We live in a society that is constantly in change. As society moves forward, we experience social, political and economic shifts that somehow prove difficult for our buildings to survive in this rapid change. My Interest therefore looks to adaptive reuse as an approach to dealing with the change in our built environment. How do you deal, in an urban setting, with a neglected urban fabric without compromising Its historical and architectural memory which becomes important to a community? How do we begin to engage with the built fabric? It begins with accepting that transformation needs to occur. Adaptive reuse ensures the evolving life of any old building by expanding its practical use in its contemporary context. Existing and abandoned buildings represent a substantial resource. Through adaptive reuse, many buildings can continue to be brought back into use and contribute to a more sustainable development pattern. Old buildings in my opinion possess a timeless character. The aim of this document is to Investigate the potential of adaptive reuse as a response in transforming an existing structure on the brink of neglect into potentially a space that could be reused and function in a way that it supports the community and promote social engagement. The design and research develops a theoretically informed and sustainable approach to recycling built fabric in its contemporary urban context by linking patterns of adaptation and reuse to the change experienced in the contemporary built environment.

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The New Commune is a design proposal that aims to create an alternative living environment for the city dweller that revolves around simplicity and community, where nature plays the main role and elements of self-sufficiency become a reality. The design proposal merges the principles of an urban commune with that of agricultural density. This document traces the evolution of the design process, from the initial interest of the commune ideology explored in phase 1 to the analyses of the urban implications of this design proposal in phase 6, providing an understanding of the commune concept not only as a concept for alternative living but also an architectural scheme that promotes simplicity and community. This document illustrates the investigations that were conducted in order to achieve an understanding of the commune as a design dissertation topic. Phase 2, 'Exploration', investigates an extensive array of commune precedents, local and international, to demonstrate that the commune is a realistic proposal. The investigation was defined in Phase 3, 'Implementation', through the completion of a Theory and Technology paper that explored the quantitive and qualitative aspects of the commune ideology. The next phase, 'Realisation', introduced the Oude Molen (in Pinelands) site as an appropriate setting for the New Commune, as it presents a sufficiently large area, that is serenely located next to the Black River, for a selfsufficient agricultural endeavor as well as being located close to the CBD to accommodate the urban needs of the inhabitants. The final two phases of the document explore the commune subject architecturally, examining issues such as density, site usage, site design, programmatic requirements and dwelling concepts. This documentation of the several phases experienced by the New Commune will provide the reader with insight into the several issues examined in order to make the commune ideology a viable thesis topic.

This project develops an approach towards the arrangement and design of the primary elements - public facilities and spaces - that necessarily complement the provision of subsidised housing in South Africa. The historical response to the housing shortage in South Africa has been the provision of a remarkable number of individual housing units, but with insufficient funds and attention given to the urban infrastructure, public spaces and facilities that go hand in hand with housing in livable urban environments. This project considers a subsidy housing project where the social facilities are considered upfront, and are seen as an opportunity to create interesting, people-centred places in the development - this thesis is the search for an architecture which forms the backdrop, and framework for growth, for collective urban life. This paper is structured around six sections: thinking, siting, urban design, programming, making and designing. These sections explore, respectively, the theoretical proposal with regards to social facilities and public spaces, the strategic siting of an area of subsidised housing and its associated primary elements, an urban design proposal for the whole development, the programming of the whole site and the individual cluster of facilities that I consider in more detail, the spatial and technological realisation of the public fronts of three case study buildings, and finally the exploration and manifestation of these ideas through a design. My project is being done in conjunction with another student, Rob Richardson, who is looking at creative housing within the limit of the government subsidy. Together we make a proposal for an overall living environment which takes the form of an acupunctural insertion of subsidised housing and the associated primary elements into an area of Wynburg, Cape Town.

Architectural and urban design projects implemented on informal settlements tend to neglect the local existing patterns of living. As a result, these projects impose new social and spatial conditions that are often not liberating to the communities that they serve. As an alternative, this thesis proposes a methodology that contrasts with this approach, a process that aims at understanding the socio-spatial conditions of a particular area in order to inform spatial intervention. For this purpose, this thesis will incorporate a study of the general conditions that define Enkanini, an informal settlement of Cape Town. Such conditions will consequently inform where, how and when one must implement interventions on this settlement. The outcome of this thesis will consequently not be the formal design of a singular building; but rather a series of key concepts that would guide strategic spatial intervention in Enkanini.

Includes bibliographical references / This urban design thesis is a study of the urban issues and design principles pertinent to Port Cities. 'Man meets water': Our primordial psyche Man has had a relationship with water since time immemorial. Moving freely from earth to water is an activity which comes naturally to the human being. According to Eastern philosophy, Earth is the most important element. It comprises matter in a solid state, represents stability, physicality and gravity. Water is the second most significant element and represents fluidity, flexibility and adaptability (Ninjutsu.co.uk). Man meets water, in other words, is the moving from one realm to the other. In urban design terms, where 'Man meets water' is the 'in between' space - the interface. This is the area where two worlds come together - an area of interaction, interconnectedness and interrelationship. The area of study is a precinct of Port Louis - the interface between land and sea, as shown in Figure 1.1. The original urban quality of Port Louis has become degraded as a result of post-independence modernisation. The interface has been reshaped spatially and functionally. The original city of Port Louis was founded on the harbour, which was central to social, commercial and residential life. Today, the harbour is segregated from the city fabric. This thesis aims to explore the nature and design principles of places and spaces that lie within this land-water interface in order to formulate an urban design proposal wherein the land is reconnected to the water - an urban intervention for a people-oriented port city.

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This project is about re-establishing Maryland Avenue as a pedestrian corridor. Increasing pedestrian traffic along this axis will physically reconnect the Capitol Building to the Jefferson Memorial and provide the opportunity for commercial and cultural revitalization. Consideration of the urban scale led to studies of circulation, context and pedestrian orientation and their application to the design of a single building. / Master of Architecture

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