighting scenario with warm light at the heart to create spaces for essential relaxing. The eye-catching sculptural installation representing a baobab in flower suspended above the entrance is lit by profile spotlights. It appears to hold the light source but catches and reflects the projected light. Gobos break up the light at night throwing shadows across the entrance to give an effect of sitting under a tree. The soft steel blue and pastel pink emphasise the night-time mood change. All the lighting is programmed to an astronomical clock, so that the interior lighting is aligned with local solar time and adjusts accordingly though the day – from brighter morning to midday light, through the softer afternoon to dimmer evening and night-time light.