School of Architecture and Planning (ETDs)

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End date: 2024

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    Fetching fietas: Reclaiming memory through Urban Design
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Kalla, Zakeeya; Makhubu, Jabu Absalom
    This Project aims to bridge the gap between an urban context that acknowledges the past with a constantly evolving urban fabric through the lens of memory. The objectives are to understand Apartheid planning and its consequences in terms of forced removals and the impact thereof on the current urban fabric of Fietas Johannesburg. This project will also study the city of Johannesburg’s initiatives thus far and intended, for renewal and upgrading of Fietas to enable a strategy to assimilate the current and evolving urban landscape of Fietas with the memory of its past. The project will be focused on Fietas in Johannesburg, south Africa. The research will focus predominantly on site analysis and overall observations gained from site visits and secondary sources of information such as previous projects, frameworks from the city and existing data such as zoning and land uses etc. This information together with interviews with previous community members (5 interviews in total) will help guide the design development towards a framework that incorporates the past memory of Fietas with its current and con- stantly evolving urban fabric.
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    Ruins as Record: Reconstructing narratives on a former miners' compound in Germiston
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Morkos, Verena
    Post-apartheid South Africa contains within it the embedded and residual pain of an oppressive regime. Untold narratives are contained within its scarred landscape. Hidden amongst an overgrown landscape, dilapidated concrete and brick walls protrude, presencing forgotten narratives. Once a miners’ compound, owned by Simmer and Jack, these material fragments contain traces of the past. They are archives of erased memories and bodies. One walks amongst the grass-enshrouded ruins as an architect, archaeologist and archivist. Through the lens of architecture and archaeology, the ruins are not seen as static remnants of the past but as a means to understand the past lived experiences of the miners who inhabited the space. The absences among the ruins are a dynamic void within a spatiotemporal realm, bridging the past and the present. This liminal space allows the viewer to interpret the past in a continually evolving manner, allowing for the reconstruction of counter-narratives. The ruins tell a story of the everyday living conditions of thousands of miners on the Witwatersrand. The compound was a machine of oppression and control. In many ways, it acted as a panopticon; it made prisoners out of labourers. The compound barely had the bare necessities to keep the miners alive enough to work. They lacked basic amenities, freedom and were not given the chance to have a voice. Looking at the present-day context of the site, it is central to many industrial factories with blue-collar and precariat workers. They face various challenges in their everyday lives, such as commuting times, inadequate amenities and the need for representation. Their everyday lives are considered and are further explored in terms of ‘tactics’ and ‘strategy’ as written about by Michel De Certeau. Strategy is a system of control imposed on a group of people, and tactics are a way that the ‘everyman’ escapes the control in their daily lives. Looking at the past with the current context of the site raises the question: How can a site of control serve as a canvas for the reconstruction of forgotten memories and the inscription of present-day workers’ counter- narratives? This thesis looks at juxtaposing the site’s history by transforming it into a site that stimulates dialogue between the past’s traumas and the present-day workers’ counter-narratives. The architectural intervention gives control back to the worker, opposing the past conditions where workers were oppressed and controlled. The main programs include a workers’ centre and a counter-archive. This represents the narratives of the present-day worker and the forgotten narratives of the miners. It is an ever-growing archive of the past and the present. Additionally, there are exhibitions representing the everyday life of a mine worker; this leads to the representation of the modern day worker, which takes place amongst the ruins. This allows for the intertwining of new narratives with the old
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    Exploring regulatory systems of informal economic activity in a dense settlement: The case of Extension 2, Ivory Park, Johannesburg
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Nzimande, Thabisani
    Informal economic activities are a crucial component of most economies in the global south. They are easily accessible as a tool for poverty alleviation and to fight against unemployment, due to easy entry requirements and no extensive processes to start a business. Home-based enterprises in particular offer a unique ability to minimise overheads and save on costs such as traveling expenses for business owners as economic activity occurs in the residential area. The growing number of home-based enterprises in housing settlements has made it impossible for the government to ignore them and has necessitated the need for government to recognise and regulate them. This study explores the regulatory systems of home-based enterprises in Ivory Park, Extension 2 on 29th September Drive. Ivory Park is a housing settlement located in Region A in the City of Johannesburg. The area of focus is a stretch of a busy street located in between the main taxi rank in Extension 2, and Busy Corner Mall making this one of the busiest streets in the settlement. The area hosts a number of home-based enterprises located on the side-lines of 29th September Drive such as hair salons, spaza shops, clothing shops, fast-food outlets, internet cafes/ printing shops, furniture shops, and carpentry, plus a number of traditional medicine shops. The main objective of this study is to ascertain what are the systems which seek to regulate and facilitate home-based enterprises/ informal economic activity in this area. The findings were made after consultation with literature, documents about the study area, and interviews with business owners, homeowners, a community leader, and a municipal official. This study revealed that the formal regulations set by the City of Johannesburg are largely informed by land use and planning development objectives and are very rigorous to adhere to by most homeowners and business owners. This combined with a lack of knowledge of the regulations has resulted in low levels of compliance, with most business owners relying on informal regulatory systems to manage their operations and affairs. Furthermore, this research report makes recommendations that programmes should be created to educate business owners and homeowners on the regulations which apply to them, and to revise the current regulations which seek to protect the integrity of planning and development objectives without any consideration for practicality for, and the economic development of the informal sector
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    Groundwork: Exploring architecture-environment reciprocity in the Karoo
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) De Fine , Tammy Ohlson; Dörmann, Kirsten
    Groundwork locates architecture in the midst of the environmental crisis and calls on architects to intervene in ways that improve or enhance the condition of the natural world. This project is an architectural collaboration with nature in the Wolwekraal Nature Reserve in Prince Albert, South Africa. The design of a biodiversity research facility refers to existing but siloed theories and research to develop a cohesive approach for the insertion of buildings in sensitive environments. The research framework served as the launchpad for a qualitative analysis that incorporated social, historical, economic and ecological data, ground truthing and multispectral imagery. The building engaged a particular combination of materials, systems and construction methods that allow it to touch the ground lightly while still providing a state of the art, multi-functional research facility that responds to the needs of the multiple communities it is serving. The work challenges the buildings relationship to humans, plants and animals; and aspires to work in harmony with nature by eliciting cues from the environment that point to an architectural intervention the land can tolerate.
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    Envisioning Empowerment: Crafting a Realm of Learning for Visually Impaired Scholars in Mondeor
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Van Heerden , Stefan
    To address the critical need for more inclusive schools in South Africa, this project focussed on designing a school for visually impaired learner in Mondeor, Johannesburg. Currently, only three of these schools exist in Gauteng, which limits the opportunity for children with visual impairment to access quality inclusive education. My proposal aimed to change this, by making education accessible to the visually impaired . According to the White Paper 6 model, children between the ages of 7 and 15 need to be in school. This project placed the building where it would likely have maximum impact in terms of assisting the communities in the chosen area. The location of the school should not dictate who can attend. Anyone who is able to enroll will be able to do so, with preference being given to the visually impaired. The research and the building design aimed to create an inclusive building and to question what an architectural design for the visually impaired would entail. The research delved into experimentation and architectural precedents. The experimentation involved a sensory analysis, during which I spent time blindfolded to get a better sense of what it is like to be blind. The outcomes of these experiments informed the design of the school. The project examined various design precedents for these types of buildings and used the human body as an important design concept. I envisioned the classrooms as the centre points or nodes of the design, similar to the core of a human body, branching out, like limbs, into the different services that the building will offer. The building design aims to engage with the community by having a percentage of its site allocated to public space. This will hopefully ensure that the public can be involved in the inner workings of the school, creating a sense of place and belonging. The building presents opportunities for prototyping a circular economy, thereby enriching the residential context. These combined concepts and ideas strengthen the connections between the research and design development for a building of this nature. I can briefly conclude that the integrated research methods did assist in creating a design proposal that places itself into the context.
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    Crafting Communities: Empowering Bezuidenhout Valley Through Construction Workshops: A Blueprint for Self-Sufficiency and Collaboration
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Maxwell , Ryan
    South Africa faces significant challenges in areas such as housing, job security, and skill development and addressing these issues requires a holistic approach. Providing training in construction skills enables the people to build necessary infrastructure like housing, training centers, and social spaces. In addition to this, many communities have spaces that are underutilized or neglected due to various factors such as limited accessibility, safety concerns (demolished buildings, dumping sites, etc), or distance from central areas. Despite these drawbacks, people often find ways to occupy these spaces. Why do they choose to use these areas? The utilization of such spaces typically stems from a lack of alternative options for housing, commerce, or social activities. In the blue-collar northeastern areas of Johannesburg such as Bezuidenhout valley, residents face a multitude of challenges that undermine the quality of life and urban fabric. The Jukskei River, a vital waterway, suffers from pollution, affecting both the environment and public health. Additionally, the community suffers from high unemployment rates and a significant skills shortage. Housing is insufficient, and many existing structures are in a state of disrepair, further compounding social and economic issues. The theories that have influenced my thinking and response are resilience, densification, sustainability, Renewable materials, the Garden city, and hands on teaching. These theories help to understand and view urban areas as dynamic systems and productive environments. “Productivity” in this context includes economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions. By addressing these factors, we create a foundation for identifying, planning, and designing appropriate interventions through research and design. The central research theme focuses on the connection between architecture and resilient urban spaces Architecture offers a unique opportunity to address these interconnected issues by empowering the community through construction skills training. By establishing a construction and learning center, residents can gain practical skills while contributing to the development of essential infrastructure, such as housing, training centers, craft spaces for entrepreneurs and social spaces. This approach not only addresses immediate needs but also fosters long-term socio-economic growth
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    Examining the role of Braamfontein’s bike lanes: A potential infrastructural asset for waste reclaimers
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Makena, Pheladi Pearl; Charlton, Sarah
    The research sought to address the mobility challenges that street reclaimers encountered and the misuse of bike lanes. Street reclaimers depend on their mobility to earn a sustainable income. Their mobility allows them to work from the early hours of the day, salvaging recyclables to sell to the buy-back centres in the late afternoons. The roads used by reclaimers are a territory for vehicles where street reclaimers are often stigmatised and not viewed as the rightful users of this infrastructure. On the other hand, to encourage cycling, the City of Johannesburg implemented bike lanes that have since been used by vehicles for parking and to bypass traffic, and by informal traders as a trading spots. Bike lanes are a potential infrastructural asset for street reclaimers as they can ease their mobility challenges and include them on the road space. With the concepts of Infrastructure Re-adaptation, Informal Economies and Non- Motorised Transport (NMT), the research discovered that street reclaimers had found ways to move around the roads and that transportation was at the bottom of their hierarchy of necessities. Furthermore, the city implemented bike lanes with reclaimers in mind; however, this form of the cycle lane infrastructure cannot be appropriated by physically modifying the material construction. Finally, the study concluded that with a bottom-up approach including reclaimers and other stakeholders, the city could consider converting bike lanes to NMT lanes, and the routes used by reclaimers can frame targeted interventions for future lanes.
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    Investigating flood prevention measures adopted in flood-prone areas of centurion, city of Tshwane metropolitan municipality
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Kutumela, Ofentse Annah; Leuta, Tsepang
    Globally, many countries such as Mozambique, Afghanistan, India, Brazil, the United States (US) and China among others continue to face the persistent challenge of climate change aftermaths, such as rising temperatures, extreme weather patterns and floods. South Africa is no exception, and similar to other countries, especially in the African continent, they lack strategy on how to respond to climate change impacts owing to continuously changing environmental patterns and trends. Therefore, the United Nations (UN) has drafted and implemented the Sendai Framework since 2015 to address disaster risk reduction worldwide, which goes concurrently with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular Goal 13 that deals with a call to Climate Action. The aim of this research was two-fold – first, to investigate prevention measures related to urban planning and land use management regulations that prevent flooding through disaster risk reduction. For instance, interrogating various policies, legislations, plans and programmes that have been sourced to prevent flooding in Centurion such as the Disaster Management Act, City of Tshwane (CoT) Disaster Risk Mitigation Plans, City of Tshwane Flood Incident Management Plan, Water Use Licence Policy, Flood Mitigation Plan and City Support Programme that are categorised as non-structural measures Secondly, to review flood risk reduction and the impact prevention measures that have been adopted in urban flood-prone areas in the CoT, particularly Centurion. The methodology used during this research was the qualitative approach. With this approach, I followed mixed methods research, where in the first stage, I collected primary data through one-on-one interviews through semi-structured interviews, while in the second stage, I conducted site visits as part of my observation. For sampling, I applied non-probability sampling technique known as purposive sampling to select research participants. In analysing the collected data, I adopted inductive thematic analysis to identify, interpret and report the existence of patterns in the data. The aim was to provide meaning to the findings and recommendations of the research. The findings reveal that protection of blue infrastructure is important as encroachment of wetlands continues to be a challenge. Nonetheless, this protection remains preventative measures in the lower catchment. Also, the integration of transboundary municipalities is important as it is not only the town planners' responsibility as professionals to implement disaster risk management but also all internal departments within a municipality. vi Failure to implement urban planning and land use management regulations, policies and or plans within the municipality, especially in Centurion, will potentially lead to significant implications, which may manifest themselves through an increase in debris, sinkholes, more deadly floods along the Hennops River, and adverse impacts as a result of changes in the environment.
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    Alternative Energy Generation in Public Health Facilities (Hospitals): An analysis of the coal-fired to the natural gas-fired central generating system
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Nsimbini, Ngcebo
    Coal boilers have historically been a significant source of energy generation in industries. However, their use is associated with substantial environmental impacts that are increasingly untenable in the context of climate change. This research examines the challenges and opportunities associated with transitioning from coal-fired to natural gas-fired central generating systems at Helen Joseph Hospital. The researcher chose to focus on natural gas because it is a cleaner and more efficient alternative to coal, making it a viable transitional energy source for decarbonisation in hospital central generating systems. Natural gas functions as a transitional or “bridge” fuel in the global energy landscape. Its relatively lower carbon intensity compared to coal positions it as an intermediate solution that facilitates a gradual shift toward renewable energy sources. This role is critical in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the short to medium term, thereby contributing to environmental sustainability and the reduction of public health risks associated with air pollution. The research looks at the low adoption of alternative energy sources in these systems despite their critical role in supporting essential functions such as heating, ventilation, sterilisation, water, and heating. By focusing on energy transition and decarbonisation, the study aims to identify barriers to adoption and propose strategies for implementing more sustainable energy solutions within healthcare facilities, which are among the highest energy consumers in the built environment and are categorised as part of the commercial sector. Focusing on energy transition and decarbonisation, this study employs a case study approach centred on the Helen Joseph Hospital central generating system. Primary data was gathered through 15 in-depth interviews with purposefully selected key informants. The research methodology used qualitative approaches. The interview data were thematically coded and analysed to address the research questions effectively. The findings stress the importance of a multi-faceted, collaborative approach to improve the transition from coal-fired boilers to gas-fired systems in hospitals, with a strong emphasis on minimizing environmental impacts. The study highlights that calculating an organisation's carbon footprint, including emissions from boiler operations, can pinpoint opportunities for energy transition and emissions reduction. Additionally, this approach allows for progress tracking over time and contributes to achieving broader sustainability goals.
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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