Skill Development Centre in Strand Road, Bellville: catalyst of urban growth and community gathering
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Date
2019-09
Authors
Erasmus, Liesl
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
This design is a proposed urban catalyst project located in between the residential and commercial Bellville. The site is not within the city centre, but close enough to provide a direct link towards, not only Bellville's CBD, but al so to Cape Town, Somerset West and the greater Tygerberg areas. The focus of this thesis stems from the local vibrancy and exploration of "dead" spaces wit hi n the urban framework. These spaces connect to busy parts of the street or city, but lack vibrancy and interest. Therefore the inspiration for this project grew to empower these "dead" spaces so that they can connect to these vibrant areas, and also become part of the social gathering. Gathering spaces plays a bi g role within this investigation, as people learn from other where they gather, knowledge exchange occur and a vibrant space then spurts life into the surrounding areas. The research conducted in this document investigates how people gather within the urban context - and how this forms a typology of an educational institute on a social level. Services such as cook in g, learn in g and entertainment, along with a prototype for urban growth on an economical and social platform, guides the interest for this proposal. Connecting with the surrounding area and its people, but transforming these typologies and morphologies to have a more porous adaptation. The solid transforming into an open tectonic learning space - close to the urban grain allows the proposal to become an architectural investigation, encompassing many urban catalyst and social gathering principles. Challenges and perimeters associated with the project will be laid out along with a research question and aims. Concepts of adaptation, growth and transformation will be explored throughout the design stages from: the interpretation of the context to the form-giving and materiality possibilities - to create a design that can be applied as a prototype catalyst project within the Bellville area. Lastly, a reflection upon the design investigation decisions will end this document, and evaluate the final design as being successful based on the research question provided at the start.
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Keywords
Dissertation (M.Arch. (Architecture))--University of the Free State, 2019, Architecture, Bellville, Urban design, Architecture -- Design