Salt Rock

PROJECT BACKGROUND

LMJ Developments acquired an option to develop on two portions of land located in the Mount Edgecombe part of Balito, also known as Salt Rock. They, however, deemed the existing design unsuitable for their development objectives and approached Vitruvius Consulting Engineers & Fourie | Architecture + Urban Design to prepare a design that would outperform the existing Master Plan in terms of both yield and architectural and urban attractiveness.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The two land parcels are both situated on an aggressive slope and the property rights determined that one had to be a Retirement Village and the other a Lifestyle and Leisure Estate. Our economic modelling of the project yields showed that the Retirement component had a much higher yield even though it was situated on the smaller of the two parcels. Through clever interpretation of the Town Planning Scheme wording we were able to encroach on the larger stand making the investment much more attractive for the client.
The project complexity was further compounded by a portion of the Lifestyle estate that was not only already constructed but also inhabited. We managed to further develop an architectural language that complimented the existing units but also expressed a fresh contemporary coastal architecture suitable for the tropical climate in Durban.
In summery the project exhibits a relatively high-density placement of units, which through their design allow for ample landscaping, a sense of community but also privacy and uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean.