Located on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, Cornubia is a strategic landholding situated within the northern corridor of the region’s commercial hub, Durban. Cornubia is the first proposed sustainable and fully integrated human settlement in the region and has been declared a national priority project. It will be spread over 1,200ha, with 80ha earmarked for industrial development and the remainder for commercial, housing and other social and public facilities. Cornubia Mall is an essential retail component of the development.
Background
Designed by Bentel Associates International and developed by Investec Property, this unique retail development was conceptualised by the need to provide the KZN North Coast with a differentiated shopping and leisure experience, which incorporates the numerous aspects of the KZN lifestyle, and is seen as a ‘retail park’, rather than an internalised mall. This aspect, including the various elements of nature and the surrounding landscape being incorporated into the design, placed the priority of the pedestrian at the core of the development.The open air environment has been designed to provide 65,000m² of retail within separate nodes, which are unique in their architectural language and style.
Concept & Planning
The design concept of Cornubia Mall is intended to create a retail centre which provides a unique retail product to the area. Cornubia offers a destination of retail convenience, outdoor living and recreational value which seamlessly blends with the lifestyle of the surrounding community it serves.While the trend in regional shopping centres in tropical climates has long been to offer large air-conditioned enclosed malls, Cornubia strikes a perfect balance between a retail centre, comprised of large national tenants and an outdoor lifestyle experience.
This is typified by expansive shaded exterior walkways and pause areas, interlaced with indigenous vegetation, an open air public square and even an integrated cycle track through the centre which links to the surrounding areas. Lifts were extensively used in the northern portion of the centre to link the double volume parking basement with the retail areas.
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