Urban filter interrogating public space in postapartheid Johannesburg through the reintroduction of water as a civic amenity
Date
2019
Authors
Stokes, Kegan
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Abstract
Urban filter is about public space in Johannesburg, and seeks to provide an approach
to a new space in the city that addresses the interpreted apprehension felt towards
sharing space in it, specifically by those who established themselves on the northern
suburban periphery following the fall of apartheid.
Inspired by the physical link between the city’s urban and northern suburban
environments that exists as the Braamfontein Spruit, the role of water in Johannesburg
and its history is investigated in this project. Water – valuable in a city in which it is
becoming increasingly scarce – is placed into civic space in an attempt to mediate
the fear of public space in the city. This manifests as the proposal for a new swimming
pool at the source of the Braamfontein Spruit in Berea, Johannesburg. The pool forms
part of a larger facility that harvests and treats urban rainwater for use in it, while the
overall proposal more significantly seeks to initiate conversation between its users
towards a city that is more progressive towards an integrated and sustainable future
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the Masters of Architecture degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
February 2019