The aim of the design is to adapt a historic industrial structure and create a building that houses a production process, that is socially and historically responsive. A new structure will subtly connect with the old and accentuate the architectural heritage. By converting an old Boiler House into a furniture factory, the architecture strives to enable a physical and visual link between production and daily life. The urban fabric and showroom visually connects with the furniture makers, in order to inform the public on the production process. This will create a integrated socially responsive environment, where people can live, work and play. AFRIKAANS : Die doel van die ontwerp, is om 'n industriële erfenis gebou te hergebruik en aan te pas om so doende 'n nuwe gebou te skep wat 'n produksie proses huisves. 'n Nuwe struktuur sal sosiaal en histories reageer en subtiel met die ou struktuur gebind word. Die nuwe verbinding sal so geskiet dat die klem ter alle tye gelê word op die historiese kwaliteit van die omgewing. Die argitektuur strewe om 'n fisiese konneksie tussen produksie en allerdaagse lewe te vorm, gevolglik sal die argitektuur 'n omgewing skep waar mense kan woon, werk en ontspan. Die studie poog om 'n argitektuur te skep wat sosiaal reageer tot die omgewing. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

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Availability of good housing may no longer be an important issue for most U.S. citizens. Nowadays most are well housed and the problems confronting those who are not- except in the case of the homeless- are not highly visible. During the last decade, old warehouses in downtown Richmond, Virginia have been converted to new uses as restaurants, apartments, and offices. This reuse of old buildings has brought more people to the downtown area, making streets safer for pedestrians and residents than when the areas were abandoned. However, these well-designed and newly renovated apartments are not for everyone, especially low and moderate-income households because of the high rental costs.This thesis design provides a model for enhancing the character and diversity of low-income-family housing by transforming an abandoned urban structure in downtown Richmond into a holistic living environment.

The city of Pretoria can be likened to a blanket stretched thin, where previously urban programs shift to the expanding periphery leaving gaps in the city fabric. It is essential to investigate ways in which these urban “left overs” can be re-imagined within the contemporary context. This complex urban condition is investigated with the focus on conservation of abandoned buildings of heritage significance. In South Africa, state funding cannot be relied upon for conservation of individual buildings. Thus the conservation of leftover and abandoned heritage buildings should happen not through singular museum projects but through the everyday usefulness of the building. The role of art and the artist has long been linked to the reuse of buildings which have become difficult to inhabit in conventional ways. Thus the introduction of cultural programs to derelict heritage sites and “left over” spaces is pertinent to their reuse. One such site is the Capitol theatre in the Pretoria CBD. It is undoubtedly a place of cultural richness and expression, having been a place of daily gathering as well as formal entertainment throughout its history. It is a natural point in which to reintroduce culture into an extended public realm at the heart of the city. Originally a space of introverted and exclusive cultural expression, curated cultural artifacts (films and occasional shows) were displayed to a limited audience in a highly internalised experience. However, it is proposed that this condition be inverted through external display of the processes of cultural production on the exterior of the theatre. The intention is to broaden the sphere of cultural influence into the public realm of the city and simultaneously invite the existing communities to engage with the building. Thus the focus shifts from internal event space to external production space which becomes part of the public everyday experience. Reviving the Capitol The Capitol Theatre complex was never completed and no exterior facade was ever design for the auditorium. This creates the opportunity for a new inhabitable facade to be designed which fulfills the role of both a supportive and expressive element. The new element incorporates spaces where people and processes of cultural production are expressed externally while curated cultural artifacts and events remain housed in the auditorium. Ultimately the concept is one of support. The physical support of a failing structure being the starting point which necessitates an intervention; the functional support which allows the building to become useful again in a contemporary context with new cultural meaning; and the social support of the everyday rituals which make up the daily cultural experiences through the extension of the sphere of cultural influence of the Capitol Theatre. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

The thesis addresses the proximity of contemporary global human issues to local human issues and presents an architectural solution. By identifying, exploring and drawing closer the proximities between these global and local issues, new solutions can be developed for local application. There are new fields created for architecture when we understand and connect the proximity of objects of both cultural and biophysical creation, and when we understand and build on our ever-narrowing proximities between what has been and what is to come. The narrowing global conditions have direct implications on us as individual human beings and our individual local societies. These proximities have been explored, developed, and resolved for local application. The resulting research field for urban agriculture ultimately guided an appropriate architectural response within the city of Pretoria, South Africa. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

The project proposes the investigation into the adaptive re-use of abandoned and unused buildings in the Pretoria CBD to develop social housing that makes use of existing infrastructure, structures, economic activity and transport networks. This is done as a response to the need for social housing in the medium income market. Most developments for this market are built outside city limits and use precious resources and unnecessary new materials. This project focuses on what is currently known as Huis Potgieter, on the UNISA Sunnyside Campus, as a testing ground to develop theories and approaches that can be used in the development of future developments. Throughout the research conducted into the project, the residents have been emphasised as the main design informant, specifically by the regulations set out by the national government. Considering the highly user-centred approach as identified by the regulations, it is appropriate to approach it from an interior design knowledgebase. Looking firstly at the resident’s needs, those in similar housing developments and income markets have identified and emphasised the need and importance of shared public spaces. Other research has confirmed that public spaces are a large contributor to both the social and psychological well-being of the residents. This project focuses on providing public spaces as integrated areas within the building, interspersed between living units, in an effort to provide comfortable, inclusive, and enjoyable public spaces that encourage a sense of place among the residents. A design proposal to integrate interior public spaces into the daily lives of the residents was developed. Various public space theories were collated and synthesised to develop a set of theory-based guidelines for use in this and future social housing projects. The project aims to develop a proposal that considers all users in the development, both in their physical needs (in the form of an inclusive design approach), as well as their social and community needs, by providing public spaces that accommodate a wide range of users and activities. To benefit future studies and to contribute to the field of interior design, a new term, interior public spaces, was developed in order to describe the type of public spaces created. In order to create a strong identity for the building, which the users can relate and respond to in their own attachment and appropriation, the legibility of the intervention is large focus of the project. To increase the legibility of the building, the building identity – KwilaliCity - was developed to reflect strongly in the public areas of the building to create a common ground for all residents. The intervention ensures accessibility to its wide range of residents by introducing a strong inclusive design component, with a focus on wayfinding. Applying the wayfinding and inclusive approach early in the project allows for an integrated resolution that serves to strengthen the design approach. The intention that residents are encouraged to develop an attachment to KwilaliCity and their fellow residents is evident in the encouragement to appropriate specific elements in and around their homes, in order to reflect their identities and give them some control over their housing environment. / Hierdie projek neem voor om die her-gebruik van verlate en ongebruikte geboue in die Pretoria besigheidsdistrik te ondersoek, met die doel om sosiale behuising wat gebruik maak van bestaande infrastruktuur, strukture, ekonomise aktiwiteit en vervoernetwerke. Die projek het vorendag gekom as ‘n reaksie op die nood vir sosiale behuising in die medium-inkomstemark. Ontwikkelings vir hierdie mark word dikwels geplaas buite die stadperke, en gebruik waardevolle hulpbronne en onnodige nuwe material. Die projek fokus op wat tans bekend staan as Huis Potgieter, te vinde op die UNISA Sunnyside-kampus, as ‘n toetsarea waar teorieë en benaderings te ondersoek en wat in toekomstige uitbreidings gebruik kan word. Tydens die navorsing wat afgelê is vir die projek, is die inwoners beklemtoon as die hoof ontwerpinformant, hoofsaaklik deur die regulasies uiteengesit deur die nasionale regering. Met hierdie hoogs gebruiker-geörienteerde benadering, soos geïdentifiseer deur die regulasies, is dit toepaslik om gebruik te maak van die interieurontwerp kennisbasis. Eerstens word daar gekyk na die inwoners se behoeftes. Inwoners in soortgelyke behuising en inkomstemark het die behoefte en belangrikheid van gedeelde openbare ruimtes uitgelig en beklemtoon. Verdere navorsing het bevestig dat openbare ruimtes ‘n groot bydraende faktor is in die sosiale en sielkundige welstand van die inwoners. Die projek fokus op die voorsiening van openbare ruimtes as integreerde areas binne die gebou, verweef tussendeur die leefeenhede, in ‘n poging om gemaklike, toeganklike, en aangename openbare ruimtes te skep wat ‘n gevoel van plek by die inwoners aanwakker. ‘n Ontwerpvoorstel om die interieur openbare ruimtes te integreer met die daaglikse lewens van die inwoners is ontwikkel. Verskeie teorieë wat handel oor openbare ruimtes is versamel en saamgevat om ‘n stel teorie-gebasseerde riglyne te ontwikkel wat gebruik kan word in hierdie en toekomstige sosiale behuisingskemas. Die projek poog om ‘n voorstel te ontwikkel wat alle inwoners in ag neem, beide in hul fisiese behoeftes (in terme van ‘n inklusiewe ontwerpbenadering), sowel as hul sosiale en gemeenskapsbehoeftes deur inwoners van openbare ruimtes te voorsien wat ‘n wye spectrum van gebruikers en aktiwiteite kan akkommodeer Om toekomende interieurontwerpstudies te baat, is ‘n nuwe term, interieuropenbare ruimtes, ontwikkel om die soort openbare ruimtes, soos geskep in hierdie projek, te beskryf. Ten einde ‘n sterk identiteit te ontwikkel vir die gebou, wat die inwoners in staat sal stel om verband te hou en te reageer daarop deur hul aanhegtig en bewilliging, is die leesbaarheid van die ingryping ‘n groot fokus van die projek. Om die leesbaarheid van die gebour te verbeter, is ‘n gebou-identiteit – KwilaliCity – ontwikkel. Dit kom sterk voor in die openbare areas van die gebou om ‘n gelyke grondslag vir alle inwoners te skep. Die ingryping verseker die inklusiwiteit vir die wye reeks inwoners deur ‘n sterk inklusiewe ontwerpkomponent in te bring, wat fokus op die navigasie en leesbaarheid van die ruimtes. Deur hierdie benadering toe te pas vanaf die begin, maak voorsiening vir ‘n geïntegreerde oplossing wat help om die ontwerbenadering te versterk. Die bedoeling is dat inwoners aangemoedig word om aanhegting met KwilaliCity en hul mede-inwoners, en is aangebring in die aanmoediging om spesifieke elemente om hul eenhede te bewillig, in ‘n poging om hul identiteit te weerspieël en bietjie beheer te gee oor hul huislike omgewing. / Mini Dissertation (MInt (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Architecture / MInt (Prof) / Unrestricted

In humanity’s current condition, the advantages of organic material sources are supplanted by the qualities of synthetics that allow for rapid growth and altered capabilities, whilst man becomes further removed from his natural existence as a being that once possessed the aptitude to understand and work with these materials. Prior to our industrial, mechanised and materialist consumer culture, the direct interaction with the natural world provided humanity with more comprehensive and experiential ground for growth and learning. As we are connected to the world through our senses, space becomes the primary enabler of such a platform. Relying on the haptic qualities of materials and the body’s ability to experience and embody its immediate surroundings, architecture’s role in the integration between man, nature, and industry is explored. As a natural industry with a significant public interface, architecture acts as a mediator between man’s “constructed nature” and his “first nature” – referring to man’s estrangement from his environment. This dissertation investigates the adaptation of industrial buildings to accommodate public interaction whilst responding to the environmental impact that the production of building materials has on the environment. Alternatives to commonly used materials such as glass, steel and carbon fibres were researched, and so hemp, flax and bamboo became the primary elements used in the making of the architecture. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

Planning for closure requires in depth analysis into many operational, environmental, and social factors. Ideally, the planning process should resolve as many of the technical, social, and aesthetic requirements as possible by systematically addressing the various elements that influence the final design. This research identified the significant issues related to planning for the end use of the current Logan landfill after it reaches capacity in 18-20 years and the associated lagoons and wetlands. The current closure plan calls for simply recontouring the landfill to stabilize the slopes, then revegetating. The location of the site has serious implications for environmental impact yet offers positive opportunities for consideration of alternative end uses.

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“Adapting Snäckan 8” aims to investigate material and immaterial value while transforming an existing built structure. Current development plans seek to demolish and replace the existing building by a new, 10 meter wider, 4.5 meter taller building of office spaces; increasing the scale of the Klara quarter once more, just as during the Norrmalm Regulation historically. Excluding both: plans for housing, as well as the so called “Culture House”. A space that included a café, a library and a cinema, for everyone, including especially the homeless people of Stockholm.Accompanied by a notion that when we demolish built structures, not only do we demolish material, but also social structures that have been built up over time; the ecological aspects of adaptive re-use are expanded by social urgency. In light of the housing crisis and increasing social segregation as well as the development of the pandemic, the accessibility of a home is now perhaps more pressing than ever. This project therefore aims to provide affordable, inclusive mixed-use living within the city centre, adapting Snäckan 8 to changing rhythms and patterns of daily life. Thereby hoping to continue writing the story of Snäckan 8, rather than erasing it.