Disa Park

Disa Park
Disa Park
	The three towers of Disa Park viewed from Signal Hill
General information
Type	Apartment block
Architectural style	Brutalist
Location	33°56′32″S 18°25′35″E / 33.94222°S 18.42639°E
Town or city	Cape Town
Country	South Africa
Completed	1969
Cost	R3,000,000
Height	54.8 metres
Dimensions
Diameter	24.3 metres
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Bergamasco, Duncan & James
Main contractor	Murray & Roberts

Disa Park is one of the best-known pieces of architecture in the Vredehoek area of Cape Town, South Africa. The towers were built in response to a "white housing crisis" in the city and completed in 1969.^[2] The buildings were designed by architectural firm Bergamasco, Duncan & James, which also designed most of the contemporary Catholic churches in Cape Town.^[2]

Overview

Built by the construction company Murray & Roberts in the 1960s, these three 17 story, cylindrical towers, called Blinkwater, Platteklip and Silverstroom, are nestled on the slopes of Table Mountain, and are almost universally proclaimed to be a blemish on the face of the majestic mountain. The three towers are popularly known to Capetonians as "The Pepper Pots", "Toilet Rolls" and "Tampon Towers". It has 287 apartment units providing enough housing for roughly 1,000 residents.^[1]

Murray & Roberts found a loop hole in the building restrictions on the mountainside, and built the base below the allowable development line, then built upward, above the line.

With the suburbs of Devil's Peak, Vredehoek, Oranjezicht and Higgovale in the foreground, the unrestricted view enjoyed by residents of Disa Park can be appreciated

The residents tend to disagree with the demolitionists;^{[citation needed]} their homes have access to dozens of trails and hikes on their doorstep as well as a tennis court, squash courts, braai area and a swimming pool. The towers also provide an excellent vantage point for scenic views over the region, but dominate views of Table Mountain from below.