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 / The end of apartheid signalled the need to reinvent and re-configure South African cites not just spatially but economically as well, to be more inclusive of the people it once marginalized and excluded. South Africa’s urban identity is intrinsically intertwined with the history of apartheid to the point where it is impossible to have the one without the other. Johannesburg much like all the other cities in South Africa is and was an Apartheid project; the city was a tool used to perpetuate and enforce a system of economic exclusion which later developed into social and cultural segregation. Despite its nearly complete re-population after 1994, the city today, as dynamic and vibrant as it is, still poses remnants of the apartheid era. The people who had not been allowed into the city have become its primary residents, yet not its owners. And because the city was never designed for them, they have had to make, re-make and reconfigure the city for themselves. Through this process of making, re-making and re-configuring innovative solutions to everyday problems are tried tested and developed to integrate the urban African into the city. The changing demographics manifested growth through informal infill to create the Johannesburg we know today. It is by the process of negotiation between the formal and the informal economy that Johannesburg assumes its identity. The resilience of the informal economy could be attributed to the social networks that govern its relationships. The combination of social networks and the process of re-making the city suggest the informal as a strategy for urban regeneration that heals the city in its entirety by intervening in sensitive points in the urban fabric. This thesis investigates the shifting role of the informal in, the need for a change in approach when dealing with the informal and looks at the informal as a skill and form of knowledge. / MT2017

Dissertation Submitted in Fulfilment of the Degree: Master of Management by Dissertation Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management: Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand 2017 / The City of Johannesburg has produced five iterations of its City Development Strategy over the last 17 years with the latest CDS Joburg 2040, launched in 2011. This dissertation argues that the City of Joburg’s leading role in negotiating for developmental local government paved the way for long term planning at the local government sphere. CDSs prior to Joburg 2040 were developed as technical documents prioritising the needs of the municipal institution over citizens. Formulating Joburg 2040 epitomised a combination of economic and political conflicts taking place in the city. Joburg 2040 attempted to break the path dependence of urban growth and development by re-envisioning the imperative of urban transformation. Thus, Joburg 2040 attempted to emphasise a political imperative of an incoming leadership that was willing to listen and engage with citizens by coproducing a long term vision for the City. As participation has being ineffective in facilitating active involvement of the citizenry, participatory processes have served the needs of the municipality rather than citizens. Joburg 2040 was a politically championed process of developing a CDS that attempted to change that status quo. / MT2017

What if you could spend an idea to earn money? Detected through an anthropological lens, rather than a strictly economical one; the context of this thesis inherits a feverishly fluctuating South African economy. It is pitted against often contradictory and interchanging consciousness of opportunity in the so-called formalised and informalised markets; and within the flaring gap that exists between the two. This gap finds spatiality in South African post-Apartheid cities, in which physical buffers to dense marginalised communities remain visible; as in the particular case of Johannesburg. Investigations into the spatial orders of postmodern ‘money institutions’ (including the bank, shopping mall and casino) show that the urban phenomena of emergent ‘money borders’ also echoes itself in its architecture. Through historical analysis, the capitalist construct displays itself increasingly as a closed protected entity. Underneath the exquisitely woven Persian rug of privatised space, trapdoors to dubious and illicit spots often exist, In this space, it is all smoke and mirrors. The rules can be broken for the desires of those inside, and keep out the supposed risks of those who are not. Its detachedness is reconstructed through the theoretical perspectives of Michel Foucault and Georg Simmel; this examination providing grasp for spatial tools which, if altered, could recalibrate the way in which privatised spaces open and close themselves to the public. How can a reassembly of spatial and psychological thresholds in financial institutions assist in making capital more accessible to the idea-bearer? The results of this research propose reworked syntax of physical legibilities which make entry, participation and exit in financial systems understandable and therefore more possible. An idea trading floor (idea bank) is designated as the principal programme; where the possibility of intersection of capital, presented by an investor meeting an innovator with an idea is available, in a stripped down form. Beginning with the shell of the capitalist epitome ‘free market’ stock trading floor, a new re-mastered hybrid is born. Usually fascinatingly chaotic, these spaces are viscerally experiential but also remain inaccessible to many parts of society. What if we could sell stocks for entrepreneurial ideas, in a physical, space-folded, compact trading floor, partly quotidian like that of a supermarket, and partly fantastical and alluring? Fertile ground for such a transaction point is identified at an intersection in Wynberg, Johannesburg; which currently lies suspended along a highly-trafficked pedestrian movement route between Alexandra and Sandton, and is earmarked for a future transport interchange. Space-folding techniques underline the conceptual arrangement of the architecture; with the superimposition of idea bank with micro-factories and gathering spaces. These programmes are vertically punctured by a circulation vein to the proposed bus terminal below the site, revealing the processes of seed capital generation for a passing commuter or visitor: In addition, through spatially centralising the idea; creativity and the possibility for change; rather than money as an end in itself; this thesis speculates cause-led spatial practice rather than a profit-led one. Ultimately, if capital has a wall around it (literally and fi guratively), perhaps architecture could put a door in it; in doing so making cognizant the presence of the wall; and therefore the possibly to transverse through it.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Design / Many forgotten and resurfacing emerging theories in the field of urbanism are starting to recognise highperformance landscapes and green infrastructure as an essential urban element toward more resilient urban development. This report, entitled ‘Future-proofing the Urban Landscape: Green Infrastructure as a Primer for Resilient Urban Development’ addresses the question of whether Green Infrastructure can become the primary structuring element towards achieving more resilient development, and how this structure influences public place-making. The strategy is tested on a the Frankenwald site, one of the last remaining greenfield sites in Johannesburg. The proposed development comprises of guidelines and an indepth phasing strategy for development and intermediate natures that add long-term value towards future-proofing the city. The document establishes that green infrastructure is a highly relevant subject to consider for the planning of future cities. As a discourse it adds value to the profession of urban design and questions the urban designer’s capacity to offer more productive landscapes and assist in protecting and enhancing the ecosystem services of cities. The multi-layered nature of priming for green infrastructure services make available a variety of natural elements to be exposed and designed by means of meaningful place making. / GR2017

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 / The memories associated with mining are vastly contrasting; ranging from nostalgic recollections of the fortune on which Johannesburg was built to the torturous conditions the miners had to endure both above and below the surface. The essay by the author entitled “Memory retention and cessation in the historical and present context of South Africa and abroad” aims to engage with critically, and explore, the field of memory in relation to mining and broader issues. It is of great importance when establishing a heritage project that the people who engage with it must be able to do so without causing distress or emotional anguish. Can a contextually relevant space be created for the housing and display of such memories? This research report views remediation through a holistic lens that is an approach to the project in its entirety. Remediation is viewed as an approach to solving the fractured nature of Benoni, separated by mining and Apartheid planning, creating ‘buffer zones’ between previously racially orientated areas. The site is a previous ‘buffer zone’ and has not changed its function since it was constructed in 1888. The toxic, disused land offers an opportunity to reclaim what industry has taken away from ‘nature’. Can this ‘buffer zone’ be activated to connect the segregated suburbs of Benoni further? Remediation will also be used as a vehicle for the regeneration of the site, with the aim to return it to a similar ecological state as it was before the mining industry began to alter it. The site has been scarred by the mining industry for over 128 years, polluting both the surface and the sub-surface environment. Can the effects of the temporary environmental degradation be neutralised? The reprocessing of the mine dump has initiated the remediation process, removing around 40 million tonnes of waste (“Transvaal Has Largest Dam In the World” 1950, Vol 56, No. 15 731) from the site, re-mining it, and sending the waste to selected dump sites across the Rand. The Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) will reduce the associated noxious effects on the local biosphere, induce a ripple effect further downstream the Blekboskpruit and further on towards the Vaal Dam, where we obtain our drinking water. This example of passive AMD remediation aims to stand as a watershed project that may be adopted and adapted at other sites with similar needs. Is the use of a low-tech, passive wetland system appropriate for AMD remediation and the site? This project aims to be a cultural precinct to objectively display the history of mining in Johannesburg. It does so while being a functioning centre for AMD remediation, in pursuit of solutions for the damage that our mining legacy has had on the landscape and the environment. The Urban Mining facility seeks to create a flagship electronic waste (e-waste) recycling centre that will not only have a positive impact on the local environment but reduce the amount of e-waste being transported illegally to developing countries around the world. Keywords: Acid Mine Drainage, Urban Mining, Remediation, Mining Museum, Benoni / GR2017

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / The world is standing on the cusp of a third industrial revolution that will see an explosion of creativity, knowledge creation and innovation. South Africa is at the forefront of a different revolution, one that is concerned with the access to knowledge and education. While these revolutions are somewhat different, they fight for the same ideal; that is a world where information and education are available to all, such that people are inspired to innovate, create and empower themselves through the development and use of new knowledge. These revolutions will be facilitated by a number of factors, but what is architecture’s role? This research report discusses a makerspace as an architectural response to the coming knowledge revolution and what this typology means in the context of Johannesburg, South Africa. The author makes reference to the theoretical understanding of maker culture as the celebration of creativity and innovation and that a makerspace facilitates access to the tools and space required so that anyone can make. The intent of this research report is to create an architectural intervention based on extensive research of related theories, careful analysis of the context and various precedent studies. The key issue is determining how the typology affects and is affected by the context. The author utilises the context of Newtown, Johannesburg for the intervention due to its history as a primarily industrial area that grew into a cultural hub of the city. In a World where knowledge has become a privatised commodity, this research report explores how architecture, specifically in the form of a makerspace, can democratise access to information, empower the individual and the community, and boost a stagnant local economy through the encouragement of entrepreneurship. / MT2017

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 / Traditional definitions of the museum present a building type that is intended to act as a repository for the collection, preservation and display of static artefacts. Since 1994, numerous efforts have been made to conceive and construct appropriate museums in previously excluded townships. What has resulted from these efforts is, in many cases, large scale State driven projects that elevate political grandstanding over considered contextual engagement and much needed social cohesion. This thesis aims to question the traditional role of museums as an architectural typology within the specific context of peri-urban township areas. The context chosen for this exploration towards a new museum is Tembisa. Tembisa received its first inhabitants in 1957 and is located within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. It is the second largest township in the country by population. Unlike many of the country’s older townships, this peripheral neighbourhood is yet to receive sustained cultural interventions. As such, it lends itself as the ideal testing ground for the creation of a ’living museum’. The thesis aims to create a living museum that does not rely on imposing a master narrative, but instead aims to actively locate traces of history, heritage and culture with [IN] Tembisa for collection, reproduction and display. In this museum the ‘artefacts’ on display are the result of evolving processes that are not only present within the confines of the museum itself, but are informed by, and spill out into the fabric and consciousness of the immediate context. This is explored through a reconsidered museum program that includes a historical archive and art ensemble for Tembisa. / GR2017

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Urban Design to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Influenced by the thinking of the Garden City movement, gated and so-called lifestyle security estates have become overwhelmingly popular in many cities across the world. With demand fuelled by a combination of security concerns and a belief that such schemes provides enhanced efficiency and comfortability, these estates have come under severe scrutiny with regards to its apparent spatial and socio-economic impacts on the city structure as a whole. However, despite the severe criticism and awareness, these types of developments have showed very little signs of decline - thus perhaps illustrating a real economic rationale in the desire of people to reside in environments with higher perceptions of safety and control. Cities respond to this by clearly delineating urban development boundaries and even in some cases publish design principles that promote integration and inclusion. These more than often become contested by means of political- and private sector influences resulting in the perpetual realities of estate development and no real prohibiting actions and remedial recourse. Given these realities, what then does the future hold for our city landscape? Could we possibly reposition ourselves now to better the outcome later? Using Steyn City and Dainfern in the Fourways area, as two mega development case studies, this academic inquiry seeks to reflect on the status quo of estate developments and creatively find internal possible clues within the very structuring elements of such schemes that could potentially unlock and ‘un-gate’ developments and in the process improve access to opportunities in the city. This could surely not only provide new insights as to what the potential future can be, but it also provides the opportunity to redefine the ‘right to the city’ and opportunity in already deprived and isolated localities. / XL2018

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 / Throughout history, people have remembered their past through the dissemination of knowledge from one generation to the next. This transfer of ideas, history, culture and identity allows for the continuation of narrative to transcend the bounds of time and contribute to a rich memory landscape, that cultivates a unified perception of community memory. This is in turn, directly translated into the physical landscape. Architecture becomes the physical attribute of shared identity, and creates spaces where new memories can be made and the past, remembered. This idea of remembering and creating contextual memory is thus relevant to all people and communities, as it is a core principle in creating consensual outlooks. This premise permeates into the exploration that memory, as a passive device of remembering and an active node of creation and education, is a unifying agent within a community and is directly related to the surrounding architectural space. Cultivating the question of whether there is a correlation between memory and the architectural spaces in which it is created, and to what extent they influence each other? The investigation examines the various facets of memory and recall processes that affect the architectural landscape and in turn shape human perceptions surrounding it. This interplay between memory, architectural memory and human memory is a layered discourse that ultimately resulted in the finding that architecture and memory are linked in the way people remember and use space. The historically rich memory landscape of Fordsburg became the apt site choice which allowed these ideas to grow into an architectural response. This culminated into the idea of combining preschool and exhibition typologies, with specific allowances for photographic and community spaces. These programmes were unified through their relation to memory and the spaces in which they occur. The aim was to unify these programmes and create a space which encouraged learning and community integration, whilst commemorating the history and memory of the past in a dynamic and linked manner. The building aims at creating a positive architectural addition to Fordsburg by addressing the need for education within the community, whilst architecturally responding to facets of the past through the adaptation of the Lilian Road Art Studios, creating a palimpsest of built fabric that speaks to the continuation of memory making in architectural environments. This investigation and resulting building have demonstrated that architecture and memory are linked, and although this may not be the only way to link the two in a manner that speaks to the past, present and future is a response that amply describes the parameters in which they can occur. / GR2017

Maboneng displays an interesting approach to urban regeneration being driven by a single developer vision. Central to this approach has been the establishment of a new economy in support of an increasing property market which is being encouraged through a dominant branding and marketing strategy identifying the ‘neighbourhood’ and community as intrinsically artistic. This study aims to juxtapose this structure of urban regeneration and city based development as defined by the City of Johannesburg and to track the evolution of the precinct from an informal and innovative approach toward a more structured and conventional upgrading mechanism. Addressing the question of creating space within the inner city by exploring what the spaces are, who is using them and how the manifestation of a new identity affects the pre existing reality. The report thereby presents a discourse around the evolution of the Maboneng approach within the context of Johannesburg and determines the potential transferability of key principles that the City could draw upon in informing future growth and development agendas within the inner city.