Plett’s new Magistrates Court nears completion
PHASE 1 of an urban renewal project designed to bring the communities of Plett, Kwa-Nokuthula and New Horizons together kicked off with the construction of the Plettenberg Bay Magistrates Court, which is now nearing completion.
The building, together with a public library and others still to be built, will provide residents in these areas with a central civic complex called the New Horizons Precinct.
Since October 2015, GVK-Siya Zama has been busy bringing architect Barry Koks vision to life. Kok says the building – a concrete-framed, four-storey structure enveloped by a glazed curtain wall – turns its back on the N2 and faces the community it serves, with its large, multi-volume entrance portal inviting them in.
The only brief given to him by the Department of Justice and Correctional Services, in terms of the buildings aesthetic, was the that it should be a contemporary expression’.
“I spent some time on a beach down in Plett where I saw rocks with cracks and fissures and went and reinterpreted that in the facade of the building through the crisscrossed beams covering the building’s exterior.”
The contemporary facade hides a complex internal layout that accommodates four criminal courts, two regional courts, two civil courts, as well as a family and children’s court, along with a public parking basement, staff parking. 17 detainee cells and magistrate offices.
GVK-Siya Zama senior contracts manager Jaco Kotze says general feedback has been extremely positive and all parties seem impressed and excited for the building to become operational.
“The 312 labourers from Bitou who were employed on the project since commencement. together with local contractors and suppliers. can be extremely proud of the parts they all played in the successful delivery of the project.”
Visit www.siyazama. co.za to find out more.
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