Location Research & Site Analysis

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The inspiration for my building is the protea flower which is the national flower of South Africa therefore I decided for my location to be withing that country. I chose Durban which is located on the South-East coat of South Africa in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. I chose this location for a number of reasons, firstly it is the 3rd most populous city right behind Capetown and Johannesburg but it does not have a number of theatres like those cities despite its diverse musical and arts scene and community. It is also known to have a very diverse population ranging from people of African, Indian and European descent, most of its residents having a multicultural identity (worldpopulationreview.com, n.d.). It is home to the largest port in Africa and has established itself in trade, manufacturing and transport making it an economically sound area (Young, 2023).  The city is also a huge tourist destination mainly because of its stunning beaches, warm climate and its cultural environment and cuisines. Having a theatre there could bring in many play and musical loving tourists. 

After choosing my location, I chose a specific site in which my building would occupy using Google maps. It is a Brownfield site. Durban Site

 

It is a good location as it is right near the beach and also has amenities surrounding it which can help bring local and tourists in.

For example it is located near a hotel and entertainment lounge which could hold a lot of tourists. It will also be convenient to get to and from the theatre to their hotel because of the close proximity


It also has both the Moses Mabhida and Kings Parks stadium nearby. The King Parks stadium hosts a number of Rugby matches and has also hosted the Rugby world cup in 1995 while the Moses Mabhida stadium is a multi use stadium for both social and sports events and is also known for hosting matches during the FIFA world cup in 2010. This location can also bring in an influx of sports fans from all around the world.

Lastly, it also has a good transportation route surrounding it such as the Durban bus and train station making it easy for people to locate and arrive at the theatre.


After doing the measurements for my site, I found the area to be 55,970.25 m2

 

Based on the street view, I found it better to place my entrance on the right hand side as the left hand is a busier road because it has cars coming from a junction while the right hand is just a two way street. I decided to put my parking towards the right side assuming my building is facing the direction of my entrance. I also extended the parking a bit to the back to make it easier for performers and staff to access the back door. My parking lot came to be an area of 18,051.63 m2 which left me with 37,918.62 m2 of space for my building.

 

I also took into consideration that I wanted my building to be ontop of grassland so I left some space for grass around the building which would also be helpful as a path for people walking from the carpark. This left me with 28,555.09 m2 as my building area and 9,363.53 m2 as my grass area



I tried to visualise my plan by doing a quick trace of what I wanted on my computer using a screenshot of the site and this was my final idea


References

worldpopulationreview.com. (n.d.). Durban Population 2020 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs). [online] Available at: https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/durban-population [Accessed 23 May 2024].

Young, J. (2023). A regional overview of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial economy. [online] South African Business. Available at: https://www.southafricanbusiness.co.za/11/2023/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/a-regional-overview-of-the-kwazulu-natal-provincial-economy/ [Accessed 23 May 2024].

 

 

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