No description available.

This PhD examines issues of African identity raised by new public architectures of the early post-apartheid era (1994 - 2006). The study examines recent government buildings, public institutions and heritage sites, which call for an appropriate language of expression in response to post-apartheid society. The study also extends to various el It! ies fOi tl Ie desigl i COl i ipetition~ 'tvhiel. initiBteeJ these buileJiFl~s, BS B WBy of BFlBI~fSiFl~ different visions for the future of South African architecture, and in order to comment on why certain projects were selected and others rejected. In this way, a critical dialogue is established with the new public architecture: its competition process, the jurors' assessment, public and state aspirations, as well as media coverage. Questions of African identity are raised with reference to' Fanon's work in Black Skin, White Masks, where the perspective of the colonised black man is theorised under the' eye of white power. Fanon's philosophical enquiry opens political and poetic themes that are developed throughout the PhD, in particular, the play of identity implied by Fanon's . metaphor, 'black skin, white masks.' A pivotal assertion of the thesis argues that parallels can be drawn between social discourses, subjectivities and architecture. Questions are asked as to how post-colonial subject positions can achieve symbolic expression and recognition through architecture. These theoretical themes guide the primary research into selected architectural projects and their associated design competitions.

No description available.

No description available.

This research is dedicated to a future vision of the body in architecture, questioning the contemporary relationship. between the human and the architectural flesh. Conceptually it delves into the arena of disgust on which the aesthetic flesh is standing, and it explores new types of 'neoplasmatic' conditions in which the future possibility of a neo-biological flesh is lying. Through the analysis and design of a variety of projects, Flesh is proposed as a concept that extends the meaning of skin, one of architecture's most fundamental metaphors. It seeks to challenge a common misunderstanding of skin as a flat and thin surface. In a time when a pervasive discourse about the impact of digital technologies risks turning the architectural skin ever more disembodied, the aim of this thesis is to put forward· a thick embodied flesh by exploring architectural interfaces that are truly inhabitable. Today's architecture has failed the body with its long heritage of purity of form and aesthetic of cleanliness. A resurgence of interest in flesh, especially in art, has led to a politics of abjection, changing completely traditional aesthetics, and is now giving light to an alternative discussion about the body in architecture. Different concepts of Flesh are investigated in this thesis. This is not just concerning the architectural and aesthetic, but also the biological aspects of flesh. More than derived from scaled-up analogies between biological systems and larger scale architectural constructs, Synthetic Neoplasms are proposed as new semi-living entities. These 'neoplasmatic' cr·eations are identified as partly designed object and partly living material, in which the line between the natural and the artificial is progressively blurred. Hybrid technologies and interdisciplinary work methodologies are thus required, and lead to a revision of our current architectural practice.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The thesis reviews design methods in general, and emphasizes the understanding of design as a thinking process that depends on designers' experience, and their interaction with the different design activities performed with regard to the environmental settings and contexts. It focuses on building a framework for the description of the architectural design approaches used by experienced architects in practice. After analysing the protocols revealed by twelve experienced architects, the thesis argues that 'scenario-based design' (SBD) is a way of thinking that used by the architects to generate the design solution by means of cognitive matching of technical, functional, contextual, and inspirational criteria throughout the design process. The research finds that the architects primarily use the context constraints that match with the brief requirements to initiate design concepts and generate solutions.