Shapiro, Andrea Lori2014-10-072014-10-072014-10-07http://hdl.handle.net/10539/15635This thesis addresses the conditions experienced by a farm working community living on Meerlust Bosbou in the Cape Winelands, Western Cape. The programme includes a winery, a restaurant, tasting room, exhibition hall, therapy rooms, digital library, daycare centre, greenhouse and laboratories, extensive programmed public space, an outdoor gym as well as a future housing scheme. This programme enables the community to reconnect to their land, heritage and traditions. The benefits of designing the building as a form of ‘living machine’, where nature and building begin to blur were examined as a means of providing these reconnections. This methodology ensures a mutually beneficial relationship between man and nature, rather than an unbalanced dependency and impact on the land. This intervention will enable the preservation of heritage, endangered fynbos species, the education and up-skilling of community members and visitors and reestablishing a sense of place for the present community, and securing a stable future for future generations.enSustainable development--South AfricaLand reform--South Africa--Western CapeLand use--Environmental aspects--South Africa--Western CapeThesis