Extending the sSkin(s) is concerned with the adaptive re-use of the Capitol Theatre in the Pretoria into an existing building which has been abused and neglected, not only gives the building a new lease on life, but brings about the rejuvenation of the surrounding areas too. The design attempts to blur the boundaries between interior and exterior, and to extend the fantastic nature of the interior out onto the street. In this way, the original function of the building as a theatre becomes more accessible to the general public. The theatre as a whole becomes a mysterious fantasy realm drawing in passers-by, and thereby functioning as a platform for performance. When people enter the space, they become performers in their own right - their performance is mapped out by how they interact with the spaces and each other. The existing character has been reinterpreted allowing the Capitol to regain its former elegance and sense of mystery. The Capitol is brought into the here and now; the same but changed; a new energy for an existing building… Copyright / Dissertation (MInt(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

South Africa’s shameful migrant labor policies of the past have left a socioeconomic mark on the families of millions. The ruin in the garden has long been a fascination of many artists and poets, but in the case of an abandoned compound complex alongside Cullinan’s diamond mine, the author is left unsettled with the thought of the romanticisation of the compound falling to ruins. The anesthesia has to stop at some point. Nature and time have acted upon the compound and has allowed for a large amount to be erased from the publics’ greater memories, (partly due to its inherent isolation and its inaccessibility to the public). Nature is only doing what it knows best - to carry on and heal. The convoluted question needs to be asked, when does it become necessary for human influence to occur and stop a natural process of decay, especially in question of preserving tangible heritage? In Skelton’s poem, it is suggested that the place is ‘filled with music”. This dissertation will attempt the opposite; to fill a place with silences so as to expose and reveal the narrative of the hardships endured to the lives of so many before us. The proposed intervention manifests as a meeting point between nature and the memory embedded in the site, and allows for mediation between healing, adaptive reuse and memorialization. A dialogue must be formed between what is ruin, the new condition and its relation to the wild nature of the Highveld as well as the new introduced vegetation for consumption and research. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted

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How can architecture serve as a catalyst to strengthen a transitioning neighborhood without displacing or replacing the local community? Cities bear the weight of continual change. Across the United States, urban communities wrestle the boundary between the desires of gentrification and concerns for maintaining cultural identity. These ethos are expressed in both the social and physical fabric of the neighborhood. What buildings do we save? What goes away? Can something new introduce value yet inherently belong to the neighborhood? While these questions hold relevance in any city, each city holds a unique DNA. Why does Washington DC feel different than Chicago, New York, or Philadelphia? How does the architecture manifest this genetic code? I began to seek an architectural program where I could explore these questions. As a trained jazz drummer, I desired to create a place that could become a laboratory for jazz music and performance, while simultaneously serving the artist, student, patron and neighborhood. The streets of DC have a rhythm, a genetic code. How can this code be studied and interpreted through the lens of jazz music? Architecture is rhythmic. Users become improvisational dialogue within the form of architecture. My thesis developed these questions and concepts to create a physical home for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. (currently headquartered in Washington DC). The chosen site is located in the city's transitioning Greater U Street neighborhood. / Master of Architecture

"Nothing endures but change" - Heraclitus. Buildings are designed and built to house a specific program for a set period of time. The end of a building's life marks a change in its use. In today's building practices, some building owners opt to demolish an entire building prior to constructing a new one. Unfortunately, this world-wide attitude results in the production of millions of tons of waste every year and is not an ecologically sustainable practice. However, as green building methods become more valued in today's society, building owners and designers are becoming more conscious of buildings' end lives. Construction methods are increasingly involving concepts of designing for disassembly, wherein parts and materials can be easily taken apart for reuse or recycling. Such practices are vital in minimizing the unnecessary production of construction waste. Everything on earth exhibits change. This thesis explores the development of a newly constructed building and its transformation at the end of its life into a new building. The project consists of two designs; the program of the first was predetermined while the program of the second was chosen by the committee at the concluding stage of the first design. This thesis seeks to develop a position on architectural design and construction methods that acknowledges the fact that buildings are not permanent objects and that they will, at some point in time, change. / Master of Architecture

This thesis introduces an adaptive re-use approach to the remains of a former industrial site located along the River Douro in Porto, Portugal to reconnect individuals with communities and the past with the present by encouraging a return to local culture through art, craft, and small scale design intervention. A design approach that engages with the act of making can establish areas for creative collaborative activities, developing a sense of community, channeling value-creation mechanisms and fostering local economic development. The site can serve as a catalyst for larger art projects along the waterfront, improving other abandoned sites and connecting the site to the Ribeira. Beyond aesthetisizing the alienated area of the District of Aleixo in Porto, Portugal, the proposed architectural interventions can be significant in tying people back to their local history and culture in a contemporary way, creating an environment that encourages learning, engagement and facilitates collective place-making.

This dissertation investigates the significant problem of abandoned buildings in the Pretoria Central Business District and, to a lesser extent, the lack of public exposure to art, architecture and design. For the purpose of this study, empty spaces in the City Centre and Die Meent buildings are examined. A new system for their reuse is developed and a gallery for the exhibition of multiple art forms is incorporated therein, as an example of how the aforementioned system can be appropriated. These problems, especially the first, is not restricted to the local urban context. The investigation is thus divided into two phases: the first provides a solution to the challenge of reusing abandoned spaces in buildings; the second phase, as a proposed future exploration of this system, provides a solution to the need for a multi-purpose exhibition area. City Property is the proposed client for the first phase, while MINI Space is the proposed client for the second phase. Empty buildings are a growing concern worldwide, due to concerns for sustainable development and decreasing greenfield sites. This dissertation proposes that the term ‘site’ should be redefined, using the x-y-z axes as a base. By applying the theory of Deconstruction, it is argued that ‘ground zero’ be shifted to a higher level, to include not only the x- and y-axis, but also the z-axis, leading to the creation of truly three-dimensional cities. This project aims to advance a new way of looking at the city and promoting different forms of art. Culturally rich spaces within vibrant cities with multiple levels of living, working and playing, aid the creation of new communities and unique spaces for each individual. Copyright / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

Societies have an ethical responsibility to provide the dying with the highest possible quality of care. Yet, terminal patients are sometimes lost in a healthcare system that emphasizes procedure over the individual. This project envisions a new approach - a restructuring of the current system. A shared facility that combines rehabilitation and home care with end of life care, promoting flexible treatment to be tailored to each patient according to their individual needs. / Vårt samhälle har ett etiskt ansvar att tillhandahålla döende med högsta möjliga vårdkvalitet. Trots det åsidosätts ibland döende patienter i ett sjukvårdssystem som betonar metod över individen. Detta projekt föreslår en ny strategi - en omstrukturering av det nuvarande systemet. Istället för uppdelade vårdstrukturer föreslås en sammansatt vårdanläggning som kombinerar rehabilitering och avancerad hemsjukvård med sluten palliativ vård, som främjar flexibel behandling och som skräddarsys för varje patient utifrån dess individuella behov.

This thesis seeks to explore the potential of existing built fabric to change in order to meet the needs of its users. Central to this is the realisation that cities are highly dynamic environments. Momentarily appropriate, static solutions are not acceptable.This means not only adapting an existing building to fit a particular need at a particular time, but to ensure that it lends itself to future change. The building chosen for this study is the NZASM building, currently owned by Transnet, on the corner of Paul Kruger and Minnaar Streets. It was completed in 1963 on the property of the old NZASM headquarters and now serves mainly to house offices for Transnet. The building was between sixty and seventy percent occupied at the time of writing this thesis. The client is a fictional coalition of NGOs. The desired program is what will be referred to as an NGO Hub. The NGO Hub is a shared office and public interface facility. The intent is that these NGOs share resources and act within their specialties to support one another on collaborative projects. They must also be free to pursue their own projects and retain individual identity. At the same time, members of the public have a central location to visit where they can find information and the NGO best capable of serving their needs. This will lead to a far more efficient operational model for these organisations. The thesis also assumes that a scheme by Mary-Anne Da Costa, Surfaces and Services - A Public Space for Communication, Information + Discussion (2007), for Pretorius Square is feasible and that the two projects will occur simultaneously. The programmatic aim is to create a true civic square in Pretoria that will also serve as an example to other cities. This thesis will also work towards generating and reinforcing identity within the city. The reason for doing so is that we orientate ourselves by our environment. The clearer our idea of what a building/district/city is, the clearer our perception of what our relationship to it is and the better oriented we feel. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

This dissertation deals with the regeneration of Pretoria West as a sub-support district that will act as catalyst for the regeneration of Pretoria CBD. The project focuses specifically on the adaptive re-use of an unused existing building at the Pretoria West Power Station and acts as a possible solution for re-using an old building. The theoretical discourse of this dissertation explored the reasons why new areas in the city develops and other areas fall in a state of disuse. It looks specifically at unused industrial areas and what they can be used for after they have outlived their purpose. The picturesque quality of vacant industrial buildings has recently attracted many fashion photographers and has informed the programme for the project by providing a facility for the fashion industry, together with other proposed functions within the unused buildings at the Pretoria West Power Station in order to add new public functions into the existing urban fabric of Pretoria West. The dissertation investigates the similarities between the fashion industry and architecture, how they influence each other and ultimately how fashion can inspire the design of a new building within the envelope of an existing industrial building. AFRIKAANS : Die verhandeling ondersoek die herlewing van Pretoria Wes as 'n sub-ondersteunings distrik wat as katalisator sal dien vir die herlewing van Pretoria se middestad. Die projek fokus spesifiek op die hergebruik en aanpassing van 'n bestaande gebou by die Pretoria Wes Krag Stasie wat nie tans gebruik word nie. Die projek dien as moontlike oplossing vir die hergebruik van 'n bestaande gebou. Die teoretiese bespreking van die verhandeling ondersoek die redes waarom nuwe areas in die stad ontwikkel en ander areas in onbruik verval. Dit ondersoek spesifiek ongebruikte industriële areas en waarvoor dit gebruik kan word wanneer hul oorspronklike funksie vervul is. Die skilderagtige kwaliteit van ongebruikte en vervalle industriële geboue het onlangs menige mode-fotograwe gelok as kontrasterende agtergrond om hulle onderwerp af te neem. Dit het aanleiding gegee tot die nuwe program, 'n fasiliteit vir die mode-bedryf, tesame met ander publieke funksies, binne-in die ongebruikte geboue by die Pretoria Wes Krag Stasie. Die verhandeling bestudeer die ooreenkomste tussen die mode-ontwerp industrie en argitektuur, hoe hulle mekaar beïnvloed en gevolglik hoe die ontwerp van 'n nuwe gebou binne-in 'n bestaande gebou ingelig kan word deur mode-ontwerp. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted