The Leonardo: A ‘storey’ to tell

Right in the heart of Sandton, Johannesburg, stands the 234-metre high, The Leonardo. Perfectly located near the Gautrain Station and Sandton City, it is the epitome of ‘luxury living in the sky’. The mixed-use building is part hotel with super luxe apartments and includes a state-of-the-art gym, outdoor swimming pool, a Montessori nursery, a spa, hair salon (by Amanda Lee Deane), the Insta-worthy Aurum Restaurant, Leo’s Lounge & Deli, conference rooms and insane views from the rooftop bar. It is actually 57 storeys in total—including the ground floor and the rooftop bar—making it one of the tallest building in South Africa.

The design of the Leonardo is all about sustainable development and green building. Renowned architects Co-arc and interior designers Steven Falcke and Varoom used the latest technology to create an energy efficient living experience. And it’s quite something.

A work of art that’s supported and would not be complete without the striking and diverse artworks throughout the building—which essentially are bold statements hanging together through several conceptual threads to create one final masterpiece.

The journey throughout the building is a series of artwork experiences of the four natural elements, earth, fire, wind and water.

And of course, the artworks’ curatorial approach was inspired by the inventor and visionary artist himself, Leonardo Da Vinci. Despite that, a diverse group of young and old local artists, designers and fabricators only, were commissioned for this project—and not some Italian artists and designers.

Some of our favourite pieces:

The artworks program was curated, commissioned and produced by The Trinity Session. We had an opportunity to chat with studio & project manager Ciara Struwig, who gave us a tour of the artworks as well as one of the directors at Trinity Session, Marcus Neustetter.

This is what they had to say about working at this scale over a period of three years: “It was an exciting journey of working at this scale and with so many contributing creative people. Developing the overall concept with enough room to allow different artistic expressions to find their place, meant that we were able to engage with a diversity of skills, ideas and media. One of the highlights of this project was seeing the artists dream and explore their interests and direction through experiments and collaborative exchanges on a scale that they have never done before,” says Struwig.

“Each piece carries an original perspective and is very distinctive on the experiential curated journey through the building. To choose a favourite is almost impossible since each work tells a story and has taken its medium to a new level of craft. The diversity of materials and approaches also represent the diversity of participants. These ranged from various backgrounds and experiences fulfilling roles from conceptualiser, designers, engineers, architects, crafters, established artists, students, and skilful installers. It has been a privilege to be on this journey of creating visionary statements and witness the personal and collective growth,’’ concludes Neustetter.

Visit www.TheLeonardo.co.za to book a tour of The Leonardo Artwork and for more information.