TUT ARCHITECTURE

CITY [MAKING] AND COMMUNITY

ENGAGEMENT

M I N I - D I S S E R TAT I O N S 2 0 2 0
 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

04. MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING HOD

06. A W O R D F R O M T H E P R O G R A M M E C O O R D I N AT O R

08. INTRODUCTION

12. L O C AT I O N O F S T U D E N T P R O J E C T S

Relevance is the route STUDENT WORK - By Surname

to excellence 26. ALBASINI, Juan Pierre 50. SAM, Ryan

28. BESTER, Gail 52. SESANA, Tlhologello

30. FA R E L O , D o m i n i c 54. VA N J A A R S V E L D , J a n - H e n d r i k
D R G A D A K A D O D A
32. FA U R I E , S h a w n 56. VA N T O N D E R , J o h a n n e s H e n d r i k u s

(Founding President of the Sudanese Knowledge Society) 34. F R O S T, C e c i l J a m e s 58. VA N Z Y L , A r m a n d t

36. GROBLER, Lourina

38. HILL, Siobhon

40. LEBETHE, Katlego

42. MUFUKA, Godmire

44. NEL, Gericke

46. N K WA D I , L e t l o t l o

48. ROUX, Nicoline

3
MESSAGE FROM
THE ACTING HOD
In the 1940’s Joseph Hudnut, the Dean of Harvard’s School
of Architecture, listed all the subjects he deemed essential to
a sound, complete architectural education. When the list was
complete he calculated the time it would take to learn everything
on it. It came to twenty two years.
All before the advent of architectural computing tools and the
intricacies of sustainability and green architecture and theories
which on their own commands a serious investment in learning
and honing of skills.
Developing the competencies of an architect is a long and
arduous journey of a minimum of six years (and many nights)
spent with lecturers, mentors and peers to acquire and develop
focused skills, knowledge, approach and understanding.
Doing a final year Architectural Design Dissertation in the best
of times commands an extraordinary investment in time, energy,
commitment and perseverance from candidates, staff, family, and
friends that few that have not been through it can comprehend.
Doing it without continuous access to studio mentorship and
companionship, as experienced this year, makes it challenging
in the extreme.
4 5
Archit ecture is the
I would like to commend you, the staff and everyone supporting
you in persevering in extraordinary challenging circumstances,
learned game, correct
and on the creativity exhibited in finding ways to explore
alternative avenues of pedagogical intervention that can only
and magnificent, of
forms assembled in
benefit the learning and development of those following you in
future.
Within the ever-changing context of socio-economic and political
zeitgeist, strive to be sensitive to the needs of the time, place and
people your work will serve towards the making of appropriate,
the light
responsible, sustainable architecture.
Congratulations on reaching the end of the first part of your
L E C O R B U S I E R
journey into the realm of architecture, and the start of the next
adventure in learning that will continue for as long as you are
immersed in the profession.
Make a positive difference to the world and lives of those who
will be affected by your endeavours.
All the best
MOSTERT VAN SCHOOR

A WORD FROM
THE PROGR A M ME
COORDINATOR
PROF AMIRA OSMAN
From the end of 2019, we started planning for 2020. We had
plans! We met and strategised and decided to better integrate
the different components of the TUT Architecture final year
programme. 2020 was meant to be the year where we would
combine concepts and practice around design and making,
materials and space, studio and site, professionals
and communities.
The theme for 2020 was declared CITY [MAKING] AND
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. Our intention was to work with
our new MAKER SPACE and to encourage the students to develop
approaches to building materials, construction and detailing that
relate to our context and socioeconomic conditions. We planned
to focus on “making” with a view to ease of implementation,
installation, assembly and disassembly. I encouraged the
creation of structures with high “capacity” and a consideration of
programme-less buildings (alternatively, buildings that have the
“capacity” to accommodate any function) and that this approach
will then be adapted to specific sites and functions as the year
progresses. We wanted to experiment!
THE PURPOSE OF THIS APPROACH WAS TO ACHIEVE GREATER
INTEGRATION, COLLABORATION AND TO SUPPORT THE
EMERGING IDENTITY OF THE SCHOOL.
6 7
We are a school of architecture located at a university of
technology, on the periphery of the Pretoria CBD, in an industrial
area of the city. It is a department that is proud of it’s tradition
of making and practice. We are also a school that has recently
expanded to include the Industrial Design discipline. We
debated some of these themes at our yearly mini-conference
(tutarchitecture.co.za/2020/05/2nd_a_dric-mini-conference/
and tutarchitecture.co.za/2019/05/1866/) .
We started the year with confidence and with plans.
Then COVID-19 came and the shut down started. And for a few
weeks, we were forced to be still and reflect. It was scary. And
it made us re-think many things. Thoughts and values we held
about everything in general, and teaching specifically, had to be
unpacked and reassessed.
COVID-19 changed everything.
At a professional level, there has been a lack of foresight on our
part as built environment professionals! As designers, architects,
planners, engineers: how did the majority of us miss the warnings
that this pandemic was coming?
As a researcher, in my work and writing, and in designing
for unknown futures, I have emphasised that our buildings,
neighbourhoods and cities need to be developed with a view
towards supporting the resilience strategies of communities. The
solutions for these communities, I have argued, should be able to
accommodate stability and change, the formal and the informal,
the unexpected and the unknown in the built environment.
Resilience, I have declared, is the availability of infrastructure and
the ability to support a diverse economy – accommodating the
informal pavement and street trader as well as the formal shop
or mall. Resilience can be achieved in integrated, beautiful and
dignified environments, through good governance and cohesive
communities that support each other.
I have often often written and spoken about the ability to increase
a community’s resilience capacity, and reducing its vulnerability,
by involving everyone in decision-making and I have also argued
that equal access to opportunity and spatial justice are conditions
for increasing resilience. Our inherited city structures meant that
people have remained disadvantaged and excluded 25 years
into democracy as the Apartheid city perpetuates.
Increased resilience means that cities need to be considered as
whole eco-systems and not as fragmented pockets of wealth and
poverty.
However, this crisis hit us hard at a time when none of these
conditions for resilience had been achieved.
How do we address this under the circumstances and how do
we map a way forward for our cities that takes this experience
into account? How can we imagine solutions that we have not
considered before, as we now realise that old and existing
solutions will fall short?
We are confronted with a situation where our destinies are even
more intertwined – a collapse in health or economic systems will
affect everyone, irrespective of class. Urban environments that
are successful work for everyone, irrespective of income; we
now know how true this is. A solution to the crisis means that our
first line of defence is in those areas of extreme poverty. Perhaps
this is an opportunity for us to correct the imbalances and finally
achieve equity and integration?
As we try to make sense of this, I have moved from thinking about
resilience – the conditions for resilience are just not there – to
thinking about anti-fragility and how communities might, not just
recover or return to what was, but rather to emerge stronger from
the crisis.
And we can think about resilience and anti-fragility at a global,
national, local and personal level. Our various communities,
including our professional community, are also being re-structured
and re-configured. Despite the difficulties, this crisis has been an
incredible opportunity to innovate. We have also created new
online platforms and our conversations have evolved.
Have we been able to make sense of all of this, this year?
Probably not! By the time we had absorbed what was happening
to the world around us, and started to make sense of our
reflections, the year abruptly came to an end. These are issues
that we will carry with us into the future and they will no doubt
influence everything that we do going forward.
Our 17 students have been subjected to great pressure in trying
to navigate the complexities of 2020. I commend them.
Supporting us in these times of uncertainty are the following
people:
Dr. Derick de Bruyn, Dr. Calayde Davey, Ms. Marinda Bolt, Ms.
Francine van Tonder, Mr. Philip Lourens, Mr. Denver Smith, Mr.
Andre Eksteen, Mr. Tebogo Ramatlo.
As well as the supervisors:
Prof. Jacques Laubscher, Dr. Emmanuel Nkambule, Dr. Mel
Stander, Dr. Jako Nice, Mr. Kyle Brand, Mr. Leon Pienaar, Mr.
Victor Mokaba, Mr. Stephen Steyn, Mr. Pieter Greyvensteyn.
I thank everyone of them!
Special thanks to our HOD, Prof Jacques Laubscher and our
acting HOD, Mr Mostert van Schoor.

INTRODUCTION
DERICK DE BRUYN
CALAYDE DAVEY
We are living in a period of dramatic and unsettling change
where traditions and practices are constantly challenged,
questioned, and re-evaluated. For most people, this period is
distressing. However, for the critically creative among us, this
time is exciting. Change and volatility represents opportunity.
Now, we could get rid of long-held assumptions, preconceived
constraints, and self-imposed limitations. Today, this requires us
to re-establish a new truth for a future that carries meaning and
weight for our larger community.
Both on a professional and societal level, we have to ask
ourselves: how could we re-imagine our future? What really
matters? What is important and what is in the way? What do
we need to learn and what do we need to change?
Despite the uncertain circumstances of this year, a brave
group of seventeen design candidates journeyed, probed and
engaged with real-life societal issues and explored architectural
responses to these concerns. Their relevant and imaginative topics
demonstrate a rich diversity in context, personal experiences and
backgrounds. With the exception of a few projects, the class
share a common ground: the dynamic socio-cultural geography
and associated contexts of Tshwane Metropolis.
8 9
This booklet summarises the themes, conceptual drivers and
designs of the post-graduate Class of 2020. It unpacks a set
of works focused on new visions and alternative futures. Many
projects have cross-pollinating themes that are highly relevant
in today’s context. These range from supporting societal mental
wellbeing, pressing issues of spatial decolonization or gender
equalities, closing environmental or resource loops, or providing
a new interpretation of an architectural process.
The themes speak of awakening, finding new expression,
‘queerying’ the world around us, forging and fantasizing new
possibilities. While some projects focus on the intersection
of health, technology and space as healing, transforming,
rehabilitating expressions or enabling innovation, others explore
new meanings in education, recreation, urban transformation
and mobility. Every candidate is actively asking: how could our
profession support the pattern changes our cities and societies
desperately want and need?
The year was by no means conventional, especially with regards
challenging the traditional architectural educational process
through new blended methods of online platforms, the sudden
loss of studio’s and creative spaces, access to peers and mentors,
and the overwhelming stress of holding onto the highly uncertain
academic year. Demonstrated by our student’s strength of
transformation, all these difficult personal obstacles cannot
go unnoticed.
CITY
[MAKING]
AND
COMMUNITY
With determinism, personal motivation and companionship,
together the Class of 2020, have overcome these difficulties. ENGAGEMENT
We applaud their commitment to each other, and admire the
leadership they have in themselves and to their community.
They are simultaneously holding up our rich architectural
traditions, while showing us a new way forward.
Regardless, the cohort’s bravery, flexibility, openness and
resilience, is evident in the mature growth and dedicated
work presented in this booklet and exhibition. Moreover, the
camaraderie and support shown for each other could serve
as a needed lesson for the, somewhat divided, isolationist
tendencies in our professional community.
As representatives of the broader profession we invite our
examiners, in concluding the academic year, to take to heart the
candidates’ sincerity, authenticity, imagination, and exploration
of the themes. We invite you to support this new generation in
continuing their journey and passions for our collective discourse.
As we re-evaluate our roles and contributions to society, and
articulate a new future of architectural possibility, we invite you
to join us in a conversation of reimagination.
10 11
T U T A R C H I T E C T U R E

LOCATION
OF STUDENT
PROJECTS
S T U D E N T W O R K 2 0 2 0
 1. NICOLINE ROUX
Transformative innovation in a peri-urban society:
The re-design of Mabopane Station , Pretoria

2. KATLEGO TSHIMOLOGO LEBETHE

The design of an Agri-tecture Pre-School in Kgabalatsane View,
North West Province, South Africa

M A B O PA N E , T S H WA N E K G A B A L AT S A N E V I E W

14 15
 3. LETLOTLO NKWADI
School of the Blind: The design of a multi-sensory creative hub for
the visually impaired in Ga-Rankuwa, Tshwane

4. GODMIRE MUFUKA
Afro-Exfoliation: An Exploration of Space-Time as a Gateway for
African Awakening with the Design of an African Dance Theatre
in Tshwane

G A - R A N K U WA , T S H WA N E W O N D E R B O O M , T S H WA N E

16 17
 5. GAIL BESTER
Symbiosis: The design of an integrated therapeutic facility for
animals and differently-abled children in Pretoria

6. LOURINA GROBLER
Forging new gender archetypes: A study of gendered and gendering
practices through the design of a male orphanage in Marabastad

7. GERICKE NEL
Plasticity: The Design of a Plastic Innovation Laboratory in Central
Pretoria

8. TLHOLOGELLO SESANA
A Revolution: Decolonizing architecture with a hybrid theory of image, culture
and space through the design of a land redistribution hub in Tshwane

9. JAN-HENDRIK VAN JAARSVELD

Queerying architecture: The exploration of Queer space through
the design of a precinct in Pretoria

10. SHAWN FAURIE

Reclaiming Priorities: The design of a transportation facility for
electric and autonomous vehicles in Pretoria

11. DOMINIC FARELO

Healing Connection: The Design of a Holistic Mental Health and
Well-Being Facility in Pretoria Central

12. ARMANDT VAN ZYL

Staged Architecture: A platform for the freedom of expression through the
design of a media and communication centre in Tshwane, South Africa

U R B A N T S H WA N E
13. RYAN SAM
A Level Playing Field: The design of an Urban Gymnasium on
Berea Sports Park, Pretoria, South Africa.
18
 14. CECIL JAMES FROST
Prosthetic Architecture: Adaptive rehabilitation in the design of
an enhancement centre for the disabled in Pretoria West, South
Africa

15. JUAN PIERRE ALBASINI

Architectural fantasy: Reinterpreting Price’s Fun Palace through
the design of an immersive experimental studio in Pretoria
Industrial

I N D U S T R I A L T S H WA N E

21
 16. SIOBHON-MARIE HILL
The Design of a Community-based School Facility in Pretoria

17. JOHANNES HENDRIKUS VAN TONDER

Transforming a contaminated ecosystem through economic
regeneration: the design of an aquaponic facility in Soweto,
South Africa

M A M E L O D I , T S H WA N E SOWETO

23
T U T A R C H I T E C T U R E

STUDENT
WORK 2020

JUAN PIERRE ALBASINI
Supervisor: Dr M. Nkambule
Design Supervisor: Mr P. Greyvensteyn
ARCHITECTURAL FANTASY: REINTERPRETING
PRICE’S FUN PALACE THROUGH THE DESIGN
OF AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIMENTAL STUDIO IN
PRETORIA INDUSTRIAL
26
ABSTRACT
This dissertation will be conducted as an in-depth case study of
Cedric Price’s philosophy of architecture. Price was an anticipatory
architect who questioned the future of architectural approaches and
questioned the limits of impermanence, flexibility and social constructs
of time. Price’s Fun Palace was an unparalleled success, striking a
chord with the mood of the 1960s, and his principles resonated with
utopian visions of post-war futurism. Post-war futurism perceived
that technology could be the catalyst to engage with issues of spatial
programme subsequently creating a new architecture of performance
and temporality.
This dissertation intends to be the manifestation of a fantasy world
which is envisioned through a reinterpretation of Cedric Price’s Fun
Palace of 1962. The author will explore how a building typology as
adaptive reuse approach can enable a social interactive space as an
event to facilitate multiple functions whereby fun and educational
activities are presented through the use of virtual technologies.
The 1962 Fun Palace was intended to be built in an industrial context
at Stratford East, London. This proposed pop-up intervention will be
conceptualised inside a vacant warehouse an adaptive re-use approach.
As a metaphorical gesture to link the proposed intervention with
the Fun Palace, the selected site is located at ArcelorMittal on the
perimeter of Pretoria Industrial.
This intervention as an event intends to facilitate mobility and
flexibility of spaces in which tangible and intangible experimental
activities exist. Structural elements will be intended as a ‘kit of parts’
whereby the organisation of spaces can be interchangeable through
‘plug and play’ therefore to accommodate numerous activities.
Keywords: Fun Palace, flexibility, impermanence, pop-up, virtual
technologies
27

GAIL BESTER
Supervisor: Prof. J. Laubscher
Co-Supervisor: Dr J. Nice
ABSTRACT
The world is not purely anthropocentric; humans have created a
sustainability gap by neglecting animal habitation and including
animals in society. This dissertation explores placemaking for children
who are differently abled through the use of animal-assisted therapy
(AAT), which uses animals to stimulate human development and
support diverse aspects of growth in differently abled individuals.
The proposed investigation is based on the benefits of animal-assisted
therapy for children as well as the simultaneous healing and therapeutic
benefits for the ill/harmed/broken animals.
It will serve as a pilot project for a hybrid architecture that incorporates
educational facilities for children besides rehabilitation and medical
facilities for animals.
The aim is to facilitate the symbiotic relationship between humans
and domesticated animals in proximity to the Pretoria Zoo, which
accommodates wild enclosed animals. The idea of caging and
enclosing is explored on a theoretical level.
International and national precedents regarding integrated educational
facilities inform the architectural intervention. The researcher uses
models, drawings, and illustrations to investigate and explore the form
and functions of architectural spaces and infrastructure in a mutually
healing environment.
Keywords: healing, animal-assisted therapy, differently abled children,
symbiotic healing

SYMBIOSIS
THE DESIGN OF AN INTEGRATED THERAPEUTIC
FACILITY FOR ANIMALS AND DIFFERENTLY ABLED
CHILDREN IN PRETORIA.
This dissertation explores how architectural interventions can foster the
healing of differently abled children as well as animals through their
mutual interaction when a union is created between the abandoned
animal, the differently abled child and the environment. Focused
research was conducted on topics that include human engagement
with animals and animal-assisted therapy. The proposed project site is
located adjacent to the Pretoria Zoo in the Pretoria inner city.

28 29

DOMINIC FARELO
Supervisor: Prof. J. Laubscher
Co-Supervisor: Mr P. Greyvensteyn
HEALING CONNECTION: THE DESIGN OF A
HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
ABSTRACT
Mental illness poses a threat to societal health and welfare in South
Africa and it is a neglected facet of life in the South African context.
Similarly, the built environment does not promote mental health and
well-being.
The main objective of this research is to develop a new holistic mental
health and well-being facility model by responding to the current
unhealthy state of social disconnect and the disconnect between
people and their physical environments. This will be achieved by
using theories from Neuro-architecture, Biophilia, Queer theory and
principles derived from spatial conditions of mental health and well-
being.
Ideally, the architecture should facilitate mental health treatment
functions while becoming an integral part of the treatment. It aims to
challenge the prevailing mental health stigma by providing spaces for
mental health learning experiences and democratic spaces where the
‘healthy’ and the ‘unhealthy’ can interact.
The dissertation is completed through historic, theoretic and technical
research, contextual studies, conceptualisation, evaluation and
development.
Keywords: architecture, connect, disconnect, journey, mental health,
nature, spaces, stigma, stimulating, well-being.

FACILITY IN PRETORIA CENTRAL The dissertation aims to produce an architectural intervention that
through its forms and spaces creates a narrative journey, immersed in
a natural landscape, hereby producing a stimulating environment that
could benefit the mental health and well-being of its users.

30 31

SHAWN FAURIE
Supervisor: Dr M. Nkambule
Design Supervisor: Mr L. Pienaar
RECLAIMING PRIORITIES: THE DESIGN OF A
TRANSPORTATION FACILITY FOR ELECTRIC
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN PRETORIA
32
ABSTRACT
When the automobile was introduced in the late 1800s during a period
when horses were the primary mode of transport, people took time to
adapt, with the new benefits of using an automobile, people eventually
accepted automobiles as a common mode of transport. Automobiles
proved to be a faster and safer mode of transportation than horses.
Nowadays automobiles are the primary mode of transportation. With
advancements in technology, people are advised to adapt, to accept and
to enjoy the benefits of the latest technological products.
The benefits of a changing transportation environment, because of
innovation in emerging technologies and developing mobility trends,
may be harnessed through architectural intervention. Mobility options
are fundamental to providing infrastructure and human interaction
within the urban environment.
In many cities, over 40 per cent of all land is occupied by roads or
parking. Mobility will become increasingly diverse. In the middle of
this decade, most cars will drive entirely autonomously. The utilisation
of autonomous vehicles offers opportunities that were previously
not available. Unused land area, such as parking spaces situated at
nearly every public or private building, may be reimagined through
architecture.
Envisioning the future city as an environment where children and
their parents would walk to school, the grocery store and work. Based
on necessity, they would use an integrated system of public transport
to move conveniently throughout the city. This dissertation aims to
achieve a similar outcome that is allowed through the benefits and
opportunities electric autonomous vehicles offer.
City street networks in modern cities prioritise vehicular circulation
over pedestrian circulation. The vehicular industry is continually
progressing and developing, revolutionising the shape of cities that
will adapt to accommodate recent concepts in mobility. With the
introduction of electric autonomous vehicles, cities will not only
change the shape of urban design but will also benefit from the new
opportunities that electric autonomous vehicles offer.
Recent technology in transportation may be used to redevelop cities
to benefit pedestrians rather than vehicles. This allows for more space
to be devoted to city dwellers through extra infrastructure projects,
development and pedestrian streetscape interventions. By maximising
the potential opportunities that electric autonomous vehicles offer, this
study will drive mobility solutions that are pedestrian-centred.
Urban transportation networks should integrate the newest
advancements in electric autonomous vehicular technologies and
implement architectural design processes and urban design principles
focused on pedestrian movement.
The proposal will pioneer a system that introduces electric autonomous
vehicles on the existing A Re Yeng infrastructure and will propose a
design for a transportation support facility to accommodate the needs
of electric autonomous vehicles such as the standard day-to-day
servicing and charging of autonomous fleets. The building will also
accommodate a research facility where real-time data can be received,
processed and analysed in Tshwane, South Africa.
33

CECIL JAMES FROST
Supervisor: Dr M. Nkambule
Design Supervisor: Mr M. Mokaba
PROSTHETIC ARCHITECTURE: ADAPTIVE
REHABILITATION IN THE DESIGN OF AN
ENHANCEMENT CENTRE FOR THE DISABLED
IN PRETORIA WEST, SOUTH AFRICA
34
ABSTRACT Through detailed site analysis, the project identifies broken links Through using architectural conventions such as drawings, model
(within the contexts and at different scales) for the programme to building, and construction detailing, an enabling typology is developed
attach to. Through employing phenomenology and autoethnography – one that creates an enabling setting for the differently-abled to
The National prevalence rate for disabilities in South Africa is 7,5% research methodologies, the project gains a deeper understanding flourish in.
(South Africa, Department of Statistics, 2014). Individuals affected of the underlying personal perspectives and experiences of what the
by disabilities acquired through injury or illness require rehabilitation differently-abled face. Through evaluating appropriate literature, Keywords: Prosthetic Architecture, Enabling Evironments,
to regain strength and physical movement and, in due course, documenting findings of the proposed site, and studying the connection Integration, Empowerment, Healing
return to a ‘normal’ lifestyle. The phenomena of human interaction between the differently-abled and the Pretoria West Power Station,
towards healing and acceptance are pivotal factors in the process of an appropriate design resolution is developed. The proposed design
rehabilitation, and psychological healing proves to be as important as integrates the public with a once-inaccessible space and promotes
physical healing. healthier inclusion of the differently-abled into society.
The differently-abled adapt to their conditions, and so should the
built environment. Through integrating principles of community-
based rehabilitation and healing environments, the rehabilitation and
enhancement centre becomes an enabling environment where holistic
healing occurs. The Pretoria West Power Station and the intended users
come together to form a metaphorical comparison of healing –
the healing of scars caused by circumstances of abandonment through
the evolution of the power station, and impairment caused by injury
and illness. The stitching together of two separate entities forms an
efficient hybrid where the one is influenced by the other.
35

LOURINA GROBLER
Supervisor: Prof. A. Osman
Design Supervisor: Mr S. Steyn
FORGING NEW GENDER ARCHETYPES:
ADAPTING SPACES IN MARABASTAD THROUGH
REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDERED AND
GENDERING PRACTICES
36
ABSTRACT
This thesis argues that rammed earth can be used to establish beautiful
environments in Marabastad, where boys aged twelve to eighteen will
be socially accepted. Preliminary site investigations revealed that such
spaces are largely absent within the current fabric. A low-tech building
prototype can provide a sense of permanence and stability for nomadic
homeless boys within a community. This dissertation explores the
increased social acceptance, and environmental appropriateness of the
grounded approach rammed earth offers.
Architects manufacture buildings that convey an intended emotion
and architectural language to the users, the surrounding community
and stakeholders. Every building project communicates a narrative
and sentiment via its craft, materials and construction. This case study
advocates for the intense layers and folds of masculinity through the
levels of rammed earth construction.
The thesis aspires to make a positive contribution to the ‘broken man’
conversation − through an appropriate technology example − to re-
adjust the focus on and education of homeless boys in Marabastad and
empower South African communities that are regularly crippled by
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and criminality. GBV concerns women,
girls, gender, and gender-specific design.
The author considers how females would experience a space designed
specifically for boys and men − now and in future − if the next set of
users is not specifically male, since the use of public buildings is fluid.
The writer addresses the stated issues by means of two observations;
colour psychology and stereotypes, and that the focus on masculinity
is deeply rooted in feminism and a widely assumed basis of equality −
which is not the case in the current environment.
Colour psychology and stereotypes. Pink is mainly associated with
girls and women and is linked to unconditional love, empathy and
understanding. Its effects range from calming emotions to warmth
and tenderness. Different shades of pink suggest different sentiments;
orchid relates to non-conformist views, while fuchsia inspires
confidence, and blush is seen as non-threatening. (Empowered by
Colour, n.d.). Girls and women may be comforted by the use of pink
for both males and females, while they address general stereotypical
notions of and behaviour towards masculinity at the same time.
The focus on masculinity is deeply rooted in feminism and a widely
assumed basis of equality, which is not the case in the current
environment. Equality is central to the gender-specific spatial design,
with an added programme focused on boys. The writer assumes the
inclusion of women while not stating it explicitly.
The project aims to critically understand the role that appropriate
architectural technology can play in the provision of gender-shaping
platforms and the unearthing of a new archetypal design process that
contributes to better-acclimated societies.
The writer is in pursuit of a provocative conversation that promotes
new versions of envisioned reality. The integrated use of pink with
rammed earth walls strengthens this archetype and is an appropriate
application concerning gender shaping platforms. We can contribute to
the challenging conversations regarding stereotypes, and new versions
of envisioned reality, by establishing spaces where equality can exist.
Rammed earth likewise suggests a forgiving, handcrafted presence and
serves as a metaphor for space itself being a gracious place for children
seeking redemption and betterment.
37

SIOBHON-MARIE HILL
Supervisor: Prof. J. Laubscher
Co-Supervisor: Dr J. Nice
THE DESIGN OF A COMMUNITY-BASED SCHOOL
FACILITY IN PRETORIA
ABSTRACT
This mini-dissertation acknowledges the potential of quality formal
educational facilities and the profound impact this can have on
individuals, families and communities. This project recognises and
critically analyses the traditional school building design in South
Africa, which is based on the premise of the 19th century Industrial
School Model (ISM). The ISM spread through South Africa from
1823 and is said to be highly discriminatory, as it reproduces social
stratification based on race and class (Sleeter, 2015:112). The proposed
design aims to reconfigure this model appropriately for the South
African socio context, informed through the educational needs of
learners in Mamelodi. Furthermore, this mini-dissertation will examine
various developmental environments in the township of Mamelodi and
their incurring learning barriers. The study informs the architectural
response redressing public primary school design by accommodating
universally known education models and theories providing quality
education to all learners.
It is common for children living in impoverished areas to attend
overcrowded poor-performing schools with ill-equipped and
inexperienced staff, resulting in the likelihood of learners leaving
school without the skills that are needed to contribute to a fluctuating
economic society (Murnane, 2007:161). Therefore, children in
townships require a considerable amount of resources, protection
and strength to overcome obstacles and adversities they face in their
developmental environment. Learners’ success stories in township
communities usually acknowledge the involvement of at least one
other significant person and/or asset from the immediate environment
(Mampane & Bower, 2011:115). Hence, in the absence of a
constructive and supportive environment in the home resulting from
the adverse community context, the school is logically the next reliable
resource in line to provide a safe and supportive environment to
mitigate the risk factors experienced by learners (Mampane & Bower,
2011:115).
This mini-dissertation presents an intervention supported by the
necessary research for a
community-based school facility in Mamelodi, Pretoria. The South
African School Act (No.84 of 1996) sets a precedent to provide a
uniform education system for all races and genders. It aims to redress
past injustices and provide a high-quality system of education.
Furthermore, the Act states the need to develop all people’s talents
and capabilities as well as to combat unfair discrimination, eradicate
poverty, and contribute to the economic well-being of society
(Republic of South Africa, 1996:5).
However, the current physical, educational environment has failed to
reflect this vision. South Africa is still known today to have one of the
most unequal education systems in the world (The Economist, 2017).
This is primarily due to the marginalisation of townships.

The design proposal provides a remodelled design for South African

public primary school buildings suited to the socio-economic context
of Mamelodi. The alternative design seeks to remodel the existing
traditional school building for the practice of multiple learning
models to create an effective learning environment integrated into the
community to aid in the mitigation of learning barriers. A township
in the South African context refers to a residential area usually
underdeveloped with low-cost housing and shacks. Townships
were used as a method of segregation during apartheid (1948-1994)
through the policy of the Group Areas Act No. 41 of 1950. Today
township communities face several social problems due to the lack of
infrastructural planning from the government, leading to several issues,
including the lack of access to essential services and infrastructure,
which is adversely affecting residents’ quality of life.

In South Africa, some schools thrive and others merely survive,

remaining in a constant crisis due to risk factors which include poverty,
unemployment, political violence, faction fighting, gang warfare
and social problems. These factors result in traumatised learners and
learners with learning difficulties (Mouton et al., 2013:32).

38 39

KATLEGO TSHIMOLOGO LEBETHE
Supervisor: Prof. A. Osman
Co-Supervisor: Mr K. Brand
Co-Supervisor: Mr M. Stander
THE DESIGN OF AN AGRI-TECTURE PRE-SCHOOL
IN KGABALATSANE VIEW, NORTH WEST
ABSTRACT
This dissertation presents the amalgamation of architecture and
agriculture in a contemporary architectural typology which draws
inspiration from vernacular architecture. With vernacular architecture
and construction being techniques based on indigenous knowledge,
materials and needs. The design facilitates intergenerational self-
care and wisdom transference from the elderly and/or unemployed
caregivers to pre-school children in Kgabalatsane View, North West
Province, South Africa. It incorporates the visual and architectural
history of the Tswana: Bakwena-Ba-Mogopa people, who are the
custodian residents of the area. This is to increase the farming
population, to improve rural livelihoods through agri-tecture education,
while increasing child and adult life productivity.
The separation of agriculture and architecture partly caused by rapid
urbanisation, land reform and land restitution; has caused a significant
decline in the farming population.
Integrating agriculture into the built environment could improve
sustainability and resilient living systems, as an alternative to the
current untenable situation. Progress in the building and construction
industries’ sustainability has not changed the fact that both still
contribute toward climate change and unsustainable developments.
As part of the cycle of life, children need to be included in the process
of human development and according to UNICEF, incorporating
them in the process of education through responsive early learning
environments can improve their sustainable living prospects
significantly.
Keywords: Agriculture, architecture, agri-tecture, early
childhood development, wisdom transference, education, cultural
history,sustainability.

PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA Research has shown the importance of developing the knowledge of
food producers along with their capacities for agricultural production.
This is due to the agricultural sector’s important ability to increase
income in comparison to other industries.

Figure 1: Aerial Perspective Figure 2: Perspective from the gate

40 41

GODMIRE MUFUKA
Supervisor: Prof. A. Osman
Design Supervisor: Mr S. Steyn
AFRO-EXFOLIATION: AN EXPLORATION OF
SPACE-TIME AS A GATEWAY FOR AFRICAN
AWAKENING WITH THE DESIGN OF AN AFRICAN
DANCE THEATRE IN TSHWANE
42
ABSTRACT
The study of time is related to history through the science of
chronology. As with much of the history of scientific inquiry,
chronology involves the extensive use of conventions known as the
‘scientific method’. These procedures and ways of thinking, though
useful and often beautiful, present only a fraction of what we might
call ‘reality’ to the discerning viewer.
This dissertation will attempt to arrive at new suggestions for
understandings of time and space (through event and place) by
augmenting the study of time through chronology with “kairology”.
Chronos and kairos are two conceptions of time with ancient
origins. The conception of time personified by Chronos involves the
understanding of time as a more or less linear phenomenon whereas
kairos would entail the study of an alignment of events or ‘opportune
moments’.
In traditions of African spiritual dance, complex conceptions of
time form an essential context of ritual practice and ‘research’. This
dissertation will explore and describe numerous such traditions, and
outline some of the applications of the conceptions of time that they
enable or demonstrate.
In order to link this research and historical ritual practice to the
conventions and traditions of architectural practice, the study takes
the form of the simulated design of an African Dance Theatre. Cross
programming is used to explore the spatiotemporal conditions of
separation and connection between the everyday and the sacred
(or, to link it to the opening argument, the chronological and the
‘kairological’). The selected site is one of historical, symbolic and
spiritual significance. The hill adjoining the ‘Wonderboom’ an
enormous ficus tree in the north west of Pretoria has substantial
cultural, symbolic, historical and religious significance for the Ndebele
people, who occupied the site before the establishment of the city.
43

GERICKE NEL
Supervisor: Prof. J. Laubscher
Design Supervisor: Mr L. Pienaar
Co-Supervisor: Mr K. Brand
PLASTICITY: THE DESIGN OF A PLASTIC
INNOVATION LABORATORY IN CENTRAL
PRETORIA
44
ABSTRACT
“The problem is not plastic. It is what we do with it, and that means the
onus is on us to be far smarter in how we use this miracle material.” –
Inger Anderson, executive director of the United Nations Environment
Programme.
This dissertation investigates the multifaceted term “plasticity” within
an architectural context. Theory, materiality and process form the
basis of the exploration. The theoretical exploration will focus on
how the concept of plasticity can guide architectural morphology,
influencing space. Investigations into materiality draw comparisons
between creation (reusing) and utilisation (repurposing) and how it can
inform the design process. The study aims to extrapolate the processes
of plasticity into various phases of architecture, from programme to
construction.
Plastic forms the basis of the term plasticity, and the various forms of
the product stands central to this dissertation. 99% of products will be
trashed within six months of being purchased, and 10-12% of disposed
waste consists of plastic product. This waste equates to 300 million
tons of plastic waste generated annually worldwide. A problem of this
magnitude requires both a paradigm shift and an innovative approach.
Although plastic could be described as a failure by design, it remains
a miraculous and essential material. However, the potential of using
post-consumer plastic as an abundant “resource” remains largely
unexplored.
The design of a multifaceted Plastics Innovation Laboratory in Central
Pretoria would be the outcome of the exploration mentioned above.
Central Pretoria’s urban context and its existing rhizome of networks,
including the informal recycling network, would inform the urban and
contextual response of the Plastic Innovation Laboratory. This study
investigates how plastic and plasticity could inform
45

LETLOTLO NKWADI
Supervisor: Dr M. Nkambule
Co-Supervisor: Mr M. Mokaba
THE DESIGN OF A MULTISENSORY CREATIVE HUB
IN GA-RANKUWA, TSHWANE: ENABLING SOCIO-
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMEN AND REINTEGRATION
46
ABSTRACT
The aim of this architectural thesis is to present the design of a
multisensory creative hub in Ga-Rankuwa, Tshwane.
This dissertation explores architecture as a pleasant multi-sensory
experience for the visually impaired in an urban-rural setting. The
study is grounded on the interests of empowerment, independence,
social integration in this context, as well as the high unemployment
issue of the blind and visually impaired in South Africa.
Vision impairment is the highest of all disabilities in South Africa
(32%). Furthermore, it was estimated in 2018, by the World Health
Organization, that 97% of all visually impaired people in the country
are unemployed.
Sight is considered the most important sense in the human body,
especially in this world where architecture has mainly been a visual
medium and art. The moment sight is lost, tactility, taste, smell, and the
auditory perception become currency for the visually impaired.
These are vital determinants of how the blind interact with and
navigate architecture. The investigation therefore contains an
investigation of the use of the senses in architecture, and how designers
can understand, interpret, and contribute to a visually impaired
person’s interaction with and experience of architecture.
The research is based on a mixed-method approach in order to
determine an appropriate architecture that is multi-sensory, well suited
to provide tools for empowerment and independence, with the aim
of giving the visually impaired upward mobility in a world mainly
designed for those with sight.
The research concludes with an appropriate response to designing for
visually impaired people. Conclusions are drawn and a design brief for
a multi-sensory creative hub for the visually impaired is derived.
47

NICOLINE ROUX
Supervisor: Dr M. Nkambule
Design Supervisor: Mr M. Stander
TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATION IN A
PERI-URBAN SOCIETY: THE RE-DESIGN
OF MABOPANE STATION, PRETORIA
48
ABSTRACT
The proposed research dissertation aims to explore the topic of
how the infrastructure of the rail network has become outdated and
underdeveloped due to urban sprawl. This project attempts to design
a transformative innovation with the rail- network infrastructure in
a peri-urban society. Focusing on the largest peri-urban settlement
in Pretoria, Mabopane, and Soshanguve, this dissertation will be
exploring the re-design of the Mabopane Station.
The proposed design resolution is a result of a qualitative research
approach. A new urban strategy will be investigated with a social
constructivist worldview, wherein public transport will be used to drive
innovation in urban development, thereby providing an opportunity for
Mabopane Station to grow into a precinct.
Using a sector growth model that was published in the 1930s by
Homer Hoyt, the aim is to improve on the urban framework and
create opportunities for socio- and economic-growth for the commuter
villages around Mabopane and Soshanguve. The sector growth model
formed a precedent which recognised that urban growth tends to communities are to benefit socially and economically from this
extend outward from the city centre , primarily along transportation infrastructure.
lines (Goodwin, 2018).
It has been argued that peri-urban environments are a critical frontier
This dissertation entails the re-design of Mabopane Station, which is of sustainability (Marshall, 2016) and that peri-urban processes, if
located between Mabopane and Soshanguve in Pretoria. The envisaged appropriately recognised and nurtured, may hold the potential to be
facility addresses the current need for appropriate infrastructure for the transformative and challenge the dominant urban course (Marshall and
number of people using the rail network as a transportation mode in Dolley, 2016).
Tshwane.
The design could be described as a transformative design innovation.
It is therefore based on the upgrading and integration of the existing
Metrorail Station and the design of a mixed-use commercial facility
to serve the commuters with their daily needs. The surrounding
49

RYAN SAM
Supervisor: Prof. J. Laubscher
Design Supervisor: Dr J. Nice
A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: THE DESIGN OF AN
URBAN GYMNASIUM ON BEREA SPORTS PARK,
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
50
ABSTRACT
This thesis is an investigation of ‘the promotion of agency’, as
described by Professor Jonathan Hill in the book, Actions of
Architecture. The study explores architecture that addresses the legacy
of exclusionary building principles.
Derived insight into how users re-establish control of their immediate
environment through appropriation and deformalisation was helpful in
the development of this project. An understanding of how the policies
of the past have restricted agency, and the role that architects and
architecture play in obstructing this agency, led to further investigation
into the role that appropriate technology and inclusive design could
play in shifting a user’s understanding and, more importantly, use of
space.
Factors such as inaccessibility, social incoherence, and a lack of
infrastructure lead to groups of people becoming marginalised within
South Africa (SA). Marginalised users appropriate formal and residual
space to serve their situation better; making less functional space more
useful, and fostering ownership and beginning to provide functions
neglected by local government. The very same factors present
opportunities for agency to be promoted.
A Constructivist approach was taken in this study. This approach
acknowledges that there is one reality that is interpreted and
constructed differently, depending on who the user is. This approach
promotes the design concept of agency, as each person has a
unique interpretation that is influenced by matters such as personal
circumstance and subject knowledge. This way of thinking means that
subjectivity yields a unique yet specific outcome in each user.
This project proposes the design of an Urban Gymnasium at the
abandoned site of Berea Sports Park in Pretoria Central. The
intervention aims to provide a platform that promotes agency through
sports architecture, progressing towards inclusive design as an
archetype which is accessible both mentally and physically to all socio-
economic classes.
Keywords: agency, appropriation, inclusive architecture, accessibility,
sports architecture.
51
 ABSTRACT
TLHOLOGELLO SESANA It looks at the paradigms of prescribed “ideal” architecture as imposed
by the colonial system and the overall effects of this system in shaping
Supervisor: Prof. A. Osman the city’s current identity in society. Furthermore, it investigates the
system of Apartheid (Afrikaans for apart-ness) as a logical continuation
Design Supervisor: Mr S. Steyn of the colonialist project, which had been instrumental in ordering
“placement”, thereby enabling continued displacement of those who
were dispossessed through inter alia the Occupation Act (1886), the
Land Settlement Act (1912), the Natives Land Act (1913), the Natives
(Urban Areas) Act (1923), the Native Trust and Land Act (1936), the
Trading and Occupation of Land Restriction Act (1943), the Group
A REVOLUTION: DECOLONIZING ARCHITECTURE Areas Act (1950), the Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act (1951) and
the Native Resettlement Act (1954) (SAHO, 2020).
WITH A HYBRID THEORY OF IMAGE, CULTURE
AND SPACE THROUGH THE DESIGN OF A LAND This research considers the city’s identity not only from the historical
perspective of colonisation but also from that of a continued struggle
REDISTRIBUTION HUB IN TSHWANE
for decolonisation. This allows for a reconsideration of imposing
political spaces beyond a Western concept of “ideal space making”
and promotes a spatial ideology informed by the experience of the
uprooted (the black people of Sub-Saharan Africa) to introduce a land
redistribution hub in Tshwane.
The project undertakes an analysis of personal mobility and explores
the notion of “nomadicy” as an alternative to permanency and its
effect on the fabric of Tshwane. The study uses a series of historical
references to mobilise the argument, shedding light on expressions
of complex interactions that are deeply rooted in social concerns,
traditional values and practices: a symbol of reclaiming place, heritage,
and identity. This will take the conventional academic form of a
literature review accompanied by diagrammatic and textual unpacking
of the gathered content.
This dissertation introduces a typology that reaches into the deep
cultural beliefs, needs and history of the uprooted, and produces an
architectural narrative representative of an uncolonised state of thought
and being.
Keywords: alternative architecture, culture, space, nomadic,
colonisation, decolonisation

Colonisation is, at its core, an imposition. It manifests itself on both

the formal and informal settings of a city – adopting different forms in
our streets and our building structures. The city of Tshwane, which is
the focus of this research, has a profound colonial history. The ideas of
finding and founding of the city provide insight into its historical roots
of division and imposition.

Decolonisation here is, at its core, about ownership of land in the

current economic structure of our society, and the distribution of
that ownership. The complex history of how land can be said to be
“owned” by one person or another, or one group or another, forms
the background of this study. The foreground is an architectural
intervention on one of Tshwane’s most contentious sites (contentious
specifically in terms of cultural and political forms of ownership as
expressed through heritage and symbolism), namely Church Square.

This study investigates the impact of the colonial system as it has

developed in the city of Tshwane since prior to the establishment of
the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek to date.

52 53

JAN-HENDRIK VAN JAARSVELD
Supervisor: Prof. A. Osman
Co-Supervisor: Mr P. Greyvensteyn
QUEERYING ARCHITECTURE: THE EXPLORATION
OF QUEER SPACE THROUGH THE DESIGN OF A
PRECINCT IN PRETORIA
54
ABSTRACT
For this dissertation, the acronym LGBTQI+ will be used as an
umbrella term for gender and sexual minorities. The word Queer will
refer to a process of Queering, a verb of Queering, instead of a state of
being Queer.
LGBTQI+ people do not have a central space of escape in urban South
Africa, where they can seek refuge, support or elation. The lack of
LGBTQI+ space leads to homelessness, sexual abuse, drug abuse and
even worse, death.
This dissertation aims to design an LGBTQI+ precinct located in
the Pretoria CBD using Queer design theory. This architectural
intervention will facilitate LGBTQI+ life and consist of multiple
elements such as housing, commercial, retail, educational and various
other public spaces.
Furthermore, this dissertation aims to explore what Queer space is,
and what it can look like, its function, and the impact it can have on the
surrounding context. The intervention will focus on the needs of the
underprivileged LGBTQI+ community and acts as a mediator between
it and the heteronormative world.
The opportunity to explore new spatial hierarchies in buildings
presents itself through the manifestation of Queer theory. Queer
theory furthermore introduces alternative considerations towards
spatial design.
Key words: Queer space, Queer theory, precinct, LGBTQI+
55

JOHANNES HENDRIKUS
VAN TONDER
Supervisor: Prof. J. Laubscher
Design Supervisor: Dr J. Nice
TRANSFORMING A CONTAMINATED ECOSYSTEM
THROUGH ECONOMIC REGENERATION: THE
DESIGN OF AN AQUAPONIC FACILITY IN
SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA
56
ABSTRACT
More than 50% of South Africa’s river aquatic species are critically
endangered. South African water sources face high-levels of pollution
daily from industries, agricultural pesticides, and fertilisers, which
collectively destroy aquatic ecosystems. Nature is resilient to self-
rehabilitate, as is evident from the abandoned Orlando power station
dam where nature has started to take back what was once theirs.
The Orlando Dam in Soweto was developed to support the Orlando
power station. The power station has been decommissioned, and the
dam and tributary river have fallen into neglect and become a polluted
ecosystem. The increase in the population resulting in an ever-
expanding urban fabric has had a detrimental impact on the Baileys
Spruit and Klipspruit. The current state of pollution has become a
public health concern for both the local community and Soweto at
large.
This dissertation investigates how an architectural intervention could
contribute to and support the rehabilitation of an aquatic ecosystem.
Aquaponic farming, which is a combination of aquaculture and
hydroponics, can firstly, support permaculture design principles and
thereby rehabilitate the polluted environment, and secondly, address
South Africa’s food security problem through a sustainable localised
intervention.
This dissertation explores the role of architecture in ecosystem
conservation and awareness through environmental rehabilitation of
a polluted aquatic ecosystem. This dissertation further investigates
the opportunities architectural interventions can provide through
community engagement in permaculture and aquaponic farming. The
outcomes include creating a new identity for decommissioned peri-
urban spaces and regenerating the local economy through job creation
by breeding fish and growing crops through aquaponic farming.
The facility aims to create awareness in the local community on how
productive a healthy ecosystem can be for them and the economy,
where users can farm and sell their own crops through aquaponic
farming. The designed facility aims to be a didactic building where
users can be self-taught through observation. The facility aims to
become a prototype in the area where it can expand sustainable
aquaponic farming throughout the area and South Africa.
The design responds by manipulating the natural ground plane to blend
into its contexts and become a landform building. The design includes
farming areas, a research centre, a market space and a food court.
57

ARMANDT VAN ZYL
Supervisor: Dr E. Nkambule
Design Supervisor: Dr C. Davey
STAGED ARCHITECTURE: A PLATFORM FOR
THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION THROUGH THE
DESIGN OF A MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION
CENTRE IN TSHWANE, SOUTH AFRICA
58
ABSTRACT
‘Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source
of humanity, and the mother of truth.’ - Liu Xiaobo (Xiaobo, 2019)
Freedom of expression is of such importance in democracy that it is
protected under Section 16 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of
South Africa. Unlike the first amendment of the Constitution of the
United States of America, Section 16 protects not only the freedom of
speech but also the freedom of expression. Freedom of expression in
South Africa encompasses an extended range of activities, including
actions that have expressive content.
It is important to note that freedom of expression has a strong
connotation with the political environment. This proposed project
will not only explore political expression but rather the full definition
of freedom of expression (including artistic, personal, and religious
expressions).
The study of precedents informed this research and the architectural
outcome thereof. The investigation includes, among other things,
hand-built models and drawings to experiment and explore the
form and functions of architectural spaces and infrastructure. The
project fosters social cohesion through the design of a media and
communication centre.
The proposed project, situated in Tshwane inner city, proposes,
amongst others a platform for freedom of expression, a media, and
communication centre and various possibilities for the multi-layered
expression and display of media. The project intends to act as a catalyst
for the creation of satellite facilities across South Africa by way of
architectural interventions in the fabric of existing settlements.
The main intention of the dissertation was to identify and challenge
a modern non-architectural concept such as freedom of expression
through a hybrid architectural resolution that is appropriate to the
context of the inner-city of Tshwane, South Africa.
59
60