KZN LEGISLATURE PRECINCT

Modern Cultural And Climatic Design Didactic

The hills of KwaZulu-Natal are rolling, expressive, green gestures of its soft sub-tropical climate. The site chosen for the legislature is set into one of these hills and allows a circuitous route around and up to it to be symptomatic of the journey South Africa and KZN has taken to achieve its parliamentary democracy status.

The form of the building takes two solid objects juxtaposed subtly next to each other with a delicate link.

These symbolise the office or administrative component of the legislature, illustrating the “public” populace and the inverted cone building, signifying the “private” persons representing the populace in their decision making process. The cone breaks the ground as a circle pushed into the earth with the berms bulging as if on impact from the sheer physical presence and gravitas of the assembly function its form.

The circle is a marker, a citadel, which has a bridge and opening that opens up to the landscape and welcomes people in as the permeable, transgressed threshold of those in power and those not.

Colourful textures, earthy materials and light rigid structures all combine to create an eclectic modern ensemble of cultural and physical dimensions that encourage interaction and participation in the architecture.

PROJECT VALUE

 R 150,000,000 (estimated)

COMPLETION

 First Place

LOCATION

 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa