with KWP Landscape Architects
Project type: Government Legislature Building
Client: Mpumalanga Department of Public Works
Landscape value: R 11,000,000
Project description: When KWPNLA Landscape Architects in Association (KWPNLA) were appointed after winning a design competition, the complex had already been designed. Given the sensitive approach employed by the architects, and referring to the natural environment for contextual and narrative clues, the challenge was to create a new landscape that merged with and enhanced the fabric of the buildings but also in places, expressed itself for its own sake. The overall aim was to create a setting that does not appear as an autonomous ‘add on’ but rather integrates the buildings, the designed landscape and the natural environment in a seamless manner.
Landscape and architectural elements have been effectively combined to create places for social interaction at a variety of scales. The curved Civic Square or, Isigcawa, is the largest and most impressive. It forms a grand plaza that openly welcomes the public as a venue for large-scale social gathering and for public demonstrations. It terminates the axis of the Government Boulevard and integrates the government complex with the public environment by extending an existing line of Roystonia regia (Royal Palms), already planted the length of the boulevard, along the northern edge of the civic square to strengthen the link to the urban domain.
Even in its apparent civic scale, the square offers intimate spaces where more personal social gathering can take place. Located in a slightly off centre position near the entrance to the legislature chambers, is a symbolic acacia siberiana (Paper bark acacia) with surrounding seating mimicking the traditional kgotla, a traditional African gathering space for the leaders of the community. Paving patterns radiate from this focal point representative of a basket weave, to engage with the water feature located on the north side of the plaza.
The water feature was designed to respond to the importance of the civic square as a significant public space and to be interpreted by the people of Mpumalanga from their differing cultural perspectives. The fountain’s main sculptural element resembles a bowl. Patterns in the 1.8 metre diameter granite sculpture and stainless steel base, reflect African motifs and patterns used inside the building. They relate to various indigenous cultures and back to the Iron Age motifs on the pottery shards salvaged from the site. The stylized bowl can also be interpreted as a woven basket, a piece of pottery or in its most basic form as a sieving pan, thus making connections with the early gold mining activities and cultural artefacts of the region.
At the administrative block, buildings, decks, patios, walkways and gardens combine to form a three dimensional social environment, which is experienced at a variety of levels – from the upper cafeteria, down wide steps to a pathway that curves beneath a covered walkway and on towards the river.
The sunken garden is an open-air extension of the parliamentary foyer. This natural granite walled space with its featured ‘waterfall’, provides a cool, enclosed retreat that echoes aspects of the Nels and Crocodile River gorges neighbouring the site. Large granite boulders have been placed unevenly in the pool, bordered by sedges, to suggest a natural river course.
The geometric patterns of the courtyards featuring cycads, indigenous forest trees, river pebbles and paving materials attain an architectural character, when viewed from the surrounding office spaces.