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EDUCATION
HERITAGE - GOVERNMENT PRINTING WORKS (STAATSDRUKKERY)
Through a theoretical approach concerned with the relationship between human & landscape and of heritage conservation, recording, investigation, interpretation, and a subsequent design response was undertaken with the critical concern to engage with and to preserve the building's heritage significance and value. An adaptive-reuse approach was favoured as the building was proposed to become a civic space within the heart of the CBD, within which a range of cross-programmed activities may take place given the necessitation of urban regeneration and resilience-of-place within the precinct. The design premise was based on the idea of self-realization and empowerment of the community through a metaphorical journey through space and time, allowing for the building to transcend into a symbol for liberation and identity.
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ENVIRONMENTAL POTENTIAL - WALKERSPRUIT PARK
The balance between man’s development needs and the environment’s potential to serve or provide in those needs was explored through the design of a biomimicry park which was mandated to exist off-grid. Social consideration, environmental responsibility and economic equitability were aspects theoretically explored, resulting in the subsequent design of an urban masterplan for the park, as well as a Welcome and Resource Centre that harnessed sustainable building methods, recycling and reuse of materials, and environmental restoration whereby technical building systems which were appropriate to the buildings' contextual and pragmatic requirements were designed with.
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HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - SLOVO PARK
A design by research project involving the community of Slovo Park, Nancefield, Johannesburg.
The project proposed the possibility of developing the extant internal economy and the physical spatiality and infrastructure of the area using the added material potential that moves through the area through a network of recyclers. It is envisioned that recyclers collaborate with artisans and spaza (retail) shop owners to create an internal and external network of production and sale that may facilitate in the physical upgrading of their community.
The project advocates an incremental approach that begins as a simple threshold that demarcates public and private space. The design creates critical guiding anchor points of incremental spatial upgrading to envision the projected development into an actupunctural facility that serves as a creative arts and culture workshop space for the proposed art, retail and industrial collaborative networks within Slovo Park.
The conceptual urban approach illustrates the incremental transformation and upgrading of a township street without services into a high-street for living, trade and industry, defined by layers and thresholds of public and private spaces, that used for retail and congregation, as well as scale for the creation of central anchor points This bottom-up approach encourages community participation whereby a strong sense of identity is developed and celebrated.
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TECHNICAL INVESTIGATION - SLOVO PARK
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Through an iterative process of design and technical modelling, objectives such as thermal comfort, sufficient natural daylighting, appropriate orientation, viable use of materials, sufficient building shading, along with numerous other sustainable approaches have been tested and considered through the use of technical tools which included: SBAT, EcoTect, LEED and the Green Star Rating System.
YOUTH CULTURAL CENTRE
Community-driven space which advocates for the social upliftment of the youth and its subsequent "street" culture is dealt with by proposing the design of an Urban Youth Cultural Centre. It provides -through its spatiality- opportunity for internal and external youth activities such as skateboarding and parkour, also -through its materiality- an allowance for expression through graffiti and other forms of art onto its walls. Through its subsequent useage, the building is envisioned to age where its patina will contribute to its overall rugged and urban identity.
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URBAN SOCIAL HOUSING - ROWHOUSE
An exploration into aspects of form, function, space and place-making within the limited spatial confines of a proposed rowhouse structure. Its conceptualisation entailed the creation of a compact suburban solution within an urban setting within the city centre. This translation is evident in the archetypal form of the home stacked onto each other to create a vertical ensemble of a suburban neighbourhood.
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MALI PAVILION
A second year project involving aspects about ethnic and cultural identity within Mali. The investigation entailed acquiring sufficient information that would assist in translating architectural theory focussed on place and identity into a pavilion that would encapsulate the symbolic notions of the country and its people through a new built environment; a temporary space that could be prefabricated and easily constructed on site.
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SMALL SPACES
An investigation into the daily rituals of an occupant living within a compact space. Notions of customizability, personalization and adjustability were explored and translated into an architectural solution that would allow for the ever-changing spatial requirements to be adequately met.
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