Braamfontein sits in a unique position in Johannesburg. Wedged between the academic hub of Wits University, Constitution Hill and Park Station, the district has taken on an identity which embraces the creative, the student, the intellectual, and the NGO.
It is within this context that 70 Juta was greeted with much excitement upon its inception in November 2010. A space for Joburgers to work and play, the space invites the city to push the boundaries of Joburg art, fashion, architecture and design. Consisting of a number of stores, coffee shops and work spaces, and connected through a central inner courtyard, 70 Juta provides both a calming oasis in frenetic Braamfontein, whilst not closing itself off to the street and maintaining that essential interface so often missing in Joburg.
The space has the added effect of bringing life into the district, both during the day and at night. Its colourful exterior provides for a light, fresh and quirky interlude amidst Braamfontein’s hard concrete, commercial architecture, in so doing echoing the omnipresent voice of rejuvenation, reinvention and reimagination prevalent both within 70 Juta, and indeed the city as a whole.