Masters Degrees (Architecture)

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Architecture on paper: a study on the significance of imaginary architectural space
(University of the Free State, 1998) Bitzer, Martie; Smit, Jan D.
𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲
Open Access
Bohemia Africanus: materialising a fictive allegorical site between uncanny places
(University of the Free State, 2023) Duvenhage, G. P. J.; Smit, Jan; Smit, Petria; Olivier, Jaco; Bitzer, Martie; Andrews, John
This dissertation explores the transformation of literary allegories into architecture, challenging the commonplace safety we find in the notions of truth, home, and the familiar. The design programme centres on a travelling theatre which explores the way the audience allegorically conceives and experience truth in the production of the uncanny and macabre play, African Gothic, by Reza de Wet. By architecturally emplacing this fictional theatre production in three real murder scenes, the dissertation attempts to not only produce a contextual milieu for the play but also to address the way we engage with the 'truth' and memories of places where dark crimes have been committed. In the context of a nation grappling with high crime rates like South Africa, the pertinent issue of addressing the aftermath of genuine criminal issues emerges as a significant concern. How we engage with the truth and memories associated with crime scenes necessitates not only relevant but also innovative approaches, which have yet to be adequately addressed. Due to the scarcity of architectural research and subsequent guidance on the matter of architectural interventions within crime sites, these scenes often turn into forbidden territories, both in discussion and physical presence. Drawing inspiration from the content of the play "African Gothic," three recent instances of crime scenes in South Africa were symbolically pinpointed as the backdrop for a mobile theatre and the reenactment of the play. These locations include a farm in the Griekwastad district, a school residence in Stella, and a housing estate known as De Zalze. This dissertation proposes that allegory be used to question truth, home, and safety, furthermore the dissertation considers the exploration of allegory to approach real sites of uncanny and macabre crimes. Enter the allegory. Derived from the Greek "Allos", allegory roughly translates to "speak openly" and to "another," these definitions combine to an approach which is to openly say one thing and to mean another. By embracing and interpreting the allegorical elements woven into the theatrical work "African Gothic," these delicate locations are approached, comprehended, and dissected in novel manners, potentially paving the way for transformative shifts and embracing change within these crime-ridden areas. Exploring and challenging the concepts of truth could play a pivotal role in the process of comprehending and reconciling with these sites marked by tragedy. Even when a page is mainly a constellation of words connected with lines, it is a 'written drawing' rather than just text, and the configuration refers to the structure of the research, the design of both written and drawn parts. (Haralambidou, 2007). Just as we seek comfort and certainty in the notion of truth, we also find solace and certainty in our "architectural" vision of constructing secure and familiar dwellings. In a nation confronted with escalating inequality and crime rates, it becomes imperative to explore alternative approaches to handling unique and harrowing architectural scenarios and sites.
Open Access
Into the Blue: a hand-painting ceramics studio for re-interpreted blue china in the V&A Waterfront, CPT.
(University of the Free State, 2023) van der Rijst, Michelle; Smit, Jan; Smit, Petria; Bitzer, Martie; Raubenheimer, Hein
The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (V&A Waterfront) Development in Cape Town is transforming the port into a playground. With the notion of globalisation and replicating international waterfront-scapes, the V&AW is at risk of becoming a creative destruction. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻? The project proposes a hand-painting, blue china studio as an adaptive reuse of the ensemble of heritage and existing synchrolift buildings within the Marina District of the V&AW. Viewing craft as a method of purposeful play, the project will aim to condense the artistic potential within the ceramics-making process while preserving elements of its local habitual and material engagement. These phenomenological theories will be used to support the design decisions and contextual orientation to arrive at an appropriate architectural response to the historically rich environment of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Consequently, the theoretical lens will add layers of complexity to the heritage site and the proposed design becomes inseparably moulded into the cultural fabric, regenerating the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. The document explores contextual analysis, precedent analysis, and theoretical framework to inform the design development and technical resolution. Ultimately, the thesis dissertation will present a contemporary interpretation of craft in urban manufacturing and adaptive reuse projects.
Open Access
Rescripting the permanence of Ramkraal: a skills development centre within the historic ruins of the Ramkraal prison for the community of Batho
(University of the Free State, 2023) Coetzer, Leon; Smit, Jan; Smit, Petria; Bitzer, Martie; Auret, Hendrik
Conservation and adaptive reuse projects help to reactivate long-forgotten places and offer a revived space for the growth of the next generation of South Africans. The question is: How can a community-catalysed skills development centre in-between Batho and the Bloemfontein CBD be sensitively integrated and rescripted within a ruin – the Historic Ramkraal Prison in Bloemfontein – thereby inverting the established power structure by activating learning settings aimed at self-liberation? When confronted with culturally significant and heritage-protected architecture, the usual response is to encompass it in time and turn it into a museum rather than analysing the immediate context and creating a place for growth for communities and people who need it. The proposed design offers a place of self-liberation while both retaining the existing structural fabric and sensitively adjoining new structures to these, in order to rescript established orders and architectural character. The study focuses on adaptive reuse of culturally significant heritage buildings and how the new can creatively respond to the old. After several failed attempts to preserve the Prison complex — all focusing on preserving the historic physical remains of the ensemble — the proposed design offers a community-centred solution where the preservation of heritage resources as historical beacons ultimately depends on the vitality of surrounding communities.
Open Access
Spectral flesh remembrance: an inverted monument and foundry embedded in the decommissioned Pelindaba nuclear weapons site
(University of the Free State, 2023) Wood, Arran; Smit, Jan.; Smit, Petria; Bitzer, Martie; Auret, Hendrik
The Angola-South African War left extensive scars and remains a raw place in the lives of many South Africans. Yet it has become a kind of suppressed memory that is hard to grapple with in the post-democratic reality, and the majority of South Africans choose to conveniently overlook the consequences of this conflict. The memory and memorialisation of the war has become a shrouded spectre. One of the most obscured facets of the war was the fact that South Africa managed to construct nuclear weapons, and (even more astoundingly) became the first nation to voluntarily decommission their nuclear arsenal. In the wake of ghost-like memories of the past, the question arises: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳? Those in power, too, choose to forget the haunting effects in the hearts of those conscripted into the war and the suffering enforced by it. The manifestation of this amnesia-like state comes in the form of the nuclear weapons site, rusting and forgotten. Through a symbolic repurposing of decommissioned firearms in a foundry and the remembrance of spectres from the site in an inverted monument, a design is proposed as a means to reveal the forgotten and censored. The exposure of restricted historical documentation is part of the outcome of this research; to find what is still prevailing of something that no longer officially exists and document the remaining structures. Regarding placing architecture and conflict in context, special care is taken in analysing precedent studies of the built form as well as structural theory of ‘the form in conflict’ with a morphology responding to place as much as process. The proposed architecture of structure, relating to spectral remembrances of the flesh, attempts to explore the role architecture can play as a mediator and reminder of forgotten conflicts.
Open Access
Water memory & control: Vaalharts Canal Museum and Education Centre
(University of the Free State, 2023) de Bruyn, Dené; Smit, Jan; Smit, Petria; Bitzer, Martie; Bosman, Gerhard
In the following dissertation, the education, influence, and importance of water a on the existing waterway systems and area will be discussed. The main research question was: How can an educational waterway exhibition centre of an integrated canal waterway hold the memory and phenomenology of a place in order for growth in Hartswater in the Northern Cape (Fig. 4)? Previous attempts to keep the history and educational moments separate in the form of a museum in close proximity, did not successfully maintain the space and create multiple opportunities. That is why this dissertation will focus on the history and impact of the canal, but creating an educational opportunity and space to learn and develop the current systems and knowledge. Analysing different case studies and precedents led me to research the influence of water and the canal waterway on the cultural significance of the design of a museum and education centre. The proposed design creates a collective space for teaching about water conservation and different learning opportunities about agriculture and water, through the unique use of a Water Memory & Control Museum that is supported by the community and supports the community, in return.

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Architecture) by Author "Bitzer, Martie"

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