RESPONSES
URBAN MOVEMENT route[move]. Moment[pulse]. Place[episodes]
INTRODUCTION
‘The body moves through space every day, and in architecture in cities that can be orchestrated. Not in a
dictatorial fashion, but in a way of creating options, open-ended sort of personal itineraries within a building
(and cities). And I see that as akin to cinematography or choreography, where episodic movement, episodic
moments, occur...’ Antoine Predock
“Cities have always offered anonymity, variety, and conjunction, qualities best basked in by walking: one does not have to go into the bakery or the fortune-teller's, only to know that one might. A city always contains more than any inhabitant can know, and a great city always makes the unknown and the possible spurs to the imagination.” Rebecca Solnit: A History of Walking
Johannesburg continues to evolve with the ever changing needs of its transient population – a city in flux, affording opportunity and the promise of prospect to existing communities, new arrivals and long standing organizations. Increasing interest in inner-city development from grass roots to larger economies, and related communities and user groups, calls for integrated approaches to planning and design for collected and connected precincts – resulting in initial on-the-ground strategies that engage with fine grain conditions of the city (the everyday realities of people) and developing these urban strategies into mixed use contextual architectural responses.
The City of Johannesburg Municipality (COJ) through its agent Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has mandated the upgrading of numerous precincts and mobility spines to stimulate business activity, create safe zones and to accommodate the on-going and emergent needs of commerce, public activity, access to housing and amenity. The Louis Botha arterial unravels multiple ‘Johannesburgs’ distending along its trajectory, this linear interface allows for interesting and unexpected observations. These often conflicting realities begin to narrate connections and separations of city and people.
Parallel to top down strategies (Corridors of Freedom, development zones and CIDs) other “unplanned” realities have been escalating, conceivably as a response to the unseen conditions from the city’s stance. These instances include rapidly growing schools, informal trade hubs, taxi gathering points, privatised housing and opportunistic commercial developments. There are clues in this condition – an inhabitable interface weaving between the formal and informal - this ‘space between’ suggests possibilities of hybrid programmes and urban activities where developments (driven by the City) could promote and support more all-inclusive mixed-use user groups at varying scales of consideration (community, neighbourhood, precincts...).
This years project series systematically introduced us to diverse and somewhat conflicting paradigms definitive of Joburg – landscapes in transition, public connections and networks, traces of history and meaning, density, fringes, discordant urban fabrics, perceptions, observations and challenges.
This brief is a cumulative finale to the previous series focusing your skills and interests as a collective
practice. Your task is to design a mixed-use, multi storey building along the Louis Botha Development
Corridor. The site for this brief has been pre-selected as a well-located site offering opportunity for
meaningful place making and moments for public interaction along interconnecting urban routes. “Cities have always offered anonymity, variety, and conjunction, qualities best basked in by walking: one does not have to go into the bakery or the fortune-teller's, only to know that one might. A city always contains more than any inhabitant can know, and a great city always makes the unknown and the possible spurs to the imagination.” Rebecca Solnit: A History of Walking
Johannesburg continues to evolve with the ever changing needs of its transient population – a city in flux, affording opportunity and the promise of prospect to existing communities, new arrivals and long standing organizations. Increasing interest in inner-city development from grass roots to larger economies, and related communities and user groups, calls for integrated approaches to planning and design for collected and connected precincts – resulting in initial on-the-ground strategies that engage with fine grain conditions of the city (the everyday realities of people) and developing these urban strategies into mixed use contextual architectural responses.
The City of Johannesburg Municipality (COJ) through its agent Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has mandated the upgrading of numerous precincts and mobility spines to stimulate business activity, create safe zones and to accommodate the on-going and emergent needs of commerce, public activity, access to housing and amenity. The Louis Botha arterial unravels multiple ‘Johannesburgs’ distending along its trajectory, this linear interface allows for interesting and unexpected observations. These often conflicting realities begin to narrate connections and separations of city and people.
Parallel to top down strategies (Corridors of Freedom, development zones and CIDs) other “unplanned” realities have been escalating, conceivably as a response to the unseen conditions from the city’s stance. These instances include rapidly growing schools, informal trade hubs, taxi gathering points, privatised housing and opportunistic commercial developments. There are clues in this condition – an inhabitable interface weaving between the formal and informal - this ‘space between’ suggests possibilities of hybrid programmes and urban activities where developments (driven by the City) could promote and support more all-inclusive mixed-use user groups at varying scales of consideration (community, neighbourhood, precincts...).
This years project series systematically introduced us to diverse and somewhat conflicting paradigms definitive of Joburg – landscapes in transition, public connections and networks, traces of history and meaning, density, fringes, discordant urban fabrics, perceptions, observations and challenges.
PROJECT BRIEF
Your design challenge is to engage the needs for dwelling, play and livelihood (all at varying scales). The
design of site and surrounds should be such that it should be easily identified as a well located urban
arrangement of multiple programmes whilst maintaining a balanced inclusive consideration of diverse urban
dwellers/users.
Students’ approaches must incorporate ALL previous design drivers (topography. Topology. Networks. Connections. History. Meaning) as influences to observation and design, engaging with the complex nature of the selected site.
Having already conducted urban analysis in groups and individual focused mapping and investigations your process begins rapidly – the project programme below outlines various benchmarks for progress during the final quarter.
design requirements
The architectural outcome must encompass the following major programmatic components:
CONTEXT and SITE
Students’ approaches must incorporate ALL previous design drivers (topography. Topology. Networks. Connections. History. Meaning) as influences to observation and design, engaging with the complex nature of the selected site.
Having already conducted urban analysis in groups and individual focused mapping and investigations your process begins rapidly – the project programme below outlines various benchmarks for progress during the final quarter.
design requirements
The architectural outcome must encompass the following major programmatic components:
-
- A museum/gallery of Johannesburg Art and artifacts
-
- A research institution – including a comprehensive library of locally-based media
-
- A performance space – outdoor, all-weather gathering space
-
- A residency for students and young families. These could include; artists, business people,
musicians, designers, artisans and
travelers (10 residences should be considered – in a live/work
scenario).
-
- A central studio/workshop/discussion space (related to the above) in which a larger group of
residents can
collaborate at the same time
-
- A creative/craft workshop centre for nearby students, artisans and residents
-
- A crèche for the children of the building’s residents and employees
-
- Commercial spaces, including cafes, restaurants and bars (and any other urban amenities deemed
necessary to make the design a success)
-
- Public spaces (smaller and larger spaces may be considered). One primary large public space may
also be
considered – this may become a multi purpose space, which is occasionally able to fulfill
some of the other requirements of the brief. At least part of the site should be accessible to the
general public around the clock
-
- An open air cinema which will operate on Johannesburgʼs summer nights
-
- Spaces for informal trade and adaptive user defined uses
-
- Parking to support the program (if above ground, landscaping should form a serious consideration of
this p
art of the brief)
-
- A defined taxi and bus drop-off/pick-up zone (pedestrian link to BRT with added opportunity and
amenity).
In addition to satisfying the above programmatic and accommodation requirements your design must engage with; an urban environment/landscape in transition, walk-able networks and public connections, the dialogue between old and new, re-use + re-imagining + re-making.
CONTEXT and SITE
The context for this brief is an arrangement of varying building forms, histories, spaces, services, routes,
short cuts and intersections. The red areas suggest potential focus areas for contextual starting points to
insert and/or reuse.
Your specific decisions around placement, bulk etc must be informed by the supporting document and through conversations with lecturers.
Your specific decisions around placement, bulk etc must be informed by the supporting document and through conversations with lecturers.
PROJECT SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
- Rapid critical analysis – communication of observations through photo documentation, sketching, mapping
- Select specific site – identify complexity and potential
- Establish a stance on existing buildings, what to maintain, how to re-make
- Communicate a dialogue between old, new and inbetween.
- Design a multi-use building with a public interface - Include adaptable user-defined spaces
- Establish a stance on existing buildings, what to maintain, how to re-make
- Communicate a dialogue between old, new and inbetween.
- Design a multi-use building with a public interface - Include adaptable user-defined spaces
DESIGN TOOLKIT
Your personal design toolkit will emerge through the rapid analysis and extraction of opportunities and constraints from the supporting document; Louis Botha Avenue. Development Corridor Strategic Area Framework. You are tasked to extract and visually communicate the following principles:
- Density – How will Densification occur? What form can densification take?
- Urban form – guidelines, orientation, frontage (frontality), Height restrictions. - Thresholds - Access, parking, walkability, communal/shared spaces (public).
- Mobility – Movement and connectivity.
- Opportunities – Densification, development etc. Your personal design toolkit will emerge through the rapid analysis and extraction of opportunities and constraints from the supporting document; Louis Botha Avenue. Development Corridor Strategic Area Framework. You are tasked to extract and visually communicate the following principles:
- Density – How will Densification occur? What form can densification take?
- Urban form – guidelines, orientation, frontage (frontality), Height restrictions. - Thresholds - Access, parking, walkability, communal/shared spaces (public).
- Mobility – Movement and connectivity.
And in addition to analyzing the document you are tasked to develop considerations of the following, also to
be explored and developed visually (sketch and study model).
Re-Use . Mixed-Use
Formal provision and informal opportunity
Infrastructure
Public
Simultaneity , dualism and ‘open ended-ness’ Urbanity
OUTCOMES
Re-Use . Mixed-Use
Formal provision and informal opportunity
Infrastructure
Public
Simultaneity , dualism and ‘open ended-ness’ Urbanity
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Feasibility report and urban study:
- Consolidated context mapping and analysis (Overview from Project 2 and 3) Visual catalogue of extracted and explored principles
- PrecedentStudy(self-sourced)andextractionofprinciples-analyticaldiagramsandstudymodel - Process(extensiveexplorationsandcollectionsof‘drawings’andmodelseries)
- 1:500 context plan
- 1:200 detailed site plan
- 1:100 plans of all levels (typical levels can be repeated)
- 1:50 sections – one main longitudinal and one main cross section (minimum)
- 1:100 elevations and sectional elevations
- Axonometric or isometric drawing explaining the layering and conceptual/architectural elements of the scheme – this may be an exploded drawing
- 1:20 strip section illustrating the relationship between old and new as part of your design intervention – choose a part of your scheme which best illustrates such a relationship
- 1:100 physical model of the project, including at least the bounds of the site. You may also include virtual models as part of your scheme but the physical model is a prerequisite
OUTCOMES
- Rapid critical analysis – communication of observations through photo documentation, sketching, mapping - Establish an advanced architectural approach in Johannesburg
- Engage with site specific constraints and possibilities
- Generate a consolidated architectural presentation from concept to technical
- Design for public use
- Design resolution in relation to multiple programmatic arrangements
- Practice architectural design in relation to urban theory - approach and design
- Practice architectural design as a response to a city scale infrastructure developments
EVALUATION CRITERIA
- Rapid critical analysis – communication of observations, precedent and extractions - Analytical communication
- Architectural response scale, materiality, public use, refinement
- Relationships of programmatic components
- Public interfaces
- Presentation of process
- Delivery of complete final complex architectural design presentation
RESPONSE
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