In the Beginning
One of the book’s most unexpected revelations is that today’s Marina is roughly 65% the size of the development its planners originally envisioned, with a yacht harbour, golf course, restaurants, shops… Think V&A Waterfront before the V&A Waterfront.
Enter the Skeptics
Another striking revelation is the level of public skepticism that greeted Anglo American’s decision to invest today’s equivalent of R7 billion in turning an uninhabitable sandscape into a world-class residential and leisure destination.
Meet the Visionaries
Our book introduces key members of the Marina planning team, who included some of the most talented and influential professionals in the country’s architecture and urban planning sectors. They include co-author, Gerald Rosenthal (centre), David Jack and Mick Lowe (right).
Three Key Challenges
We Can. we did
Progress was exhaustively documented, providing a remarkable visual record of how the team overcame challenges and silenced skepticism. The book features archive images by photographers including David Baker and Malcolm Cobern (courtesy Fish Hoek Valley Museum).
Selling the Dream
We particularly enjoy the chapter that highlights the way Anglo American sold the Marina to the public. It wasn’t just bricks and mortar. It was a place to live, a place to play. While media coverage was largely supportive, some headlines struck a different note.
Timeless
For all the changes that have taken place over the past half-century, the natural beauty of Marina da Gama endures. The book captures this remarkable setting through a selection of photographs that reveal another side of the Marina story.
