About The Workshop

The WorkShop.

Why have you chosen this area?

        

We have chosen The Workshop in Durban Town, why we have chosen the Workshop is because The Workshop has completely changed and developed since 1986, The Workshop is no longer just a mall but It is now a place where children get to hang out after school, it is a place for people to start their own small businesses outsides the streets selling clothes and food. It has this dynamic market all types of shoppers from different walks and places of life to bring their unique qualities into The Workshop. It is also surrounded by historical buildings and exquisite landmarks.

The history of the area you have chosen?

The Workshop was once the original railway for the Durban Station. It was built in the Victorian style therefore is Victorian railway. The railway was built for steam trains to take passengers from point A to point B.

 On the 26^th of June 1860 the first official steam train journey took place. A painting was made of the official steam train; it was done by Robert Tatham who was the manager of the Natal Railway Company. The picture was painted at the Market Square Station which was also known as Durban Station where people where buying selling and trading goods. The background of this historical painting, you can see the Original St Paul’s Anglican church. The St Paul’s Church was Holy Communion and a healing service throughout the week, and there was a soup kitchen that ran from St Paul’s Church from Monday to Friday. The first service in the original church took place in 1855; this church burnt down in 1906. The present church, built in a Neo-Gothic style, was opened for service in 1909.

The tracks of the Durban Railway Station started lengthened to new horizons and started branching off to new locations some closer and some much further away. New railway stations were then built to service the traders and the passengers who used the steam train for transport.

Today this historical landmark has become a place for tourist where there is beautiful historical buildings to have a look at. Near the Durban Railway Station there is the church St Paul’s church and right across from the church there is a post office.

Painting of the official steam train by Robert Tatham

Discuss the type of activities happening in this area.

There area has accommodated people from different walks of life that come together to create the market, the people are from different African Countries selling different brands of clothing and many more stuff such as traditional outfits, suitcases, jewellery and many more. From branded shoes to branded clothing, other vendors have mini salons where they braid and do hair, and other vendors have got beauty stalls where they do hair styling, eyelashes, nails and pamper people, for a very affordable price.

There are entertainment areas where by there is a pool and foosball table and if anyone wants to play they have to pay a small fee and the compete against another player, there are singers, comedians, dancers and magicians who come to perform to people who are around the workshop just to make them laugh and entertain them for free of charge but people do donations as they wish. There is a medical centre around which cater for people around the area for their convenience.

There are people selling sweets and cheap biscuits in big packets as well they are people selling all types of cosmetics in their trollies.  There ladies also selling food such as different fresh vegetables and fruits as well as mealie meal and muffins. 

They are men who stand outside and clean shoes as well as polish peoples shoes who are walking past if they want clean and shiny shoes.

A lot of interesting things happen around this area people come hang out with friend’s people come to shop and people come to walk around and tour the historical sight.

The aspects in which the city/ organisations/ business have tried to incorporate

innovative thinking to uplift the area, or make it function sustainably as a whole;

In 1986, the old Durban railway workshop got a makeover. The historical building, originally constructed in 1860, was skilfully transformed into a huge shopping centre that was unanimously adopted by Durbanites and has since become one of the most popular shopping centres in the Durban community.

The re-establishment of the former station as one of the city’s most buzzing places managed to retain the building’s character. But over time the Workshop lost its footing as a major upmarket niche centre as most of Durban’s CBD moved to the nether regions of Umhlanga, and the perception of the Workshop as unsafe, due to its position in an area marked by crime, had its effect on the centre.

Then came a marketing campaign that drew on the building’s value as a former railway workshop, to restore interest in the building and change the opinions of visitors to the Workshop. A ‘railway platform’ within the centre gave ‘passengers’ a chance to journey through Europe, India and Africa, allowing the Workshop tenants to display their culinary skills and merchandise, attracting shoppers back to the centre.

The Workshop provides a free shuttle service to and from any destination within the CBD, which adds to the attraction. That and the array of shops that include African arts and curio shops, smaller trendy clothing boutiques, and a strong Indian influence in the form of the heady smells of spices and pretty Indian fabrics.

All these aspects of The Workshop have ultimately been uplifting to the area as it has become not only a place where locals go to shop and explore different cultures, but it works as a huge tourist attraction. The diversity in cultures around the area gives it a unique feel. The different stalls of people selling any and everything is a great way to uplift the area as a whole and generate an income.

The areas which greatly need innovators, such as yourselves, to improve the ways in

which people can exist in this space;

The areas around The Workshop that need innovators would be the different stalls that locals have set up to sell their products. As these are one of the main attractions of this area, we could help improve the appearance and system of buying and selling in this area.

One of the main issues why some people prefer other areas other than the Workshop is because they feel it is not safe, if we can offer a solution that would make the area safer, the people there would be able to make a lot more income as more people would support their businesses and more tourists would visit the area.

The overall idea is to come up with creative and innovative ways to help the vendors sell their products and create a safer environment for the people who visit the Workshop. Implementing a cleaner environment would also be very beneficial to the area as the appearance of it would improve greatly. Lastly, making all the elements that are unique and exciting about the Workshop more sustainable for future generations would not only help the area stay the beautiful tourist attraction it is, but it would somewhat increase Durban’s economy and that is always the main reason behind creating such areas.