The dissertation investigates suitable living environments for the healing and rehabilitation of people in crisis in South Africa, focusing on the human experience of space. Through the understanding of the problem and the context, the product of the investigation is a shelter for the homeless in the city of Tshwane. The shelter can be defined as transitional housing for the adult urban homeless and their children, which focuses on the healing and ultimate rehabilitation of homeless people, including the reintegration of these people into society. The significance of the project is that the development becomes a metaphor for the reintegration of people into society. The project aims to empower people to become contributing members of society and discontinues the cycle of destitution by providing an opportunity for economic activity and by improving the physical environment of the homeless as well as the physical environment of the community in general. / Mini Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

The experience of time is not fixed by a rigid mathematical measure, instead, it flows at vaying rates. There are certain occasions in which we would like to extend time with all our force, up to the limit of our stretched arms and further. Conversely there are moments which we'd like to last no more that the sparkle of a flash, but as we all have noticed, those are the longest in our life. How does the space that we inhabit influence on our perception of time? May we identify especial elements that contribute in one or other sense to accelerate or slowdown the time? It's said that time and space is an inseparable unity, as two aspects of the same thing. If this is so, then it also must be true that by shaping space in one way or another, we might influence the experience of time through it. Wouldn't it be delightful to believe that we may be magicians of time through manipulation of architecture? / Master of Architecture

During the interwar period in Iran and Egypt, local and regional manifestation of tajadod/al-jidida (modernity) as a “cultural identity crisis” created the nationalist image and practice of zan-e emrouzi-e shahri/al-mar’a al-jidida al-madani (the urban/secular “New Woman”). The dynamics of the process involved performance art, including the covert medium of journalism and the overt world of the performing arts of music, play, and cinema. The image of the “New Woman” as asl/al-asala (cultural authenticity) connected sonnat/al-sunna (tradition) with the global trends of modernism, linking pre-nineteenth century popular forms of performing arts to new genres, forms, and social experiences of the space of the performing arts. The subversive transnational character of performance art operated across borders to promote both the discourse of modern womanhood in-the-making among intellectuals, and the public practice of women’s presence among the masses. However, the trans-border effects of the medium were limited by local cultural and political ideologies of nationalism. The spectacle of women on the screen addressed national independence and the creation of a national film industry to resist the financial dominance of Europeans. In Iran, zan-e emrouzi-e shahri served the project of founding a modern nation-state, elevating of a culture of the city and urban development, and institutionalizing performing arts, mirroring the upholding of “male-guardianship.” In Egypt, in the absence of an authoritarian modern state and long-term experience of foreign occupations, al-mar’a al-jidida al-madani accompanied the traditional figure of bint al-balad (the countryside girl) to present modern advancements in film production with a traditional accent, to oppose European cultural values, to provide a tangible space for women’s multifaceted anti-colonial maneuvering, and to connect Egypt’s past history to its future. Performance art helped women to convey their cultural nationalism and a sense of imagined identity by letting them see and be seen by each other, create interactions between the artist and the audience, and emphasize music as the heart of a society’s culture and art. A culture of body performance, a female visual public sphere, and a feminine (and feminist) interpretation of cultural authenticity in performance art led women to claim the profession as a legitimate career.

The aim of this dissertation is to explore the possibilities of architecture as a sensory phenomenon and to explore how we can experience architectural space through all our senses, and how architecture can influence how we experience our senses in space. The project is located within the cultural node identified within the Nelson Mandela Development Corridor (MDC) and the proposed building is one of a cultural centre for the visual and performing arts. The centre is aimed at creating a heightened awareness and insight into the creative processes of artists and performers for the general public, community, users and occupants of the centre and passers-by. This will be achieved through the creation of visual connections and physical interactions between the users, artists and performers and passers by as well has creating a heightened experience of space and place on a human scale for visitors, performers, artists and general public. The centre also incorporates retail, commercial and residential components in order to energise the square and centre throughout the day and night, creating an active 24hour environment, which is often lacking in a development of this nature. The activities of the centre, along with those of the existing Oeverzicht houses and old M.O.T.H. club, that have been incorporated into the development spill out onto a central urban activity square, where impromptu and planned performances are to be staged. The aim of the development is ultimately to develop a synthesis between arts, culture, economy and urban vitality by creating a platform for the arts. The aim of this dissertation is to explore the ability of spaces inside this building typology to assist in inspiring each of its occupants through the creation of memorable spatial experiences. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted