NORTH ELEVATION
Statistics : Data , Graphs , and Landscape The form of the building is derived from the literal expression of the Department in gathering information , processing it , and disseminating it in understandable statistics , frequently translated into the pictorial form of graphs . The building finds three-dimensional expression in the shape of gentle , staggered zigzags layered behind each other ; each one reaching out into the surrounding landscape , tying the building into its surrounds . Each one finds individual identity within the campus through being marked with a slightly different angled shape and clad in a varying colour of the same material . The language established by these graphs is carried through to the treatment of the DPC and is sympathetic to the Heritage Court buildings .
The surrounding hills and ridges of the Tshwane area are also echoed in this graph-like form . The landscape planning echoes the theme of representing statistics in the African landscape , and combines a language of strokes across the site : from the graph-like marks of the gabion walls , to the re-opening of the well in the Heritage
Court and the re-establishment of the footpaths that inscribe the earth with a history of routes and information .
Drum : Communication , Creation and Sharing The brief required the inclusion of a drum . Drums have been used for centuries in many cultures for the communication of news , the calling of peoples to gather and , of course , as a musical instrument engaged in artistic expression . The drum of the main building stands angled at the main entrance on the northern side of the campus , at once marking the site and inviting staff and visitors alike to gather . From here , remarkable views are possible to and from the city and news and understanding of the work done at Stats SA is disseminated to the city and the world around .
The use of a drum symbol of communication on this site resonates with the history of this location which was known as Timeball Hill and Signal Hill because of its function of signalling from its peak the arrival of the mail trains from the colonies into Pretoria station . From its early occupation , this site has been used to communicate the notion of news
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