3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Space, agency and informality :a case study of Musina's food vendors and foreign currency dealers(2019) Muzanenhamo, ChidoAs a more useful alternative to urban theories that originate from the North, the idea of African urbanism has been found to be more instrumental in investigating the day to day experiences of those who inhabit the African continent’s urban areas. While it has been well established that Africa’s metropoles are dominated by the presence of both an economics and a politics of the subaltern, very little is currently known about these processes in an African border town. This research report seeks to examine the role of the economics of urban marginality - by focusing on the informal economic practices of foreign currency traders and food vendors – in the production and transformation of urban place and space in Musina, a border town in South Africa. In addition, the research explores the spatial politics of Musina’s informal economic trade by emphasizing how the state, practices of governmentality and cultural politics intersect. Drawing on data from twelve semi-structured interviews and participant observation, this research report argues that there is a mutually beneficial relationship between the state and those marginalised by Musina’s urban economy, as reflected in the manner in which private and publicly owned space is produced and transformed. The urban physical space is closely associated with the generation of informal income, and this is expressed in Musina’s political economy in ways that enable individuals to embody space prior to its production. The report also argues that subaltern economics provide an opportunity to reimagine the spatial beyond the local. Finally, this study considers how identity is associated with specific spaces and the impact this has on how the spatial is conceived, used and claimed by street traders.Item Reification of space within knowledge production: the case of the circulating idea of resilience internationally and in the context of South African cities(2017) Ntamack, SergeIn this thesis, elements of Crawford Stanley Holing's life history are put into perspective. It provides a historical trajectory upon which the space imbued in the various contexts hosting pivotal activities on the production and refinement pf resilience idea are explored. These elements are also used as a point of departure from where the idea of resilience originates and circulates internationally and in the context of South African cities. [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version]Item Mending publicness through urban form : urban connectivity(2016) Rude, Warno P.The public realm is continually under pressure as the container of constant urban change. Streets and public spaces function as connectors between public / private transport and the built urban form. The public realm is also responsible for hosting public activity that includes commuting, socialising, trading and governing. In the context of ever changing urban form due to accelerated urban sprawl, suburban growth, complicated politics and the increasing demand for vehicular transport, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain and develop quality public urban environments throughout our polycentric cities. The concept of relinking transport and public space to mixeduse urban form originates from theory of Transport Orientated Development (TOD) and the densification of our cities in order to be more sustainable and to control urban sprawl. The importance of good quality public space, public transport and supporting urban form cannot be underestimated in the drive towards a densified sustainable city. Together the city transport network and supporting public spaces need to stitch all urban form and more important need to be attractive for all types of people living in the city. The assumption is that this will encourage people to move towards these densified areas that are supported by public transport nodes. The aim of this research is to identify possible scenarios for repairing urban fabric in order to improve the link between the community and the public urban realm. Key concepts that will be investigated are public transport, public spaces, urban form, suburban densification and non-motorised transport. The design initiative will be to repair a specific suburban neighbourhood by means of public space creation, urban densification and mixing uses within built form. The heart of the intervention is to create a lively sustainable dense neighbourhood by activating publicness through a humanist urban design approach.Item Auras: a house of the spirit as a place of pause amidst a fast-paced city(2017) Ryder, Kylie AlexIn a world of speed, where everythingseemingly happens in an instant, the context of this thesis is fully engrained in contemporary society. With an increase in pace of life, brought about through technological developments, we are enveloped in a new sense of connection. For the first time, people who are across the world can be reached within the touch of a button. No longer do we wait; no longer do we slow and no longer do we pause. We have entered a societal race that appears to be unending by the pressures of perpetual modernity. Johannesburg is continually growing as a 21st century city as it adapts to new technologies and industries as speed develops the urban landscape. Through investigations into this contemporary way of life of My City and an inherent increase in pace of the everyday, people living in the city are being driven by the mundane. It is within the modern city, that slow becomes a phenomena and an importance of place is emphasized. With little space to take time and appreciate the city amidst this fast-paced way of life, the disconnection between people and place is ever increasingly growing. A virtual gap between real and unreal begins to create a rift between the city and the people. People are pulled into a ‘mobile hello’ where there is a lack of awareness in spaces around the city. The notions of time, movement and pace of life translate into a contemporary condition that identifies the importance that people and the city have placed on the virtual. Thrust by the tension between the virtual and real in every day, people are being pulled into a new sense of telepresence1.This telepresence and the current pace of life translate into a condition that emphasises the need for deceleration as a means of reconnection. By looking at theories around third place as a means of gathering within architectural discourse, the work challenges Johannesburg to prepare for its future by allowing for place of pause amidst this condition. Around the city a sense of timelessness comes with spiritual space, thus the proposed programme of the House of the Spirit becomes a space of accessibility, connectivity and sociability. This space rekindles the ideas of slow, by allowing for people to take pause from the everyday in a common space. The architecture brings about a way to stimulate the past and looking towards a future of our people while dealing with conditions that surround the city in the present and an inherent increase in pace of the everyday, people living in the city are being driven by the mundane. It is within the modern city, that slow becomes a phenomenon and an importance of place is emphasized. With little space to take time and appreciate the city amidst this fast paced way of life, the disconnection between people and place is ever increasingly growing. A virtual gap between real and unreal begins to create a rift between the city and the people. People are pulled into a ‘mobile hello’ where there is a lack of awareness in spaces around the city. The notions of time, movement and pace of life translate into a contemporary condition that identifies the importance that people and the city have placed on the virtual. Thrust by the tension between the virtual and real in every day, people are being pulled into a new sense of telepresence. This telepresence and the current pace of life translate into a condition that emphasises the need for deceleration as a means of reconnection. By looking at theories around third place as a means of gathering within architectural discourse, the work challenges Johannesburg to prepare for its future by allowing for place of pause amidst this condition. Mapping the city draws light activities and places that are preparing for its people. Around the city a sense of timelessness comes with spiritual space, thus the proposed programme of the House of the Spirit becomes a space of accessibility, connectivity and sociability. This space rekindles the ideas of slow, by allowing for people to take pause from the everyday in a common space. The architecture brings about a way to stimulate the past and looking towards a future of our people while dealing with conditions that surround the city in the present.Item Healthy spaces, facilitating health: rethinking the role of healthcare facilities(2017) Parirenyatwa, Chamisamoyo MasimbaIn light of the new National Health Insurance scheme being implemented in South Africa, there is a need for new healthcare infrastructure to be developed to ensure the National Health Insurance healthcare is accessible to the people of the country. This thesis explores: (1) what value a holistic healthcare approach can have on healthcare services, (2) what architecture can be beneficial to patients and staff members in healthcare facilities and (3) what impact advances in medicine have on healthcare design and healthcare practice. The architectural aim of this thesis is to create healthier healthcare spaces for patients and staff members, but to extend the healthcare infrastructure to create healthier spaces within the communities they serve. Furthermore, the thesis explores ways that healthcare facilities can incorporate solutions to help communities with their long term health needs, verses short term health needs.Item Content creator hub(2017) Constantinides, Michael Graham GeorgeThis research report is to investigate the physical realm of online content creation as well as the effects content creation and social media has in a South African context. The objective of this research report is to identify the areas in which Architecture can better support the new generation of online content developers. With the fast paced development of the Internet and digital technology, Architecture needs to form new ideologies, typologies and tectonics in order to stay relevant. A space that’s is the pivoting point between two worlds: online and offline. The result of this study is to create a new typology to fit within the Internet industry within South Africa and to be able to leapfrog the country and it’s specific design site in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, into the Internet territory. A space is needed that will be the intersection of the physical and the online world, a space that becomes a connection node with a presence in both worlds. The Content Creator Hub, which is an architectural space that not only facilitates the creation of online content but also the sharing of skills, collaborative efforts, exposure to business practises, business people and business opportunities, access to tools and equipment as well as access to a conducive space. The formation of an actual place where a new form of creative artists exist and are able to create, learn, share, connect, collaborate and help innovate. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to take the philosophical ideas and approaches of The Content Creator Hub to implement them into an urban scheme and in a Southern African context. Architecture plays an important role not only by generating content but also by accelerating the action.Item Alrode train terminal: mobilising the invalid landscape(2016) Grobbelaar, JessicaIn this dissertation I explore the notion of how space relates to human and place identity within the context of the buffer zones established under Apartheid. By exploring spaces remaining as political remnants the concept of the invalid landscape is investigated. Twenty-one years after the ! rst free elections these invalid landscapes still exist in South African cities, as open wounds on the democratic landscape. Historically divided communities remain residentially segregated facing each other uneasily across these buffer zones. This dissertation is a collage of theoretical and experimental discursions and case studies relating to identity, borders, and architecture. South Africa continues to grapple with myriad urgent practical problems while at the same time trying to de! ne a new national identity. Despite the gains of democracy, our nation is still faced with signi! cant challenges of which limited access to public transport remains a pressing urban issue. This thesis attempts to revalidate the spatial divide that continues to cleave the landscape of Alberton and Thokoza by proposing a train terminal that is in line with the vision of the National Development Plan of 2030. The project is focused on the translation and articulation of the landscape through an architectural language that is posited as an urban cicatrisation. By situating the proposed Alrode Train Terminal (ATT) within the invalid landscape, a bridge and operating connection between these two polarized communities is offered. An exploration of the idea of identity and the effects of the invalid landscape can take place while simultaneously addressing a practical challenge for our rapidly developing city. Inspiration for the project derives from the unprompted informal culture that has arisen within Johannesburg. Here life plays out alongside passing traffic made up of pedestrians, taxi ranks, streets,roadside activities and commerce. A social network aggregated by mobility where we see people starting anti-authoritarian movements, reclaiming and re-appropriating public space to meet their everyday needs. This de! ance of authoritarian space-making lays the groundwork for revalidating the invalid politically constructed landscapes. Traditional models of division are characterised by the vertical plane. The architecture of the ATT aims to collapse the vertical to put forward a new mediation of the horizontal plane and its architectural possibilities. The ATT acts as a bridge that affords its visitors the opportunity to transcend physical and cultural boundaries. By crossing between the polarized communities, visitors may potentially experience acculturation and in this way expand their identities