In response to the protracted and ineffective international action on the climate change crisis, this study critically considers the potential of building-integrated agriculture (BIA) as retrofitting strategy to improve the climate change adaptation (CCA) capacity of buildings in South African inland cities. Based on a pragmatism paradigm, the study uses a mixed method research design, to evaluate current BIA farms and their efficacy as CCA retrofitting strategies to improve the thermal performance of the local built environment. The exploratory research is structured in three phases. During the first phase the unused and underutilised spaces of Hatfield, a rapidly changing neighbourhood in Tshwane, South Africa, are mapped and defined in terms of their latent climate change adaptation capability. Secondly, the spatial and technological characteristics of the current BIA industry is surveyed through a series of interviews and observational studies. As the final research phase, a specific BIA farm type, passively controlled non-integrated rooftop greenhouses, is assessed in terms of its reciprocal thermal impact on the built environment. As outcome, the research findings reveal a land-use form that can contribute to the climate change adaptation response strategies of South African cities on a spatial level. Unfortunately, the design resolution and technological realisation, specifically the prevalent form currently implemented in Johannesburg and Tshwane, adversely affect both farmers and building occupants during overheated periods. As a result, the study advocates developing and testing contextually appropriate technological solutions in the BIA industry. The study advances the climate change discourse by assessing the performance of BIA farms as constituent entities in networks of small-scaled climate change adaptation projects in resource constrained urban environments. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Architecture / PhD / Unrestricted

This thesis has as the main objective to investigate how to mitigatenegative impacts of urban environments and industrial agriculturethrough architectural design. The applied methodology is based inSynergetic Building Integrated Agriculture (SBIA) in combinationwith strict sustainability requirements (ecological, economical andsocial). Through the qualitative study of SBIA and built case studies it waspossible to identify the common factors and state-of-art technologyto be integrated in the design. This synergetic design proposal thus highlights the importance of amultidisciplinary approach for a successful future implementation ofsustainable SBIA design.

10 billion people will inhabit this planet by 2050. In order to feed such a large number of people research shows that food production will need to increase by 70%.This project explores what a foodcentric city planning can look like, where agriculture is not only integrated into the built environment, but rather the main generator of urban form. A block typology specifically tailored to create optimal growing conditions is rolled out as a high density agricultural grid across Bromma airport, and addresses issues of combining large scale structures with small scale human life.