Runner Up

Multi Disciplinary Team Category

Newtown Bus Station

University of Cape Town

Angeline Ungersbock, Alexander Coetzee, Philippa Abrahamse

 

The building  aims to address the current need for sustainable design solutions but achieved in a way that is simple, low tech and expressive. It aims for a character that is articulated and natural to deliberately contrast with the sterile atmosphere that one usually associates with public transport buildings. It does this through  the creation of several green spaces and through promoting the natural flow of air. This is all made possible through the use of the hyperbolic-paraboloid roof canopies which collect rain water to sustain the landscaping and some water functions on the site. The canopy structures also give the building it's character. It has a delicate structural frame similar to that of the Nelson Mandela Bridge and the Victorian train station nearby. This is made possible through the use of a hyperbolic-paraboloid shaped structure which allows for concrete to span much greater distances without being supported, which furthermore allows for greater open spaces that are not constrained to load bearing walls. The sculptural character of the building is derived completely from it structure.

 

The sustainable design approach for the Newtown Bus Station came out of the desire to create a public green space in an area that is currently run-down and polluted. After an initial site visit it was observed how attempts had recently been made to uplift the area through the creation of public parks and the project therefore aimed to fit within this development in the area.

 

 

In order to sustain this public green space it was necessary to devise a system of grey-water harvesting in the building. This system of grey-water harvesting led to the development of a lily-pad like roof structure that enables water collection.  Rain water runs towards the centre of the lily-pad into a down-pipe cast in the concrete column which supports the lily-pad. A system of under-ground pipes drains the water collected from the lily-pads towards the lowest point on the site (the South-Western corner). Large amounts water can be stored in an underground water-store and then pumped up towards a tank to be distributed throughout the building. The water can for the watering of plants as well as the flushing of toilets and cleaning of buses.