Thesis (M.Arch. (Prof.))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning, 2012. / Over 800 000 people access and commute
through Johannesburg Inner City every single
day. (JDA, 2009) Out of this, a certain group of
people enter the city with every intention to fi nd
permanent residency and work within the city.
They mostly come from afar, rural or semi-rural
areas and often from neighbouring countries.
Unfortunately, with the continuously changing
urban environment, it can be an incredibly
difficult process to adapt to alone. As such, this
can be the best time and the worst time of their
lives, fi lled with mixed emotions of excitement,
disappointment, fear and anticipation. This is
the time where one may manage to truly live
life, or end up surviving it. The sudden change
in lifestyle, security, social and economic
conditions, entertainment and habitat can
create situations where the very best will fail
in their quest to improve their lives and fall into
degenerate lives of crime and despair from
which very few will emerge stronger.
As I see it, architecture is the
science of building, in terms of not
only visually inspiring structures
but more importantly, structures
that can improve the lives of people
whilst preserving the environment
and assisting in the building of a
stronger economy and moral fi bre.
I believe that architecture is at the
root of civilization itself.
However, due to a multitude of varying levels
of control implemented into the urban realm
of Johannesburg’s Inner City, in order to
ensure this change, it appears that parts of
the physical environment are being distorted
to accept a selected group of city inhabitants,
leaving the marginalised group to fend for
themselves. In saying this, there thus appears
to be a new form of segregation occurring
within the city. As such, the social and physical
environments are beginning to lose a certain
key characteristic of what a city should be –
spirit and integration between all of its parts.
This thesis therefore investigates a
design that strives to create a bridge
between Johannesburg’s Inner
City and the formal environments
where new city-dwellers can fi nd
respite and are assisted to achieve
their goals without succumbing to
the pitfalls that would otherwise
await them. The design will ensure
that the transition between these
new-comers’ old and new lifestyles
and surroundings is as painless as
possible allowing them to reach their
full potential quickly and hopefully
removing the risk that they may
become a burden to themselves and
society.
This thesis will focus on the construct of a 21st
century interpretation of Godin’s familistère, not
necessarily in its structural make up but rather
in its funding, management and programmatic
structure to fulfi l its mission in a sustainable
manner as well as the new idea of connecting
these factors into the ‘bigger picture’. (Benevolo,
1971) This thesis will address the fundamentals
of target group, services provided, training,
temporary living accommodation, optimal
time of stay, work ethics, funding and most
importantly, the spatial framework required for
such integration to occur. The results of this
thesis will culminate in a full-scale detailed
design of such a construct and propose how
it could be achieved spatially for the direct
benefi t of those individuals, as well as the
indirect effect it could have on the physical
make-up of Johannesburg’s Inner City.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/13894 |
| Date | 20 February 2014 |
| Creators | Belamant, Michelle |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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