The design of botanical conservatory facilities at cathedral peak in the Drakensberg, KwaZulu Natal: a cathedral of conservation

This treatise investigates how eco-tourism can be employed to support the development of natural identity and place-making of a sacred environment through architectural intervention in the midst of an industrialised society. The principle argument of this treatise is that through the symbiosis of nature and the built environment, architecture can provide a counter-narrative to the disconnection between humans and nature. With ecotourism being a contemporary attempt to re-connect humans with our natural routes, to create awareness, a spiritual awakening and a global warming crisis intervention, this treatise will be the architectural product of conservation. The unification of ecology and architecture is critical to a contemporary definition of the natural environment. This treatise proposes the design of botanical conservatory facilities at Cathedral Peak, a tourist and research precinct in the renowned natural and cultural National Heritage Site of the Drakensberg Mountains. It presents an architecture which becomes an extension of the landscape and articulates its natural ecological systems through architectural design, while reinforcing the junction of the natural and built environment. It places the focus on integration between inside/outside spaces, in which the harmonious and symbiotic relationship can be experienced. Although it presents a contemporary architecture, it integrates various vernacular material and tectonic references, becoming a symbol of the nature of the place. The proposal is further described as a ‘cathedral of conservation’ designed as a modulated system for the simulation of particular climatic environments, with attributes drawn from the Gothic cathedral archetype in its attention to verticality and detail to materiality, and from a phenomenological perspective of place and identity as a building asserting the distinctive nature of the place. This cathedral of conservation is an architectural response to the sacredness and spirituality of the mountains, inducing a dialogue between the conservatory and the mighty Cathedral Peak which is one of the most famous natural attributes of the Drakensberg and thus the site’s most valuable vista