PART TWO
2.3 SITE SELECTION
Three diverse sites were selected to display the potential reach of a collaborative skills facility from urban to rural. There were two sites chosen in urban areas and the other is in a rural area, the building typology would be derived from the needs of the different sites and would be determined by the existing structure of the site.
Fig_ii. 4 : Map showing the three sites, clockwise from top: Ashburton, towards Pietermaritzburg, and the two urban sites in Durban, the Beer Hall in the city and Wilsons Wharf in the Harbour.
2.3.1 Site Option One : The Old Beer Hall, Durban CBD.
“Cities are the most fertile fields of economic, social and cultural exchange and creativity. They are highly efficient and effective environments for the conversion of resources into opportunity and productivity. And therefore powerful contributors to achieving our human potential.” Makin (2012:65)
Fig_ii. 5 : The Beer hall in the context of Durban’s Light industrial back yard of the CBD.
A proposed design district to promote and support local artisans, designers, and craftsman through adaptive re-use and urban reintegration.
+ PRO
» Currently no public interface between the CBD and the promenade, therefore a possible public node between promenade and CBD could help tie elements together.
» An entry and focus point into the city from the M15 and the M4 from the North.
» A dynamic semi Industrial back seat of the city in need of regeneration.
» Revival of a lost asset though adaptive re-use.
» Human interface / public realm desperately needed in the precinct and could benefit from an injection of people and possibly smaller start up commercial activity into the existing large scale, industrial factory-like urban grain.
» Could sustain job creation in the city and plug into urban framework as the services are already there.
» Potential to pubic realm to bleed onto Milnes way to activate its edge.
» Building in the city combats “Urban Sprawl” - increasingly evident in South African cities.
» Densities = people = proximities = connections = chance encounters = opportunities.
Proximities : ICC (200m), UNISA (300m), Beachfront Promenade (600m), Harbour (1km), Warwick Avenue (2km), Moses Mabhida (2,2km).
- CON
» Over-run by cars (however, intervention could be a solution to this)
» Dead space (However, this is a pre-requisite for site selection)
» Problematic parking.
» Precinct is heavily populated with car show rooms and banks, however, there is a possibility that with the new development in uMhlanga, the new Dube precinct or Bridge City, this could leave a void in the urban fabric that would need to be addressed.
2.3.2 Site Option Two : The Drums, Ashburton.
On the edges of both Durban and Pietermartizburg, a peripheral site which offers a notth orientated site, and spectacular views of the South African Countryside. Within an already existing light industrial area, the delapitated house offers many opportunites for community engagement.
Fig_ii. 6 : The view of the dilapidated farm house from the N3 with the Drums to the North of the site.
+ PRO
» Good opportunities for branding/signage/advertising, as the site sits alongside the N3 (main freeway which connects Durban and Johannesburg) and is roughly three quarters of the way between two urban precincts, Durban and Pietermartizburg.
» Good connections for import/export.
» The Adaptive re-use of dilapidated sheds and infrastructure would reduce cost and aid in recycling of good building fabric.
» The project could be dealt with in a similar manner to Dalton reserve (a case study in part one of this dissertation), whereby sustained, long-term, job creation in a rural area could be encouraged.
» The site is within an existing manufacturing precinct. Within 1km of the building there are towing premises, air brake specialists and car repair shops.
- CON
» Although Ashburton is off the main N3 free way, the reach of the development would be minor, as the densities for this type of development would not be sufficient to survive.
» By building this far away from existing networks, the development would be contributing to urban sprawl.
» There are weak public transport links in the area, and would realistically only cater for people in the area.
2.3.3 Site Option Three : Wilsons Wharf, Durban.
The site runs alongside the existing Wilsons Wharf complex which consists of a yacht mole, restaurants, Catalina Theatre, and craft market. The dilapidated site could incorporate an improved connection to the waters edge and resurrect its urban context.
Fig_ii. 7 : The site in its harbour context, alongside the existing yacht mole in Wlisons Wharf
+ PRO
» The site is dilapidated and in need of rejuvenation.
» In an industrial area therefore manufacturing (etc) will be supported.
» Opportunities to inject into existing trading of Wilsons wharf.
» Potential to engage the once public-ness of the harbour, as this used to once be Durban’s front-of-house swimming and tourist strip.
» The intervention could become a link with the existing Bat Centre and Wilson’s wharf craft centres, and ultimately enhance the entire public realm of the precinct along the waters’ edge.
- CON
» Access. The site is cut-off from the rest of Durban due to the train track, although the intervention could be a catalytic change for the environment, the urban design scheme in itself would need to be greater than what the client is intending to pursue.
» The surrounding urban environment is occupied mainly with large inhumane, industrial buildings along one side, and housing blocks on the other, both of which have a low human interface, which is not good for trade.
» As the site is small, there is limited growth with regards to phasing development.