M. Tech. Architecture. / This thesis presents the design of a secondary school in the township of Emzinoni, Mpumalanga. The thesis challenges the current school building morphology in terms of spatial layout and tectonics, with the intent of providing multi-use facilities accessible to both the school pupils and the surrounding community. The selected site in Emzinoni, like many township areas in South Africa, is almost devoid of any civic or public buildings or services, just the endless sprawl of small residential units and shacks with the random school rising two storeys above the surrounding context. With the large capital expenditure of building a new school, this project endeavours to show a school that is more than a facility for learning or imparting knowledge; a school that can be the centre of the community and a neighbourhood activity hub, providing services and activities to the total community, to benefit all.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / The aim of this project is to promote localised pastoral farming and reduce the energy consumed in the process of producing silage and the distribution of cultivated harvests. The design proposes an architectural intervention that would embody the process of storing and distributing harvested grain. The proposal investigates the design of a didactic silage production facility using the migrating silo to establish a new kinetic typology in productive infrastructure, meeting the following objectives: Establishing the new typology as a productive architectural solution that responsibly serves the community and environment that it moves through, within the set parameters of this proposal. It will incorporate and develop the current process of grain collection, storage and distribution. The architecture will incorporate sustainable building alternatives to allow the design a natural integration within its environment, informed by an eco-systemic building approach. Aligning the design with these principles will successfully reduce the energy depletion within the new typology; in turn promoting energy equilibrium within the set parameters of this proposal. The successful integration of a homeostatic design will rely on the integration of kinetic energy alternatives to supply power to a facility. These energies will be integrated into the functioning systems that complete processes housed within the facility. It is proposed that kinetic energy will be drawn from the fluid landscape in the form of wind and water as the primary power supply. Simultaneously, the potential energy that grain holds in the form of gravity/ weight will also be transferred into a kinetic energy.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This dissertation encompasses the development of a new explorative centre for public fire safety education, within the inner city of Pretoria. This centre would serve as the new Northern Gauteng public hub of the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa (FPASA) The proposal arises from the FPASA's current expansion needs. Their existing facility, based in Boksburg, is fast becoming too small and outdated to cater for the needs of the growing industry. This new facility will function as a public fire safety information hub, dealing with various fields of fire related protection and prevention training, for both private and public participants. This could serve to equip people with the knowledge and experience needed to more adequately protect themselves, their loved ones, as well as their personal belongings from damage or destruction by fire. The site selected for this scheme is situated within the currently dormant Museum Park District of the Pretoria central business district (CBD). The site, as well as its surrounding urban environment provides unique opportunities for the development of a new public-orientated fire safety education centre, which can focus on exposure in a pedestrian rich context. The FPASA's requirements, along with the site chosen for this new facility, provide unique opportunities for the development of a new active public typology within the city. The building should evoke curiosity as well as encourage explorative socio-educational behaviour. Through architectural form, public space, and didactically based educational programmes, this new public facility should attempt to reunite the individual with the built environment, while reaching out to expose the serious issue of fire safety education.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / At present the South African olive oil industry is highly dependent on international imports due to local olive oil producers being unable to meet the local demand. The need for extra virgin olive oil has increased each year since people have become more aware of the health benefits of the product. This dissertation documents the design of an olive oil production facility near the foothills of the Draaiberg mountain range in the Touws River valley. Situated in close proximity to the Touws River railway station, the proposed architectural intervention responds to the current situation of neglected railway towns through the implementation of agri-tourism in the area. Public interest creates a platform for the market to educate the broader public about health benefits, which has caused a gradual, growth in the olive oil industry. This in turn shows that olive oil farms need a public interface, such as an information centre, a shop and tasting room to entice the consumer and create awareness of the quality level of olive oil South Africa has to offer. The aim of this thesis is to design an olive oil production facility, focusing on the production of extra virgin olive oil and relevant alternative products. The facility will not only function as an agricultural olive press for a private farming concern, but will also act as a community press facility to allow for continuous growth in the olive industry. One of the design objectives is to create a space for information and social interaction. The main building's size is informed by the size of the productive landscape and formulas were used to calculate the volume of oil produced per hectare. The production process can be followed by the visitor, giving rise to a linear building typology.

M. Tech. Architecture: Professional / The origins of the Apies River within Fountains Valley, established the foundation of the city of Pretoria as well as the inspiration for this design. The significance of Fountains resides not only in its natural features but also its historical and cultural layers, forming a complex matrix of time and influence. The proposal explores the potential role that architecture plays in the conservation of Pretoria's cultural waterscapes, through the process of fabric renewal and public engagement. The study identifies the need for a hydrological research and conservation facility within Fountains Valley, unifying the significance of the site which stems from natural features as well as historical and cultural layers. Fountains Valley currently forms a place with cultural value, leisure and recreation opportunities, and an escape from the busy city. The proposed intervention consists of a cultural waterscape that creates a new relationship between people and nature. The future built landscape will be a platform and catalyst which researches, informs, and preserves Pretoria's natural spaces and aims to facilitate the integration of a hydro-logical research facility within a cultural recreational park.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / Worldwide there is a growing interest in traditional ways, in turning to local skills and craftsmanship. This type of low technology is an antidote to the technologically advanced society we live in today. This dissertation entails the design and research of a facility for creative vocational enhancement in the Pretoria City Centre and responds to the need for the implementation of craft centres to promote self-employment amongst the underprivileged local communities of Pretoria. The design will have a strong focus on urban rejuvenation and activation of the old Pretoria Central Business District and aims to draw local commuters and tourists towards the proposed centre to enable it to be in a constant state of activity.

M.Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This study aims to re-activate a green space within a well-established urban setting. It is in an attempt to restore a lost connection between the urban dweller and the natural environment. This renewed connection could be considered a key to facilitate a form of healing within an existing urban context.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This thesis encompasses the research and subsequent building design of a Design Centre in Sunnyside Pretoria that specializes in the Applied Arts. This educational training facility will form part of a larger arts precinct. This can be achieved by integrating the immediate surrounding areas in a similar manner as that of Arts on Main in Johannesburg. The proposed project is located in an existing (but not fully developed) arts and design precinct in Sunnyside known as Oeverzicht Arts Village. The anchor facility of this complex will be the Design Centre, offering training and education in Industrial and Product Design, Fashion and Footwear Design, Cabinet making or Joinery, as well as other related arts for approximately 240 students. In light of the above approach, the project also entails the design of the surrounding public spaces, as well as the design of the complex as a precinct within the urban context. The site is located on a prominent corner where Berea, Sunnyside and the Central Business District intersect; it is located on the Nelson Mandela corridor which is one of the main arterial routes that feed the city. There is a cluster of residential buildings that were retained from the 1950's when most of the Sunnyside residential buildings were demolished to accommodate high-rise residential developments. These houses have a unique character within the urban context, which is currently obscured because of their scale compared to the surrounding buildings. The placing of the new development on the corner of the site gives it the necessary historical prominence within the current urban context.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This dissertation presents the proposal of a museum to map sensory experiences in central Pretoria where a sensory anthropology can be observed. This research project focuses on a sensory experience which provides a place of reflection and relief within the city and explores how the phenomenology of architecture can be preserved. The envisaged site is the existing ruin of the Capitol Theatre which is located on the immediate south western periphery of Church Square.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / The proposal attempts the design of a permaculture hub and community support centre within the Sokhulumi rural area, situated next to the R25, between Bronkhorstspruit and Groblersdal, Mpumalanga. The aim is to investigate a proposed model for a sustainable rural settlement, based on the principles of permaculture. This project proposes an exploratory model that could replace the current unsustainable livelihoods in rural areas, with a more holistic approach, which would possibly create a sustainable rural settlement. This proposal aims to include social, economic and environmentally sustainable solutions.