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 / This paper is an investigation into the cultural spatial practices of the Basotho. The overall intention is to create a new type of public space in Maseru that is rooted in the cultural and social practice of gathering. Located at the entrance of the Maseru CBD, this new public space challenges the traditional concept of a civic building by blurring hierarchical spatial distinctions that create divisions between the citizens and those in power. This proposed space is not entirely a new concept. It is customary in Basotho culture for a chief to call for a village gathering or "Pitso", - a traditional gathering where matters concerning the people are dealt with. The Pitso is spatially and conceptually similar to the Greek Agora in that, it is an open space where social and political interaction takes place. It is a temporary space that does not physically exist but rather comes to be through the act of gathering. Proceeding from this two main questions arise; - what is the position or relevance of this socio-political space in contemporary Maseru and through examination and comparison; can a new version of this space that addresses the aforementioned issues be synthesised? Due to the project's post-colonial context, theoretical ideas concerning the visual representation of African cultures and identity are examined. The design of the Northern Cape provincial government complex by Luis F. Da Silva is utilised as a practical example of methods and design techniques that attempt to foster a direct (and sometimes indirect) relationship with the cultural context of the building. This precedent study leads to questions about how architecture becomes an instrument in drawing out meanings and thus becoming a symbol within its context. Beyond tectonics, buildings posses and acquire meaning through association and function (Goodman, N. 1988). The proposed project therefore attempts to de-construct the inherent political meanings of government buildings by reconfiguring and re-imagining public service space in civic architecture. / XL2018

Th is document is submitted in partial fulfi lment for the degree: Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2013. / A child’s world is one of imagination; of toys, play and stories. A child’s world is a world of its own with specific needs, which, if not met, will have long-lasting consequences into adult life. This is the unfortunate reality of children growing up in Hillbrow and Berea without opportunities for proper development and learning. It is through play that a child develops and learns to cope with his environment. This project therefore takes as its subject matter the place of play for city children. It constructs an argument for the ‘playscape’ which encompasses both, the spaces in which children (and adults) are invited to play as well as the idea of landscape which, from the start has been central to child design. This thesis proposes a ‘toy library’ within a larger park of play. It is a design of a child’s world and a world of play, characterised architecturally by playfulness and functionally serving the children, teachers and parents of Berea and Hillbrow.

Thesis (M.Arch. (Professional))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, 2016. / “People love escapism and there should be a place for it” (Hiddleston, n.d.) There are two primary states that constitute our human experiences. On the one side, there is the known, the real, the concrete, the everyday, the routine, normal and banal aspects of human life and on the other, the imagined, the alternative, the exploratory, unknown, abstract and fantastical elements that arguably make us feel alive. Although these two phenomena are preconceived as separate entities, they are interdependent and as humans, we need both. In the midst of these two extremities lies a world of in-between spaces known as ‘middle landscapes’. These are the places that allow us to transition between two states that make up our human experiences. Herein lies the bridge from the known to the unknown and the connection between reality and retreat. In a world where the demands of work are taking an increasing toll on our time and energy, the middle landscapes constitute our means of escape; the process that enables us to retreat from reality. The city of Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal is a thriving cosmopolitan metropolis with a large array of places focused on diversion from reality. Its enviable connection with the sea and expansion of the tourist industry are the bones of its potential to become a 21st century escapist city; a place where people are encouraged to retreat. The exploration and adventure found on the edges of the ocean attract many to its shorelines, seeking distraction, diversion, retreat and escape. There is something about the mystery of the sea, the unquantifiable majesty of its waters that lures us in, allowing us to be drawn away from our everyday lives and to give in to rest, relaxation and holiday before the grasp of the real pulls us back. How can architecture provide a transition between everyday life and retreat, between land and sea? This thesis seeks to explore the role of architecture in connecting people to the ultimate place of escape, the sea, through a seaport at Durban Harbour. The building, sited in the Point Area of Durban Harbour, will provide a connection with the sea and the retreat it embodies at a variety of different scales. It will reconnect the CBD with the Point, the beachfront with the harbour and give the citizens of Durban a refuge from the real while meeting an urgent need for a new cruise passenger terminal and activating the Point Waterfront Development. The building will become the middle landscape, sited on the boundary between land and sea, meeting the practical needs of the city and the tourist industry while providing for the leisure needs of Durban’s people. Whilst displaying sensitivity to the existing harbour architecture and context, the building will become a recognisable beacon for the city, visible from shoreline and sea. / EM2017

For my thesis I have chosen to design an Advanced Fitness Research Center in Kimberley. The primary theme for my project is Motile Phenomenology: A Spatial Exploration of Architecture. My concept for Fitness Research Centre is to explore aspects around space environment and form so as to understand what elements in architecture motivates the users of such spaces. By understanding this dynamic, I will be able to imagine and create certain spaces that serves the differing needs of people using that space. In doing so I would further like to explore how architecture can be possibly designed to get the most out of the experience of each individual. This will help me understand the notion that multi-use spaces should and can be designed to provide a range of experiences created by both the space - “a three-dimensional extension we inhabit” and the designed structure of something - “the form itself” Architectural phenomenology is the way in which individuals reflect emotion over space, and it is through the use of materials and geometries that space can be instinctually constructed in order to impose certain intended reflections upon the users. Space created is not just a combination of forms and materials, but rather for the interface connecting the two. If architecture is created to primarily deal with the surfaces and enclosures it producers with the intention of been occupied by the body, then architects have the ability to design and fabricate technologies which are constructed and realised for the sole purpose of been sensitive to the needs of the users exploring that space. It is through the use of materials and geometries that space can be instinctually constructed in order to impose certain intended reflection upon the users. The architects imagination can somewhat play a very important role in presenting interaction between human body, space created and architecture. Although architecture depends on the materials used for its function and purpose, it is ultimately the relationship between the form and the subject than rather just the performance of the material itself.

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 / This research report is to investigate the physical realm of online content creation as well as the effects content creation and social media has in a South African context. The objective of this research report is to identify the areas in which Architecture can better support the new generation of online content developers. With the fast paced development of the Internet and digital technology, Architecture needs to form new ideologies, typologies and tectonics in order to stay relevant. A space that’s is the pivoting point between two worlds: online and offline. The result of this study is to create a new typology to fit within the Internet industry within South Africa and to be able to leapfrog the country and it’s specific design site in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, into the Internet territory. A space is needed that will be the intersection of the physical and the online world, a space that becomes a connection node with a presence in both worlds. The Content Creator Hub, which is an architectural space that not only facilitates the creation of online content but also the sharing of skills, collaborative efforts, exposure to business practises, business people and business opportunities, access to tools and equipment as well as access to a conducive space. The formation of an actual place where a new form of creative artists exist and are able to create, learn, share, connect, collaborate and help innovate. Furthermore, there is an opportunity to take the philosophical ideas and approaches of The Content Creator Hub to implement them into an urban scheme and in a Southern African context. Architecture plays an important role not only by generating content but also by accelerating the action. / MT2017

Orientador: Maria Encarnação Beltrão Sposito / Banca: Arthur Magon Whitacker / Banca: Antonio Firmino de Oliveira Neto / A pesquisa desenvolveu-se para analisar e compreender as práticas socioespaciais que orientam o estabelecimento das relações e contradições entre o público e o privado, coletivo e individual, nos espaços das ruas em Presidente Prudente, observando como seus usos contribuem para o entendimento da configuração do espaço urbano e em que medida essas práticas ajudam a (re)definir os papéis e fluxos da/na cidade. Nosso recorte territorial abrangeu duas vias, compreendidas como espaços relevantes e estratégicos na dinâmica urbana desta cidade. Ambas são vias centrais: Rua Tenente Nicolau Maffei (Calçadão), expressiva rua de pedestres pelo dinamismo de relações que nela se ensejam e a Avenida Washington Luís, caracterizada pela especialização de serviços médicos-odontológicos e de lazer. A metodologia utilizada valorizou a observação das formas como ocorre a apropriação adequada ou inadequada dos espaços públicos destas vias, à luz do que prescreve a legislação municipal urbana, relativa ao uso e ocupação do solo. Foram aplicados questionários e realizadas entrevistas, que complementaram o trabalho de observação e tabulação dos dados levantados. A elaboração de cartogramas de uso do solo e os registros fotográficos foram fundamentais para a representação e registro dos resultados da pesquisa. Apreender como se estabelecem as formas de apropriação dos espaços públicos e observar as relações que estabelecem, no plano territorial, entre as práticas e a lei, contribui para o entendimento da cidade real. / The research was developed to analyze and to understand the practical space partners who guide the establishment of the relations and contradictions between the private, collective public and the individual one, in the spaces of the streets in Presidente Prudente, being observed as its uses contribute for the agreement of the configuration of the urban space and where measured these practical it helps to redefine the papers and flows in the city. Our territorial clipping enclosed two ways, understood as excellent and strategical spaces in the urban dynamics of this city. Both are ways central offices: Street Lieutenant Nicholas Maffei, expressive street of pedestrians for the dynamism of relations that in it if try and the Washington Avenue Luis, characterized for the specialization of medical services and leisure. The used methodology valued the comment of the forms as the adequate or inadequate appropriation of the public spaces of these ways occurs, to the light of what it prescribes the urban, relative ordinances to the use and occupation of the ground Questionnaires and carried through interviews had been applied, that had complemented the work of the raised given commentary and the form. The photographic elaboration of cartograms of use of the ground and registers had been basic for the representation and register of the results of the research. To apprehend as if they establish the forms of appropriation of the public spaces and to observe the relations that establish, in the territorial plan, between practical and the law, contributes for the agreement of the real city. / Mestre

Nesta pesquisa o objetivo é trazer à tona a discussão sobre a acessibilidade universal, no espaço livre projetado. Buscando evidenciar dificuldades encontradas não só por pessoas com deficiências, mas também por toda a sociedade, no uso do território. Focando na sensibilização dos profissionais, especialmente arquitetos paisagistas. Este estudo busca discutir aspectos da concepção de projetos que, embora existam legislações e normas que tratem da questão de forma bastante ampla, a prática da construção da cidade \" real\" não garante os direitos adquiridos legalmente. Os espaços livres de uso público são locais onde se desenvolve a cidadania e têm fundamental importância no processo de inclusão social. Alguns espaços construídos, embora de acordo com a norma (NBR 9050 - Acessibilidade a Edificações, Mobiliário, Espaços e Equipamentos Urbanos), muitas vezes, não atende à pessoa com deficiência (PCD), porque o meio externo não é acessível. / In this research the purpose is to bring to light the discussion about universal accessibility on the designed free space, by trying to make evident the difficulties found not only by the disabled, but also by the entire society. It focuses on the professional, especially architects and landscape architects. This study tries to argue different aspects of the project conception which, even though there are laws and norms that handle the issue in an ample way, the practice of the \"real\" city construction does not guarantee the rights acquired legally. The public free spaces are spaces where the citizenship is developed and are really important in the process of social inclusion. Some of the built spaces sometimes doesn´t consider the disabled, although they follow the law (NBR 9050), because the exterior is not accessible.

A presente pesquisa tem como finalidade refletir sobre os conflitos territoriais travados nos espaços públicos contemporâneos a partir do conceito de «microterritorialidade», advindo da área de estudo da Geografia. Tal conceito tem sido empregado nos estudos sobre ações e comportamentos cotidianos de atores e grupos sociais que, com a intenção de se apropriar, dominar ou controlar pequenas porções do espaço urbano, questionam e desestabilizam a pretensa homogeneidade do espaço social preconizada pelos discursos hegemônicos que tentam tornar opacas as contradições da sociedade nos espaços públicos. Essas ações e comportamentos criam campos de tensões e contradições entre a ordem e o caos, a disciplina e a subversão, a mudança e a permanência. A presente pesquisa se propôs a explicitar e analisar o campo de tensão estabelecido entre as principais microterritorialidades exercidas no Brique da Redenção e seu entorno. Este espaço público está normalmente associado a ideias de diversidade e democracia, que se desdobram em narrativas de um espaço de convivência profunda e pacífica entre as diferenças. Entretanto, os conflitos territoriais neste espaço público são travados desde a sua constituição, há 40 anos, e seguem até os dias atuais, a partir da manutenção de pequenos territórios definidos não apenas por limites físicos, mas também – e principalmente – por limites simbólicos, que ora dominam, ora resistem, ora tensionam, ora são tensionados. A pesquisa desdobrou-se em quatro etapas e teve como foco de estudo três dos diversos grupos presentes nesse espaço: os Expositores do Brique da Redenção, os Expositores Indígenas e os Ambulantes. Somado a esses grupos também foram analisadas as significações produzidas pelos frequentadores do Brique da Redenção. Espera-se que a pesquisa possa contribuir com a construção teórica sobre «microterritorialidades», ao analisar a constituição e os esforços empregados para a manutenção desses pequenos territórios, bem como instigar reflexões sobre o caráter necessário dos conflitos na construção de espaços públicos ditos democráticos, como alternativa ao espaço público „ideal‟ como espaço pacificado. / This research aims to reflect about the territorial conflicts in contemporary public spaces from the concept of "microterritoriality", derived from the field of study of Geography. This concept has been used in the studies about actions and daily behaviors of actors and social groups that, with the intention of appropriating, dominating or controlling small portions of urban space, question and destabilize the assumed homogeneity of the social space advocated by the hegemonic discourses that try to blur the contradictions of society in public spaces. These actions and behaviors create fields of tensions and contradictions between order and chaos, discipline and subversion, change and permanence. The present research proposes to clarify and analyze the field of tension established between the main microterritorialities exercised in Brique da Redenção and its surroundings. This public space is usually associated with ideas of diversity and democracy, which unfold in narratives of a space of deep and peaceful coexistence between differences. However, territorial conflicts in this public space have been fought since its creation 40 years ago and continue to the present day, from the maintenance of small territories defined not only by physical limits but also - and especially - by symbolic ones, which sometimes dominate, sometimes resist, sometimes stress, sometimes are stressed. The research was carried out in four stages and focused on three of the different groups present in this space: the Exhibitors of Brique da Redenção, the Indigenous Exhibitors and the Street Vendors. Added to these groups were also analyzed the meanings produced by the visitors of the Brique da Redenção. It is expected that the research can contribute to the theoretical construction on "microterritoriality", when analyzing the constitution and the efforts employed for the maintenance of these small territories, as well as to instigate thoughts about the necessary character of the conflicts in the construction of public spaces called democratic, as an alternative to the 'ideal' public space as a pacified space.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T18:21:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joselle Davanco.pdf: 8424504 bytes, checksum: e0384d3ef015699d06d6a72962819438 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-12-13 / The urban public spaces have been the object of frequent studies, but little attention has been given to parks. Parks are places of great historical and cultural value, of social interaction and are essential to the urban configuration. The study entitled: Parks in the inner cities of Sao Paulo, case studies in the cities of Ribeir?o Preto and Monte Alto, SP , discuss the park in relation of it's concrete situation of territory, with it's different rationalities, global and local, systemic and quotidian, aiming for a wider understanding of the reality of the contemporary spaces. To know the park with it's object and action systems, it was necessary to investigate it in different social aspects, including the economical, the cultural and the spacial. Therefore, studies were made at parks located downtown, in consolidate neighborhoods, gated communities and at the suburbs, in small towns and medium sized cities of Sao Paulo. / Os espa?os p?blicos urbanos tem sido objeto de estudo freq?ente, por?m pouco tem se voltado para o espa?o da pra?a. A pra?a ? um local de grande valor hist?rico, cultural e de intera??o social sendo fundamental na configura??o urbana. O trabalho de tema Pra?as do Interior Paulista: estudo de casos nas cidades de Ribeir?o Preto e Monte Alto / SP, pretende discutir a rela??o das pra?as em situa??es concretas do territ?rio, diante de suas diferentes racionalidades, globais e locais, sist?micas e cotidianas, visando o maior entendimento das realidades dos espa?os p?blicos na contemporaneidade. Para se conhecer a pra?a, com seus sistemas de objetos e de a??es, foi necess?rio investig?-la diante das diferentes inst?ncias sociais, abrangendo a economia, a cultura e o espa?o. Assim, foram estudadas as pra?as de bairros centrais, bairros sub-centrais consolidados, condom?nios fechados e na periferia, em cidades de m?dio e pequeno portes do interior Paulista.

Este trabalho ocupa-se das áreas inferiores de viadutos, os chamados baixios. Tratados quase sempre pelo poder público e pela literatura acadêmica como espaços residuais,os baixios de viadutos não foram considerados historicamente como recursos territoriais passíveis de utilização pública. Mas, como na metrópole não existem espaços inteiramente desocupados, os baixios exibem usos e ocupações, ainda que pautados na informalidade. Diversos grupos fazem desses territórios locais de encontros e de atividades no curso diário de suas vidas, dotando-os, ao transgredir seu uso original, de qualidades não previstas.Ao analisar os usos e as ocupações nos baixios dos viadutos Alcântara Machado e do Glicério, em São Paulo, esta dissertação procura mostrar a complexidade de territórios que, justamente por serem intersticiais, constituíram-se como oportunidades para atuações espontâneas promovidas por atores sociais. Ao inserir e manter iniciativas nos baixios, esses atores conseguiram estabelecer ali espaços públicos. A literatura acadêmica tem demonstrado que a apropriação do espaço público pode gerar um senso de coletividade a partir de sua gestão, caso ela seja compartilhada. Esta dissertação contrastou as iniciativas de uso dos baixios com a conceituação de \"commons\" presente no debate contemporâneo sobre o assunto, em que a ação voluntária e a autoresponsabilização permitem a mobilização de recursos para a ocupação. A escolha dos baixios, áreas da cidade onde a ocupação espontânea é relativamente antiga, teve como objetivo gerar subsídios para a compreensão de10processos mais recentes de qualificação e de ativação dos espaços públicos, ou \"comuns urbanos\", apoiados no ideal do \"bem comum\". Esses processos ainda são vistos como fenômenos precários e/ou transitórios, embora tenham potencial para gerar possibilidades efetivas de uso e para tornar seus promotores agentes aptos a exercer papel mais ativo na ordenação do espaço urbano. / The present study focuses on the residual areas under viaducts. Often seen by city councils and academic literature only as residual spaces, these areas have not been historically considered as resources suitable for public use. Nonetheless, as there is no such a thing as completely vacant land in the metropolis, the residual area bellow viaducts do show some use and occupations, even though non formal; different groups use such territories as places for gathering and other activities. By subverting their purported use (or non-use), they fill them with unexpected qualities. By analyzing uses and occupations in the areas bellow Alcântara Machado and Glicério viaducts in the city of São Paulo, this dissertation aims at demonstrating the complexity of these portions of the municipality territory which, for the very reason of being interstitial, became opportunities for spontaneous actions and projects developed by different social stakeholders. By introducing and maintaining initiatives in these \"baixios\" (as such spaces are called in Brazil) these social stakeholders were able to stablish public spaces on them. The academic literature has demonstrated that this kind of appropriation of common but non-used space in the city can generate a sense of community deriving from its management, provided it is performed in a collective manner. The present work analyzed such initiatives by confronting them with the concept of \"commons\" applied in recent studies about this subject in which spontaneous and self-12responsible action enabled the mobilization of such territories resources into urban occupations. The \"baixios\" where chosen for investigation as they have been historically occupied in as spontaneous fashion in São Paulo. For this reason, they have the potential to illuminate more recent processes of public space qualification and activation aiming at the common good.