Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		King Shaka International Airport La Mercy, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal ILEMBE ARCHITECTURAL JOINT VENTURE: Architect

Date: 2010 Type: Airport Status: Extant   Click to view map Coordinates: 29°37'08.02" S 31°06'17.16" E Alt: 86m

OSMOND LANGE ARCHITECTS & PLANNERS were the lead architects, in association with four emergent BEE practices; SHABANGU ARCHITECTS, MTHULISI MSIMANG ARCHITECTS, RUBEN REDDY ARCHITECTS and NSM DESIGNS. The Durban International Airport in KwaZulu-Natal, for the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) reached completion in the last quarter of 2009. The multi-faceted airport consists of numerous large facilities and structures, including main Terminal, Control Tower, runways, Cargo Terminal, multi-storey Parkade and Sub-stations. The airport was constructed in response to KwaZulu-Natal's growing air travel demand. The previous Durban airport did not have expansion capacity to handle increased passenger volumes. Construction on the project began in August 2007. One of the foremost challenges was the tight time schedule of bringing the project to completion in just over two years after having started the project. At the peak of construction, more than 8 000 people were employed. Although the airport site was chosen some 30 years ago, it remained feasible especially because of its expansion potential in line with satisfying growing demand as well as being well positioned close to major road networks. Like most major infrastructure developments the project will promote investment and economic growth and lead to significant growth in the next few years. Aside from handling the additional 2010 soccer World Cup tourists, Phase 1 of the new airport at La Mercy, in Durban will initially handle 7,5 million passengers with phase two expansion doubling this passenger capacity. The long-term aim was to be able to expand the airport incrementally to cater for up to 45 million passengers by 2060. The current floor area of passenger Terminal building is 100 000 m2. The airport is a facility designed to move people, cars and air transport and as such, the objective is to facilitate these as efficiently as possible. Built on six separate levels, the airport has been designed to be efficient, flexible, durable and user-friendly. At the new airport, passengers are able to report to any of the check-in counters to facilitate their air transport arrangements. This ensures efficiency during periods of high demand either from local or international destinations. Energy efficiency – a key element - has been taken into account in the design of the airport, and as such, the facility has been constructed to allow natural light and ventilation and is especially visible in the design of the large open plan departure lounge, open curved roof and double glazed facade to reduce solar heat gain. To facilitate a user-friendly environment, the airport was painted in light colours throughout, however to assist passengers in navigating without confusion, distinct colourful directional signage was used throughout. As the airport will be in constant use by passengers, staff, vehicles and trolleys, materials used in the building were chosen for their resilience, durability and low maintenance. Materials, such as granite, concrete with epoxy finishes and tiles that will handle the daily wear and tear were chosen. The airport facility incorporates some of the most modern designs and the latest state of the art technology, especially at the Cargo facility, which has a sophisticated baggage handling system. The 16 000 m2 Cargo facility has been designed to handle 100 000 tons of cargo per year and will be the leading element encouraging air freight as the preferred route for cargo, to and from Gauteng and surrounding areas. The cargo facility will almost certainly stimulate related opportunities in the area and lead to the creation of other support infrastructure. The multi-storey Parkade consisting of three floors, has been designed for expansion to double its current capacity of 1 500 cars. The Parkade, allocated some 60 000 m2 area is the second largest building on site. (Osmond Lange Architects, 2012) All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.