M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Tech. (Architecture) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / This book is based in, and begins with, dialogue. This is the exchange between author and reader, as consumer of its narrative. Portions of this work are interactive in order to extend and capture this dialogue between each of us and the ‘material’ content that “constitutes the city, as lived experience, encounter and representation. The book is an imagining of the city. It is a visual-textual craft anthology that develops over time as a collection of artefacts that point to an alternate future reality. This is done through the process of design. [0.1] The dialogue is interlaced with cross-stitched personal histories[G] of both author and the site. There are many personal reflections about place, image and experience of space comprising the presented material. These are woven into the subject matter. The book sews together these patches of the experiential, the visionary and the idiosyncratic nuances of the existing and future city, and site. The format and composition of the pages that follow resemble material ‘things’ as the manifestations of city. Using montage and collage as devices of visual narrative, the subject and design process is suggested, developed and compiled. The ‘image of the city’ is derived through collection and accumulation of textile-tectonic narrative. This is presented as assemblages that can, at any point, be read as past, present or possibility.

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / This research aims to explore the ways in which offering media and architectural facilities to protesters might contribute to a healthy culture of protest and dissent in Johannesburg. It looks at the rich and complex history of activism and protest in both South Africa in particular but also drawing on recent global protests and their spatial ramifications. It proposes a new facility on the site of one of the city’s most (in)famous protest and incarceration sites, Constitution Hill, and proposes a programme of information and education aimed at encouraging all interested citizens and activists to both understand their options, rights and responsibilities in a young democracy, and crucially, a platform to enact them.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / ABSTRACT The aim of this dissertation is to explore alternative ways of looking at architecture through the use of theory, the type of theory, alternative building programme development, representing architecture and how architecture is implemented. By doing so, an intervention is designed to expose various social truths, stimulating self reflection and adding value to the Alexandra-Sandton corridor context. This research project utilises the spirit of carnivals as subversive and radical events to change a community’s behaviour. This dissertation explores Bakhtin’s theory of the “carnivalesque”. This theory was used as the theoretical framework based on four characteristics. Throughout the research process these are used to analyse site context and create an intervention. The four carnivalesque characteristics are: - Usurping of hierarchies; - Pushing taboos; - Unusual connections; - Eccentric behaviour. The social inequalities along the Alexandra-Sandton corridor are broken down into every day activities and juxtaposed to amplify and expose hidden rules that we have come to accept in Johannesburg. The intervention acts as a commentary on the future connection of the two contrasting communities for spectacle and self reflection, transcending the everyday experience into a surreal playground through virtual reality and other means. Architecturally, Social Fiction has three main design strands 1. Theoretical exploration; 2. Architecture as emotional stimulus; 3. Virtual reality as fictional representation. Social Fiction is a project that bridges architecture, politics, socioeconomics and philosophy, using the medium of virtual reality and comic book fantasy as an open and accessible way, challenging the traditional plan, section elevation as a means of communication. / GR2017

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / In a small opening by the edge of a ridge a solitary worshipper– dressed in her full uniform – kneels. Her hands clasped tightly together and lips vigorously moving in prayer. A cluster of people - dressed in white - sit atop a rocky outcrop. One man stands addressing his followers: women on the right and men on the left. Over time his speaking ceases and the sitting people stand and join together in song, clapping hands stretched to the sky. There are numerous ‘frontiers’ – gaps - in the City of Johannesburg where people gather for different purposes. Some gatherings are religious, some social, some a combination. This dissertation will attempt to describe the narrative and spatial story of the Highlands Ridge as a ‘frontier’ site, while investigating the possibility of how an architecture could interact with these sacred anomalies.

M.Tech. ( Architecture) / With a lack of recreational and sporting facilities in Alexandra, the lkasi Gym (founded by local resident Tumi Masite) is one of very few establishments which promote health, in a variety of ways, in a setting where space is valuable and, heart disease is a serious concern 1. The gym has become a strong focal point for Alexandra residents in recent years. Adjacent to the lkasi Gym sits the Alexandra Interpretation Centre, designed by South African architect Peter Rich, incomplete and un-used in this prime township location ...

M.Tech. (Architecture) / This research interest stems from observing at close range (and researching historically) a seemingly impermeable cycle of occupation, violence and abandonment within the inner-city, whose roots stretch back over the past 130 years 1. The cycle has culminated in the 'writing off' of a number of inner-city buildings as 'bad buildings' not fit for habitation or study. This dissertation is both an architectural response and a research inquiry into how design, in its broadest sense, might contribute to an inner city 'vertical settlement' ...

M.Tech. (Architecture) / To heal- to make whole (Heal 2014: [sp]). The journey to good mental health is a multi-faceted one, and one which involves more than solely medical or institutionalised notions of treatment. This research proposal explores a phenomenological approach to understanding space, recognising that our embodied experiences of our environment can inspire, balance and heal the human spirit, to the same degree that can oppress and harm it ...

M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / This dissertation is structured to mimic or represent my design project, which was developed in conjunction with theoretical readings and research. The aim is to provide a comprehensive representation of the project’s development from theoretical beginnings to architectural detail. This dissertation attempts to uncover, explore and understand the fragile relationship between man, nature and architecture, stemming from a deeply personal interest in the rehabilitation of political wastelands through ecological restoration. The aim of this study is to pursue a holistic design approach, which understands the architectural discipline as an interrelated profession in which buildings cannot be designed in isolation. Broken down into three main parts, this document illustrates the development of my theoretical and contextual interests into design. These papers are presented in their entirety of this document as Part A (starting point and research influence), Part B (process and discovery) and Part C which introduces a narrative program developed for the architectural discovery of K-206 (nestled within ‘jungle’ in Alexandra). A series of abstract drawings and model building experiments initially framed the investigation, allowing for chance, exploration and the unexpected, valuable experiments in the development of an architectural language and vocabulary which were refined over the course of the year