Mandela Rhodes Building

About Mandela Rhodes Building

Find the Mandela Rhodes Building on the corner of St George's Mall and Wale Street in Cape Town. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, it was originally built for De Beers by Cecil John Rhodes in 1902.

Did you know? "The central purpose of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation is to build exceptional leadership capacity in Africa." ~ Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

The historical building was known as Rhodes House until 2002, when it was gifted by Nicky Oppenheimer, De Beers chairperson, for the use of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation. It was renamed the Mandela Rhodes Building.

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation offers scholarships to African students doing postgraduate study in South African universities, and also provides leadership development opportunities for these students. It came into being when the then Rhodes Trust went into partnership with Mandela as part of the centenary celebrations in South Africa, pledging a founding benefaction over 10 years.

The donation of the building not only provided the foundation with a home but also meant they could rent parts of the building to similar organisations, and use the penthouse, known as the Julian Ogilvie Thompson Suite, for guests of the foundation.

The Mandela Rhodes Building stands in the same block as a larger regeneration project of the inner city of Cape Town known as Mandela Rhodes Place. Four historic buildings have been completely restored and integrated around a modern tower block into 'three cities' of luxury, furnished apartments leased for both short and long term stays.

The apartments are coupled with a spa a few restaurants - a couple of which spill out into St George's Mall - and retail space. The inner-city apartment space takes its name from the Mandela-Rhodes Building.