Bibliography: leaves 82-84. / The methods of displaying data from archaeological surveys are of considerable importance in representing realistic impressions of archaeological sites that few people are able to visit. In many cases, further study of a site is not possible at the location of the site. This would require that the surveyed data of the site be displayed in such a way as to be accurate and realistic as well as including interactive tools, enabling further studies. Traditional displays of archaeological data have been either in textual form or in the conventional hardcopy form of maps and drawings. With the advent of computers and computer graphics alternative methods of displaying the data have become possible. 3D graphics have become an important method of displaying archaeological data. In 1995 and 1996 the Department of Geomatics at the University of Cape Town participated in the survey of the 3.6 million year old hominid footprints in Tanzania. The survey was required for the documentation and study of the footprints. In order to facilitate this in 3D graphics, software packages that allowed user interactive tools to be included in the display had to be investigated. Methods of displaying the data also had to be investigated. Java3D was selected to create the 3D models and user interactive tools that included measurement tools, gradient tools and profile tools. These tools were created for the Laetoli footprints but were applicable in other archaeological displays as well.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-72).

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / The idea of space lies at the root of all architecture; architecture is about spatial experience. This thesis is an investigation around the ideas of architectural spatial experience how we experience space and how to construct rich spatial experiences in architecture. The design project revolves around re-imagining the Lion Battery site on the slopes of Signal Hill. The design tests out the theoretical explorations laid out in this document and then incorporates tradtional and parametric approaches in the resolution of the design. The aim of this project is to explore experiential architecture.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis is focused on architectural theories and design concepts which will add to the discourse of the what learning environments should or could be in the 21st century. It is based on the idea that spaces for learning need to be more “alive and that architecture can stimulate positive social interaction between people. The current public education system and its related standards, requirements and policies, with regards to physical learning spaces, does not address the present needs of children as it ought to. Many schools in South Africa are not built and designed to function as sustainable buildings and they often do not cater for the economic, environmental or social needs of current and future learners, teachers and community members.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-81). / This study examines the social, political, and architectural influences that shaped the two Cape Town inner city housing projects in the Bo Kaap and District Six that were built after the introduciton of the Slums Act of 1943, between 1938 and 1944. During this period there there were changes in the hegemonic perceptions of the city. The eradication of slums served as a catalyst for spatial change and the dislocation of lived space as the city sought to re-create itself as a modern, rationally planned metropolis. The civic authorities and architects appeared to use the criteria of the modernist discourse as a mechanism to wield social control on marginalised members of society; creating mechanisms of removal, exclusion, surveillance and control based on ethnicity. This reflects the perceptions of the French philosopher, Foucault regarding power and control.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-124). / Colonial practice informed the development of the built environment in Cape Town and resulted in the production of a landscape that represented the hegemony of colonial power. Where the over-arching concern is the relationship of power and space, the process followed locates the inquiry in issues of social identity and exclusion as representations of power relations. If it is assumed that space is a function of social values and practices that are related to power, it follows that when power changes the built landscape should also change. This is an enquiry that tests this assumption. Cape Town is a port situated in southern Africa, and was initially developed as a colonial settlement in the seventeenth century when the Dutch assumed power over the Cape; thus constituting the first power shift located in this argument. The undeveloped wilderness was changed from a condition of 'origins' to a town representing Dutch power and social practice. The second power shift occurred when the British took over the colonised territory in 1806. While Dutch spatial practice was concerned with defending itself in an unknown territory, the British embarked on a process of expansion into the interior that was dominated by practices of segregation. Union government in 1910 marked the third shift and the beginning of a neo-colonial era where spatial practice remained largely aligned with a modernist European paradigm that produced alienating landscapes. The post-structuralist theories of Lefebvre and Foucault are interpreted to illustrate the 'representation of space' and 'power' in this context. The different spatial sets characteristic of each period, are presented as a construct that is developed to inform the method. The power shifts and modifications that constituted power changes through time are interpreted through a process of narrative and mapping. The accumulation of spatial practice through time produces a hybrid landscape where spatial practice in the context of the post-colonial condition represents cultural difference.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-102). / The aim of this study was to determine if sufficient data at no charge is available on the Internet to use as input to a free and open source hydrological model for use in a flood monitoring system. As such, the monitoring system would be SensorWeb enabled. The study area is the C83A quaternary catchment (746 km2) in the Northern Free State, part of the Vaal primary catchment in South Africa.

Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis confines itself to a consideration of urban development opportunity in the East City Precinct through the understanding of it former historical character and memory which can be implemented through Form Based Codes. It locates the design process in the sub-regional context and puts forward notional spatial proposal for the physical area of the East City Precinct and its surrounds. The application of theory is tested at precinct level and emphasis remains firmly on the public elements ordering the spatial structure. With all these considerations, this dissertation presents a piece of history of District Six and the importance of memory in relation to the East City. This contested site of memory and heritage informs the area’s contextual development amid the often-essentialising multicultural in particular to the ‘new South Africa’. In turn, an understanding of District Six’s urban quality which frames the intricacies of a restitution and redevelopment plan. It also illustrates the genuine uniqueness of its principles of urbanism, in contrast to market-oriented urban development which reproduces spaces of social fragmentation, exclusion and inequality. Indeed, the vision for the East City concerns long-term urban sustainability, an investment in a city of fluid spaces, a city of difference and meaning. This dissertation contends that there is a real role for urban and social sustainability in the redevelopment potential of the study area, with its historical, social, cultural and symbolic significance. Therefore its outline the key elements and principles for a development framework prepared for the study area and discuss the prospects for urban and social sustainability. This will inform where and how to apply form based codes with in the East City context.

Includes bibliographical references. / Many South African cities, including Cape Town, have inherited an skewed urban form which is intensified by the current high levels of in-migration and urbanization which cause great socio-economic and spatial structural urban problems. In a response to these urban issues, this dissertation argues for strategic integrated infill developments on well located, vacant land parcels which are believed to serve as the restructuring mechanisms and urban management tools for reversing Cape Town’s inefficient urban form. This dissertation presents a spatial framework for the Wingfield site that will include a dense, integrated infill development proposal which potentially will pave the way for similar future integrated development proposals. Collectively, these infill-pockets of developments will shape the Cape Town Metropolitan Area (CTMA) into a positive and integrated urban environment that is ecologically sustainable, economically durable and socially just.

Includes bibliographical references. / A point in Voortrekker Road was intensified by creating a halting place at an underdeveloped and important crossing in the central area of the Voortrekker Road Corridor, in Parow. Connectivity within the business centre of Parow is enhanced by the railway lines that run parallel to Voortrekker Road to the north and south - providing multiple access to public transport. The station enables a pedestrian network that extends far beyond its reach. This network is currently a very popular informal trading area. Trade is focused within a narrow strip, called Station Arcade, a pedestrian link from Voortrekker Road to the station. The area to the north of Voortrekker Road lacks the vibrant activity, generated within the commercial zone to the south. A reason for this is the strip of parking lots behind Voortrekker Road that create a buffer zone between the commercial strip and the residential area to the north. At the moment this transitional space adjacent to Voortrekker Road is ill defined and lacks activity. At night, these spaces become vulnerable areas and unsafe zones due to the gang activity and crime within the area. Due to the many tertiary institutions within the central part of the Voortrekker Road Corridor and a lack of student residences, a campus framework was introduced which proposes the development of student residences along a recreational spine. This framework was focused around key strategies to satisfy students’ accommodation needs. The junction between Voortrekker Road and Station Arcade serves as a significant point of crossing within the campus precinct and the location of my site. By locating a central function at this point within the campus, the existing link to the station is reinforced and a gateway to the new recreational spine behind Voortrekker Road is introduced. The Student Exchange building, located at this important nexus, will assist in creating shared facilities that can provide academic and social support to students in the area.