Disruptive innovation: harnessing Braamfontein’s knowledge economy to develop a digital manufacturing factory

Abstract

A Digital Manufacturing Factory in Braamfontein This architectural discourse and design is underpinned by the disruptive potential of digital manufacturing and how such a phenomenon can be harnessed in the local context to develop innovation and creativity. What if this new way of making can short-circuit rapid transformation in local manufacturing by integrating maker, producer and consumer? This theoretical framework argues for the development of a digital manufacturing factory in a dense, urban environment and in proximity to a knowledge based economy and strong research institutes to fully utilise available resources and create a space that develops local ideas, concepts and production. The chosen research site is an existing VW Retailer and Garage located in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Dependency on the automobile and combustion engine in the city is unsustainable and is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, climate change on a global scale and spatial fragmentation at a local scale. As such the fundamental stance taken in this discourse is that of a complete rejection and rebuff of the motor vehicle as a vital component of mobility in the near future. Ride sharing and smart mobility alternatives with an emphasis on pedestrian and commuter movement are the future rendering the use of the current site redundant hence justifying my proposal of a Digital Manufacturing Factory.