The new Buscor Bus Terminus is situated in the heart of White River, a small farming community just 20km North of Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. Nested on top of the valley bank the site offers a panoramic view overlooking tree tops and the surrounding farmlands. The site selection was not the result of its beautiful surroundings, but rather because of its centralized location in the transport sector of Mpumalanga. The facility consists of the main building with six bus platforms tucked in underneath a linear steel roof supported by an array of slender concrete columns with steel crown supports to give the impression of a light tree top canopy. The main building houses approximately 554 square meters of office space on ground floor level with the ticketing area, public ablutions, retail shop, bus drivers lounge and staff canteen situated on the first floor level. Each bus platform was designed to stack three 114 seater passenger busses at a time with on-site parking for a total of 55 busses. Current figures show an impressive number of approximately 240 busses moving through the facility daily with a total of 22 000 patrons per day. The ticketing area is accessed via a raised walkway ramp leading commuters directly to the first floor level and in turn, separating pedestrian movement from the busy on-site bus circulation. The warm temperate climate of the area allowed for an open design with covered walkways looking down onto the bus platforms with large overhangs which allows cool fresh air to pass through freely. The facility is equipped with a back-up diesel generator plant and a 200 000 litre water reservoir, allowing the facility to function uninterruptedly during power and water outages. The water reservoir was also a necessity with regards to fire safety as the water pressure in the fire hydrants in White River area was not sufficient for the scale of the project. With South Africa’s water scarcity in mind, the valet facility was designed with a water recycling and oil separator plant, promoting water re-usage for vehicle washing with minimal wastage. A two lane diesel filling station formed part of the project envelope which allows for 70 000 litre underground fuel storage. Challenges on the project included the natural slope of the site and a large portion highlighted as protected wetland area. As passenger safety played a major role in the design, the entire site had to be graded and re-levelled in order to achieve slopes suitable for loading passengers, general bus manoeuvrability and parking. Key materials utilised in this project include a mixture between off-shutter concrete, red face brick, steel and aluminium. All building materials were sourced within a close proximity of the site in order to minimize the embodied energy of the development. Project Value: R60 mil Year completed: 2016 Gross building area: 6 162m² Site Area: 35 303m²