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With a passion for art, design and architecture, Joao Ribeiro and Ali Dakik contemporary space that checks all the boxes create a

- YASHNA BALWANTH

What started out as a casual conversation between friends Joao Ribeiro of JR Design and Ali Dakik of DaxLab around the dilemma of Joburg's growing residential demands - do you take the high-end design route or forego these for a more affordable price tag - would lay the groundwork for one of the city's most exciting, design-forward development concepts.

It seemed Johannesburg developers were already addressing the demand with new apartment buildings cropping up seemingly overnight, all sporting the latest finishes and appliances to suit a modern, clutter- and fuss-free lifestyle - however, they were doing so with exorbitant prices and often less-than-generous space.

For Joao and Ali, it couldn't be development as usual, and they began with a focus on sustainability, choosing to re-purpose the vast existing stock of well-built, older apartment blocks, many of them in extensive park-like settings built on sound architectural principles, offering ample-sized rooms with high ceilings.