M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This dissertation deals with the exploration of turning a distant memory into a functional reality. The project focuses on architecture's potential to connect. The aim of the design proposal is to re-establish the programmatic exchange and confluence of commuters between South Africa and Mozambique on the so-called Eastern Railway Line. The proposed site (Mbombela Train Station) forms a comprehensive construct of history and decay. Currently, the site hosts an almost forgotten domestic train station, numerous unused office buildings and sheds. Established in 1895 as a railhead, it occasioned the development of Nelspruit (now known as Mbombela). The project investigates the typology of the train station: the spatiality and materiality of the current Eastern railway line prompts the architectural response. As a result, heritage incorporates and complements the vernacular (universal) language of the coalesced commuter. The proposed programme explores the threshold between the commuter and the city. The perceived spatial permanence of the platform mediates arrival and departure. An international railway station to act as a gateway between Mbombela and Maputo is thus proposed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1001510 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Bosch, Esias. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format |
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