Werdmuller Centre
Werdmuller Centre was a modernist, Brutalist mixed-use shopping centre in Claremont, Cape Town, later closed and approved for partial redevelopment.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Werdmuller Centre was a mixed-use shopping centre and influential Brutalist building in Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa. Designed by Cape Town architect Roelof Uytenbogaardt for the South African Life Assurance Society, now Old Mutual, the complex was conceived in 1969 as an alternative to the enclosed, automobile-oriented shopping mall. Its open circulation, concrete forms, roof terrace, views toward Table Mountain and connections to Main Road and Claremont railway station were intended to make it part of the surrounding urban fabric rather than an inward-looking retail box. The centre was named after George Werdmuller, a former chairman of Old Mutual. Construction began in 1970 and the building was completed and opened around 1975. Uytenbogaardt's original concept included small trading spaces and a souk-like arrangement that could support a socially mixed group of traders and customers, including non-white entrepreneurs whose commercial activity was restricted by apartheid legislation. That social and commercial ambition was undermined almost immediately: in November 1969, the government designated Claremont a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act. Beginning in 1970, approximately 19,000 non-white residents were forcibly removed from Lower Claremont, now known as Harfield Village. By the time the centre opened, the community and pedestrian market for which it had been planned had largely been displaced. Werdmuller Centre received positive architectural attention but struggled as a retail destination. It competed with Cavendish Square, another Old Mutual development located nearby, and lacked the parking, weather protection and conventional anchor-store structure that increasingly shaped South African shopping-centre retail. Rainwater leakage and difficult circulation further affected its commercial reputation. The original small units were repeatedly modified into larger conventional shops, but efforts to attract stable tenants were generally unsuccessful. At different times the centre accommodated 49 shops, including Beares, David Philip Publishers and Paul Bothner Music; a former Beares space was later occupied by a church. It never established the traditional anchor tenants associated with successful malls. The building's commercial difficulties eventually became inseparable from a heritage debate. Old Mutual Properties applied for a demolition permit in 2006, and a 2007 Heritage Impact Assessment identified the centre as a financial liability. Architectural and heritage organisations, including the South African Working Party of Docomomo International, opposed demolition and argued that the building represented an important chapter in South African modernist architecture. The final tenant left in 2012, after which the centre closed and its entrances were boarded up. By early 2014, New Property Ventures had acquired the property and pursued redevelopment options. Although no longer operating as a shopping centre, the derelict structure acquired a second life as a filming location. It was used in The Dark Tower in 2016, in Noughts + Crosses in 2020 and in the Resident Evil television series in 2021. These appearances drew attention to its severe concrete forms and dystopian atmosphere. In 2023, Heritage Western Cape approved a proposal for partial demolition and redevelopment. The planned replacement, known as The Neo, is intended to be a mixed-use project rather than a restoration of the original retail centre. The available reference material describes changing development parameters, including a proposed height of approximately 62 to 64 metres and a later reported gross leasable area of 8,000 square metres. Werdmuller Centre therefore remains both an architectural landmark and a contested example of how apartheid-era planning shaped the success, meaning and eventual fate of commercial buildings.
History
Werdmuller Centre originated in a 1969 design proposal by Roelof Uytenbogaardt for the South African Life Assurance Society, later known as Old Mutual. The proposed shopping complex was named after George Werdmuller, a former Old Mutual chairman, and was intended to help revitalise the eastern side of Main Road in Claremont. Rather than reproduce the dominant North American shopping-mall model, Uytenbogaardt designed an open and highly articulated building that would engage pedestrians arriving from Main Road and Claremont railway station. An internal ramp led visitors upward toward a roof terrace with views of Table Mountain. The project had a social ambition that reflected its historical context. Uytenbogaardt envisaged a mixed community of customers and small traders and incorporated a souk-like arrangement of compact retail spaces. This was intended in part to accommodate non-white traders who faced severe restrictions under apartheid. The political context changed the project's purpose before construction was complete. In November 1969, the government declared Claremont a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act. From early 1970, around 19,000 non-white residents were removed from Lower Claremont. Construction of Werdmuller Centre began in 1970, and the complex was completed around 1975. When it opened, the population and pedestrian market that had informed the original design had been displaced. Architecturally, the centre was a strongly Brutalist work influenced by Le Corbusier and characterised by exposed concrete, massive geometric volumes, hard angles and dramatic curves. Its elevated walkways, ramps, terraces and fragmented shopfronts made it visually distinctive but also challenging to navigate and maintain. Local media praised its ambition and design quality after opening. Commercially, however, the centre never achieved sustained success. It faced direct competition from Cavendish Square, a more conventional Old Mutual shopping centre across the road. It also lacked generous car parking, suffered from leaks during rainy weather and had no conventional anchor tenant to draw regular visitors. The intended small-scale retail model was progressively altered. Compact spaces were combined or adapted into larger conventional shops, and the owners repeatedly changed the layout in attempts to attract viable tenants. The centre eventually contained 49 shops, with tenants including furniture retailer Beares, publisher David Philip Publishers and music retailer Paul Bothner Music. A church later occupied the former Beares unit. These individual occupancies did not resolve the centre's wider structural problems, and its reputation as an impractical or commercially unsuccessful shopping venue grew. By the 2000s, the building's poor financial performance had produced a direct conflict between redevelopment interests and architectural conservation. Old Mutual Properties applied for a demolition permit in 2006. A Heritage Impact Assessment completed in 2007 stated that the building had become a financial liability from the owner's perspective. Architectural and heritage communities challenged the proposed demolition, with Docomomo's South African working party among the groups associated with opposition. The debate was complicated by the building's political history: some commentators valued it as a major South African example of modern architecture, while others argued that preserving it without confronting its apartheid-era context risked sanitising its legacy. The last tenant left in 2012, and the centre was subsequently closed and boarded up. Old Mutual Properties undertook further impact-assessment work, while New Property Ventures had acquired the property by early 2014 and continued to seek a redevelopment solution. During its derelict period, the building became attractive to film productions. It appeared in The Dark Tower in 2016, supplied a dystopian setting for Noughts + Crosses in 2020 and was used by the Resident Evil television series in 2021. In November 2023, Heritage Western Cape approved a partial-demolition redevelopment. The proposed successor, The Neo, is planned as a mixed-use development and represents a shift from the original shopping-centre function. Development descriptions have changed over time: an earlier proposal described a 64-metre building with approximately 30,000 square metres of gross leasable area, while later planning information described a height of about 62 metres and 8,000 square metres of gross leasable area. The redevelopment has been presented as a significant high-rise intervention in Claremont. Its approval does not amount to a restoration of Werdmuller Centre; instead, it marks the planned transformation of a closed and contested modernist landmark into a new commercial and mixed-use project.
- 2023
The Neo redevelopment approved
[1]Heritage Western Cape approved partial demolition and redevelopment of the site as The Neo.
- 2016
Film location for The Dark Tower
[1]The abandoned building was used as a production location for The Dark Tower.
- 2012
Retail operations end
[1]The final tenant departed and the centre closed.
- 2006
Demolition application
[1]Old Mutual Properties applied for permission to demolish the commercially troubled building.
- 1975
Centre opens
[1]Werdmuller Centre opened as a distinctive open-air mixed-use shopping complex, but its intended customer base had already been transformed by apartheid planning.
- 1970
Construction begins
[1]Construction of the Brutalist complex began as non-white residents were being forcibly removed from Lower Claremont.
- 1969
Design proposal submitted
[1]Roelof Uytenbogaardt submitted a proposal for an unconventional pedestrian-oriented shopping complex in Claremont for Old Mutual's predecessor organisation.
- 1969
Claremont designated a whites-only area
[1]The Group Areas Act designation disrupted the mixed-community and small-trader concept that had shaped the centre's design.
Products and positioning
An experimental, open-air modernist shopping centre designed as a pedestrian-oriented alternative to the enclosed suburban mall.
Shopping centre · 1975
Werdmuller Centre retail spaces
The centre provided a collection of small and later enlarged retail units arranged within an open, ramped Brutalist structure. Its tenant mix changed repeatedly over the years and included furniture, publishing, music and other retail or service businesses. The complex eventually contained 49 shops but did not develop a conventional department-store or supermarket anchor.
Media location · 2016
Film-location setting
After closure, the building's abandoned interiors and imposing concrete architecture supported film and television production. It was used for The Dark Tower, Noughts + Crosses and the Resident Evil television series, giving the former shopping centre a continuing cultural presence after its retail life ended.
Brand decisions
2023
Partial demolition approved for The NeoStrategyBackground
The closed centre had become a contested heritage property and was no longer operating as a viable shopping complex.
Action taken
Heritage Western Cape approved a plan for partial demolition and conversion of the site into The Neo, a new mixed-use development.
Aftermath
The approved scheme shifted the site's future from retail preservation toward a higher-density mixed-use development. Reported project dimensions changed between planning descriptions.
2014
Redevelopment pursued after ownership changeStrategyBackground
By early 2014, New Property Ventures had acquired the property while the centre was closed and redevelopment pressure remained unresolved.
Action taken
The new owner pursued a redevelopment approach involving substantial removal or alteration of the existing building.
Aftermath
The proposal continued to generate heritage debate and ultimately evolved into the partially approved The Neo project.
2006
Application to demolish the centreOtherBackground
The building had experienced long-term commercial difficulties, including weak tenant demand, competition from Cavendish Square, limited parking and maintenance problems.
Action taken
Old Mutual Properties applied for a demolition permit, initiating a prolonged dispute with architectural and heritage advocates.
Aftermath
The application was opposed by conservation groups and was followed by heritage assessments and further redevelopment discussions rather than an immediate demolition.
Recent events
- 2023
Partial demolition and The Neo redevelopment approved[1]
Other
Heritage Western Cape approved a proposal to partially demolish the former centre and replace or incorporate it within The Neo, a planned mixed-use development in Claremont.
- 2021
Resident Evil television production uses Werdmuller Centre[1]
Other
The building served as a filming location for the Resident Evil television series.
- 2020
The building appears in Noughts + Crosses[1]
Other
Part of the BBC series Noughts + Crosses was filmed at Werdmuller Centre, using the derelict complex to create a dystopian visual environment.
- 2016
Werdmuller Centre appears in The Dark Tower[1]
Other
The closed building was used as a location for the film The Dark Tower, whose production used its concrete interior and exterior as a sinister fictional setting.
- 2014
New Property Ventures pursues redevelopment[1]
M&A · Other
By early 2014, New Property Ventures had acquired the property and was pursuing a redevelopment scheme that involved removing much of the existing structure.
- 2012
Werdmuller Centre closes after its final tenant leaves[1]
Other
The last tenant vacated the centre, after which the building was closed and its entrances were boarded up.
- 2007
Heritage assessment identifies the centre as a financial liability[1]
Other
A Heritage Impact Assessment recorded the owner's rationale for seeking demolition and contributed to the continuing debate over the building's architectural value and future.
- 2006
Old Mutual Properties seeks permission to demolish Werdmuller Centre[1]
Other
The building's then-owner applied for a demolition permit after years of weak commercial performance. The application prompted opposition from architectural and heritage groups.
Sources1 sources
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