A design philosophy was developed which built on a mixture of earlier UDF principles the Scheme Regulations and our proposed UDF proposals brought forward during discussions with SBM in order to achieve a scheme with a strong sense of place whilst creating a sequence of high quality urban spaces linked to create a cohesive scheme in addition to a design that responds well to integration of the future urban grain of the town and in specific beach Road.
The Outline Consent established the principle of residential Development in this highly sustainable beach location and provided the Catalyst for a very exciting opportunity to meet the housing needs
of Saldanha Bay in an imaginative manner without the aim of duplicating the unique architectural styles well known to the surrounding towns like Paternoster and Langebaan. These towns already have their unique character established and it forms part of their sense of place intertwined with the sense of place they offer to both residents and visitors to these West Coast towns.
The proposed built scale was lifted as described above on a small portion of the site as a backdrop to the town after we’ve done our visual impact study on the skyline viewed from the opposite beach front resulting in the proposed massing, creating strong focal reference points within a largely open, green setting. By carefully considering scale the scheme will not only address the major urban edges but also result in spaces between future buildings which have a human scale and introduce variable roofscapes along with seating benches & palm trees to the primary and secondary routes & proposed squares with cycle parking,
A 3m strip to the front of the properties was given I allocated and we've used it to strengthen our design ethos by allocating it towards for Public Use. Instead of closing onto the road closest to the beach we stepped back in order to create a new "SQUARE" and arrival point for cyclist and pedestrians. Cyclist can park their cycles and enjoy a stroll down to the beach. Pedestrian seating alongside the cycle parking and additional landscaping ensure well integrated public realm to the site and could be incorporated in other future developments. The opportunity exists to strengthen and integrate the existing cycle and pedestrian way, already incorporated by the SBM in earlier years.
In accordance with the original UDF and Scheme Regulations we created a design brief and our Stage 1 and 2 master plan, the design of areas together on Erf 5052, 3669 and 3670 was in need for sensitive use of scale throughout the layout. A strong urban edge to the Beach front along Beach Road of varied height predominantly between 2 and 4 storeys with a very small section raised to the 6th floor was set back from the site boundary by 3-Bm and reinforces the linear feel created by the dual lines of boulevard palm trees.
We've created a strong relationship between the built forms to ensure that they don't feel like a monolithic entity and transparency and a varied façade with strong yet refined and well-proportioned massing remained crucial throughout without a direct mirror image in height to each side.
