EKURHULENI CIVIC PRECINCT

In 2000, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality was formed from various adjacent authorities, and it needed a consolidated metropolitan core. Co-Arc International was commissioned to develop a master plan for the civic precinct within the heart of Germiston.

The aim of the urban design was to provide a succession of generous open spaces that shape the public realm. Full space planning analyses of the entire metropolitan administration determined the bulk of development area that would drive the project. Landmarks such as the Magistrate’s Court, City Hall, a new library and a square in front of the Civic Centre work together to define the core of the administration of the municipality.

Development guidelines for the precinct were aimed at reshaping the disconnected setting into an integrated whole, giving the new metro a centre of operations and a discernible identity. The urban design framework also considered the financial capacity of the metro, and development potential to map out a short- and medium-term plan for interventions to maximise the client’s and the neighbourhood’s investments.

Contextually, a strategic environmental assessment helped to establish design solutions, and as a consequence of our desire to create a more integrated civic precinct we recommended expanding the study to consider the impact of the wider urban fabric.