INDUSTRY FOCUS design for
INDUSTRY FOCUS design for
FUTURE cities
Founded in 1996, with offices in
Durban and Johannesburg, Iyer has been involved in numerous largescale projects such as Sibaya Coastal Precinct, Moses Mabhida
Stadium Precinct and Cornubia, to name just a few.
With a diverse range of interdisciplinary specialisations, lyer Urban Designs dynamic approach weaves together planning, urban design and architecture. At the heart of everything Iyer sets out to achieve is connecting people with their environments and maximising quality of life for users.
Alongside Nathan Iyer, the founder and chief creative director, is Kamalen Gounden, director of planning, and Glanville Jacques, architecture director. The trio is complemented by a 25-strong studio of planners, urban designers, architects and other professionals.
Iyer is fully committed to promoting environmentally sustainable development practices and carrying these forward through each and every stage of the urban design and planning process.
HOLISTIC PLANNING
For holistic, people-centred urban design, Nathan stresses that“ responsible planning means looking not only at benefits on a localised level, but also at how each development uplifts the broader city and environment. We achieve this through careful consideration of where people are employed, their socio-economic context, and how connected they are in terms of transport.”
Iyer begins the planning process with an analysis of the site in an effort to understand the space from a contextual perspective. The next step is chiefly concerned with concept development.
“ From one stage to the next, the planners, urban designers, architects and landscape architects are in continuous consultation until all issues around the project have been examined from every possible angle.”
The required consultants, including civil and traffic engineers, electrical engineers and environmentalists, are brought into the planning and design process.“ Once we have established the framework plan for the site, networks and nodes are assigned, and development rights are secured. The order in which we develop nodes is dependent on their location and factors such as whether the current market demands residential, retail or commercial land use and the right fit with context”
So what about Iyer’ s approach sets it apart from its competitors? Their mandate fundamentally recognises their role as being a proactive movement for social upliftment as much as agents in the creation of positive built environments.“ We endeavour to create buildings that respond to their environment, bring dignity to people and serve today’ s users as well as those of the future.”