Theatre de L absurde a parasitic mediator within gold reef city
Date
2018
Authors
Stipanov, Aeron
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Johannesburg is as a polyglot city; a contrived conurbation of remarkably disparate
contexts within a single urban boundary. Today it is a city that cannot be read as a
comprehensive whole, as philosopher Achille Mbembe (2008:59) suggests, it is “a
metropolis increasingly forced to construct itself out of heterogeneous fragments and
fortuitous juxtapositions”. Yet these stark fragments of misery and privilege are not
simply the inheritance of a political or geographical past but equally, the making of its
present. This research paper therefore aims to move beyond the mundane social matrix
in order to present an architectural intervention that attempts new ways at deciphering
the con icting logics that make Johannesburg today.
A city that has been shaped by the rise and fall of legally sanctioned segregation,
Johannesburg currently demonstrates one of the worlds most socially, economically and
spatially fragmented urban landscapes. Produced by a whirlwind of social, political and
economic forces, it is a city where the wounds of the past remain clear.
The research paper contextualises the profoundly unequal city that Johannesburg is
today. Through the acknowledgment of growing anxieties within the city due to crime, it
is the enclave that dominates the landscape and shapes the city of multiple urban
formations. Gold Reef City, a capitalist enclave, becomes the base of the theoretical
unpacking of how the boundary wall of these social enclaves can start to be broken
down, allowing a more inclusive urban formation.
The theoretical implementation is supported by architectural intervention through the
construction of a new theatre typology. Gold Reef City as a whole is a theatrical
production and exists on a stage of spectacle and escape. Although a theatre already
exists at Gold Reef City, it is entirely inaccessible to visitors who have not purchased
tickets. The new theatre acts as a whirlwind, distorting the absurdity that exists on the
site and allows these fragments to meet at a single point. It is a parasite, a spectacle that
juxtaposes all that exists within Gold Reef City. Welcome to ‘The Theatrical Machine’...
Description
Research report submitted to the School of Architecture and
Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the
requirements for the Masters of Architecture (Professional).
Submitted on 7 February 2018