Location: Umhlanga, South Africa

This project involved creating an iconic gateway for an upmarket medium-high density residential estate on the Umhlanga Ridge in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The biggest challenge was to accommodate the multitude of rooms necessary for the estate’s operational requirements, because the site that had already been designated for the gatehouse by the estate’s  planners was far too small, and deemed too close to the public road by the traffic department.

In addition to the typical roadside kiosk for security guards, the list of spaces required also included the guards change-rooms, a security surveillance office, a server room, the estate’s administration and sales offices, a kitchen and toilets for the offices, a postbox room for every unit on the estate, and a very large central garbage collection area to be hidden out of sight.

The solution for the extra area was found in the realisation that the space above the estate’s internal private road could be built upon. Thus all of the office spaces could be placed on a first floor level hovering over the road, with only the guard’s kiosk and other utility spaces occupying the limited ground floor space below.

A broad external walkway / veranda wraps around the upper floor perimeter on all four sides. This avoided the need for an internal passage, and allowed for shading of large glass sliding doors on both sides of every office space. This created office spaces with both soft natural light and cross ventilation.

The bi-folding timber screens on the outside edge of the walkway / veranda can be opened or closed to control the amount of sunlight, or take advantage of the views.