Machinarium is an exploration of industrial bio-mechanical hybridity as part of the 21st Century paradigm. The dissertation investigates the potential of industry as urban catalyst - a mechanism with which to regenerate urban environments and re-integrate socio-ecological systems. In an attempt to redefine modern concepts of waste and mitigate the flood of pollution emanating from 20th century industrialisation, the investigation is contextually based in an ‘urban wasteland’ - which is re-programmed as part of a new industrial ecology. The dissertation therefore blurs present-day distinctions between ‘social’, ‘productive’ and ‘natural’ space, while at the same time placing focus on the global cultural dependence on waste. If humankind is to survive the predicted crises of the our time, a 21st-century approach to design must shift the modern understanding of architecture as ‘machines for living in’ towards that of architecture as living machines. Machinarium alludes to new ways of architectural place-making in a rapidly changing world. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

Tshwane is a city that is expanding eastwards. In the process, valuable cultural and ecological landscapes are being neglected. These unique landscapes, which contain critical environmental assets, could be made attractive to the general public and thus should be protected wherever possible. The expansion of the city is inevitable. While cities need to accommodate more people, they should also provide socially and culturally enriching outdoor spaces. This study uses landscape architecture and regenerative theory to suggest ways of making post-industrial sites productive again. The Hazeldean dairy; a site of cultural significance, environmental assets and physical charm, is in danger of becoming a deteriorating and forgotten landscape. The hypothesis argues that that by adapting to current social, economic and sustainable requirements, a new and living landscape can be created. This would prevent Hazeldean from becoming a characterless buffer between surrounding property developments. The design interventions proposed for the Hazeldean farm should enhance its historical and ecological value and attract visitors to the property for many different reasons, throughout the year. Ultimately, Hazeldean should endure as a physical and socially valuable asset within the rapidly expanding city of Tshwane. / Dissertation ML(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Architecture / ML(Prof) / Unrestricted

Aesthetics were the main passion of early century landscape architects. A focus on the concern with ecology followed, while the late twentieth century landscape architecture developed towards a concentration on restoration and recovery and so focussed more on redeployment than replacement (Campbell 2006). Today, in the twenty-first century, mankind is overwhelmed with issues of global warming, exhausted natural resources, and disappearing ecologies. Landscape architects are focused on providing sustainable landscapes from which both humans and nature can benefit. Attempts to create parks or green spaces for people‟s enjoyment become joined movements to simultaneously restore ecosystems, produce food or energy, reclaiming damaged sites and designing these interventions to be entertaining and interesting to the surrounding communities. Furthermore, landscapes have become catalysts in assisting with urban densification and reducing urban sprawl in their attempts to be multi-functional, process- and environment- focused designs. At last a question remains: do these twenty-first century landscapes relate to the individual? Have these sustainable systems and processes become the new aesthetic? And do visitors to designed landscapes still have rich spatial experiences? This dissertation explores the questions stated above. Part One focuses on the countering of urban sprawl through a process-focused landscape design response on an urban and framework level, while Part Two investigates if this new contemporary notion aids designers to create spatially aesthetic landscapes. A theoretical study and experiential conceptual development strategies are followed to aid in form-generation. The design follows a hypothetical course that starts with process and system planning followed by spatial landscape explorations. This phenomenological investigation will be resolved up to a detailed sketch plan level. / Dissertation ML(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Architecture / ML(Prof) / Unrestricted

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

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

The dissertation investigates how non-profit organisations (NPOs) can function more efficiently by sharing resources and services. The design responds with the strategy of service integration, by transforming the facilities of POPUP, a single NPO, into a shared services hub for multiple NPOs. POPUP is a People Upliftment Programme in Salvokop, Pretoria, and serves the under-privileged communities of Pretoria with skills development courses. The dissertation aims to create restorative environments for these students and explores the theoretical approaches of regenerative design, biophilic design and restorative environmental design. The premise of the investigation is that humanity has an inherent inclination towards nature and that a healthy human-nature connection enables the healing process. Furthermore, the dissertation follows a contextual approach that responds to the railway heritage significance of Salvokop, the urban condition of disconnection from the Central Business District, as well as the self-restoration of the natural landscape. The study seeks to regenerate the human-nature connection, a manifestation of the connection between the current natural landscape and the urban condition. In this way, restorative environments are created that contribute to the regeneration of people. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

This thesis explores an alternative method of making Architecture based on ideas presented by Bruno Latour in “Give me a gun and I will make all buildings move” and concepts discussed by Peter Eisenman within “Diagram: An Original Scene of Writing.” The static nature of representation within Euclidian Space requires a re-evaluation of the generative qualities inherent within diagrams. Managed through an identified mechanism, the thesis investigates the excavation of potential within Pretoria Central’s lost spaces by generating programme, response and resolution from elements inherent in the diachronic context. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted