Browsing by Author "Francis, Liale"

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Interconnected voidscapes: re-imagining Northcliffs cultural landscape through architectural intervention
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mahomed, Nabeel; Francis, Liale
Voidscape is a term that will be used in the research to describe the interconnected network of social, cultural, and spatial voids within Northcliff, serving as a conceptual framework to analyse the gaps and divisions present in the community’s fabric. This research attempts to identify an urban program that finds significant opportunities for design intervention through a detailed analysis of the neighbourhood, eventually addressing the existing void spaces that potentially promote and ignite positive change in the community. The study will identify strategic avenues for an architectural intervention that are in line with the goals and demands of the community. The urban program will act as a guide for the creation of lively, inclusive public areas that foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity for all residents, regardless of their backgrounds or origins. It encourages a feeling of community and connection among locals through this process
The language of humanity
(2009-11-09T10:50:10Z) Francis, Liale
Looking through the activation lens :Exploring urban renewal in Lenasia through an activism centre
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Bawa, Mariam; Francis, Liale
South Africa’s history of trauma has created traumatic spaces. As we search for a post-apartheid identity, South Africa finds itself in a healing place. This research project looks at addressing traumas of the past while understanding the healing of the present. Lenasia has undergone traumas of segregation and forced removals of diasporic groups. What is trauma? How does it affect people and places? Life comes with a lot of challenges, some greater than others. Exposure to events beyond our everyday human experience can create trauma within us. It is beyond human experience to have one’s home bulldozed and torn down by an oppressive government. Being segregated is not an ordinary human experience. Being dislocated from a community, jobs, and so much more are all traits that cause trauma. All of these factors have deeply affected communities in South Africa, especially those that are marginalised. Poverty, inequality, healthcare, unemployment, racism, and childcare create layers of extraordinary experiences resulting in trauma. The increase in unemployment and decay of government-provided amenities continue to affect us today. My thesis addresses these traumas through understanding the history of Lenasia and activism around the apartheid system. It also addresses urban decay using urban theory, phenomenology, placemaking, identity, and activism theories of change. The research will lead to an architectural intervention that addresses trauma and provides a platform for people to voice their stories. The intervention will take the form of a Youth Activist Centre that enriches the community by mobilising youth to participate in the community while allowing for a space of leisure
Reusing the urban fabric: adaptive re-use of an abandoned heritage building to explore community empowerment within the Johannesburg CBD's textile industry
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Soobramoney, Kyle; Francis, Liale
The city of Johannesburg has undergone massive transformations since its conception and the discovery of gold that set the city on an exponentially rising trajectory. In the aftermaths of apartheid, many post-industrial buildings are scattered through the city landscape, forgotten, and decaying with accompanying detrimental effects to their surrounding context. This investigation aims to reuse a delipidated heritage building to grow economy through local industry. In the case of this investigation, the relevant industry is the ever-growing textile and secondhand clothing market. This industry is contextually relevant, and the basic design principles of Architectural theory demand a building be responsive to the context to be successful. The hypothesis is that if an industrial function can be retrofitted to dilapidated buildings, then these buildings can be saved and enhance the environment in which it dwells. The textile industry in this case offers a multitude of job opportunities as well as applications in architecture and construction. Traits that could possibly help working class, and female entrepreneurs have a stronger foothold in the city, as industrial labor, and basic job access can become more available to women that may be unemployed and unskilled. Design methodologies such as adaptive re-use and symbiotic architecture are aimed to be implemented to endorse an architecture that is feasible for abandoned heritage buildings, concurrently these methodologies are intended to be explored through the textile industry. Architecture that is intended to be easy and cheap to assemble; architecture that can move, grow and change based on the needs of the user while preserving the identity of the building and at the same time creating a new one for a new generation. The end goal is to create a mixed use closed loop self-sustaining building that programmatically focuses on the education and economic components of the context as well as enhances community development in the city. The investigation aims to understand (through experimentation) if an architecture can be applied to the delipidating heritage typology as an effort to reuse space and the preserve character, memory, and diversity in a way that the generation of today will be excited to be in an old building. The city has become a hub for informal traders and entrepreneurs, a social and economic melting pot. There is an opportunity for existing industries to revitalize fragmented infrastructure to add to the mixture.
[T]read Between the Lines Unraveling and Upskilling Hidden Communities in Orange Grove and Norwood
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Moshe, Khumo; Francis, Liale
This research explores the historical tension and socio-economic differences between Orange Grove and Norwood, which are neighbouring suburbs characterized by a diverse culture and a mixed-income profile. These tensions lie between and along major arterial nodes Louis Botha Avenue and Grant Avenue, which serve communities. Louis Botha Avenue is a transit route and Grant Avenue, is a local retail high street. The study investigates the potential of Patterson Park, located between Louis Botha and Grant Avenue, as a mediating space for these neighbourhoods. The park offers the opportunity for connection between these neighbourhoods through urban principles that create safe and comfortable public connections. The proposed intervention neighbours Paterson Park and is driven by the imitiate human interactions. It aims to establish a maker’s guild and trade training centre, providing opportunities and possibilities for marginalized individuals, local entrepreneurs, businesses, and the community. The facility will impart essential urban principles for successful neighbourhoods and emphasize the significance of public art, craft in construction, along with facilitating better contractor-client relationships.