Re-assembling De Poort: a future design and manufacturing faacility proposed in the old industrial district of Paarl

Abstract

De Poort led the wagon-making industry nationally in the 1870s as the primary producer for the Diamond rush in Kimberley, up until the arrival of the automobile in South Africa in the late 1890s. This left the manufacturing industry with no parts to design, produce or assemble. It can be argued that the industrial landscape of De Poort now resembles a fractured assemblage, barely held together by a few components. A composition gradually disassembled by tools, representative of spacial isolation, terminated functional purpose, and a general lack of confidence. This resulted in the loss of De Poort’s singular and universal identity, therefore being paralysed to transformation, unable to activate or produce the necessary components for it. Consequently, this led to the question of how the fractured identity of De Poort can be restored through transitional and transformative acts of spatial assemblage. By combining the theoretical discourse, relating to the Assemblage Theory which exposes the extreme similarities that complex assemblage has towards urban landscapes, with that of extensive site analysis, it becomes possible to investigate the fractured assemblage of complex urban identities at multiple levels of analysis. This gives insight into the most sensitive transformation options for the De Poort Rhizome. The conceptual purpose was to create a community bespoke design, integrating structural, technical, spacial, and material solutions for each of the contextual problems raised by the site analysis. Ultimately, this led to the design of a Micro Industrial Park with Manufacturing and Assembly based infrastructure. The project is thus capable of facilitating large-scale component deliveries from the community’s component producers, combined with assemblage and distribution functions, in addition to being activated by a Design hub creating specialised furniture ranges commemorating De Poort. This project aimed to explore alternative functional possibilities for the De Poort Production industry, whilst being sensitive to heritage and identity. Facilitating industrial and public engagement that is not only coherent but inseparable. Ultimately stabilising the Rhizome with decerning architectural intervention and the re-activation of assembly and infrastructure.