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Tailoring Burghersdorp: a processing centre and archive for lost frabrics between Fordsburg and Newtown

This document is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree:
Master of Architecture (Professional), Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning
at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / This thesis examines a number of issues
that exist in Johannesburg across a series
of scales, the urban, the architectural and
the programmatic intervention. The project,
situated between Fordsburg and Newtown,
examines the East-West city connections
and aims to provide an identity for the lost inbetween
fabric of Burghersdorp. The project
is made up of four themes, Disconnection,
Memory, Textiles and Recycling, within a
scope that examines the present based on
themes from the past:
The city fabric is fragmented, mainly due to
city spatial planning and city politics. There is
the potential and need to physically stitch or
darn city fabrics through urban planning. The
project looks at an urban regeneration scheme
that incorporates urban devices as the tools
used to stitch the street back together.
There is potential to darn the programmatic
functions in the city, potentially weaving local
communities together, and provide a platform
for the exchange of knowledge and skills.The thesis also examines the need for buildings
as mnemonic aids. Historically, city fabric was
erased for the building of the Oriental Plaza.
The memories attached to these buildings and
spaces were lost. There is a possibility for
regenerating a space for memory in the city,
re-weaving this forgotten city fabric into a new
node and identity for Burghersdorp.
The area is defined by the activities of the
community that surround it. Textiles are a
significant part of defining the area’s identity.
A substantial amount of textiles are discarded.
Waste is a valuable commodity, evidently
seen from the existence of the informal waste
collectors. There is an opportunity to connect
these communities while closing the loop, a
proposal for a circular economy for textiles in
the city. / MT2017

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/22973
Date January 2016
CreatorsAdank, Janine Claire
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
FormatOnline resource (267 leaves), application/pdf, application/pdf

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