Matthew Russell | 2014008417 | matthew@planetcoms.co.za | 078 163 0868
 Supervisors: 
J. Smit, P. Smit, H. Raubenheimer 
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Natural and 
Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State 
... 
This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the 
degree M. Arch (Prof.) 
Declaration of original authorship 
The work contained in this dissertation has not been previously submitted to meet the 
requirements for a qualification at this or any other institution of higher education. To 
the best of my knowledge, this dissertation contains no material previously published 
or written by another any other person except where due reference is made.
...
Acknowledgements:
the sensational people of our cubicle,
the lecturers who have invested in me over the last 5 years,
my ever supportive family
1
0.0 What and Why?
African Ginger, like many medicinal plants, is extinct in the 
wild. More valuable plants will become extinct if they are 
not protected through cultivation. However, cultivation 
is not traditionally how a herbalist would gather their 
specimens.
 
Herbalist’s resources come from ritualized places of 
gathering known only to themselves. This journey takes 
them beyond the realms of what is ‘known’ by the tribe and 
into areas only they knows. They see these places through 
a different lens to the rest of society, and has an in-depth 
knowledge of plants and what each can do. The knowledge 
of these plants is implicitly rooted in the stories and myth 
of the specific area. In contemporary society, knowledge 
is explicit and must be available to all to be embraced. 
This dictates that the herbalist’s lenses must be shared to 
transform how society sees ethnobotany.
As cities such as Bloemfontein grow, and farms occupy 
increasing amounts of this landscape, the medicine man has 
fewer and fewer places to gather his specimens. The realm 
of the ‘unknown’ wild is, therefore, further and further 
diminished. The congestion of the city is the ‘new wild’ and 
is brought into being by man. 
60% of South Africans use herbalists as their healthcare Figure 1.1 - African Ginger (Siphonochilus aethiopicus)
provider, and there is 40 times the number of herbalists 
than trained medical doctors in South Africa. This leads to 
questioning why the government has not provided similar 
infrastructure for this kind of healthcare. The University of 
the Free State (UFS) is rectifying this problem by funding the 
division of Phytomedicine and Phytopharmacology within 
the Post Graduate School. This is a university research 
building which incorporates greenhouses and gardens in the 
Mid-Town of Bloemfontein. 
2 3
Document Structure:
Conceptual Approach Design Synthesis
The MAKING
How do I tackle it
Challenges
Topological
Typological Reflection
Sustainability Did it work?
Situating The Investigation Technical Evaluating the process.
The Client
The Occupants
Identified Site
4 5
Contents
0.0 What and Why? 3
1.0 Situating the Investigation 2.0 Challenges 26
3.0 Technical Challenges
1.1 The Client (Who?) 8 2.1 Topology Related Challenges 26
2.1.1 Being Critical of surroundings 26 3.1 Municipal Non-Negotiables 55 4.0 Design Synthesis 82
1.2 The clients needs (What?) 10 2.1.2 Connection to existing green space 30 3.1.1 Encroachments 56  4.1 Design Development 82
Academics 10 2.1.3 Servitude 31 3.1.2 Side Walk Paving 56  4.2 Design Conclusions 94
Herbalists 10   
Public 10 2.2 Typology Related Challenges 36 3.2 Servitudes 57
2.2.1 Gardens 36 3.2.1 Development Rights 57
1.3 Identified Site (Where?) 12 2.2.2 Enhancing an experience or understanding 38 5.0 Reflection 113
1.3.1 Bloemfontein: 12 2.2.3 Humanizing the research space 41 3.3 Topography 59
1.3.2 Mid-Town: 14 Works Cited 116
1.3.3 Fountain Street (25-27) 16 2.3 Sustainability Related Challenges: 3.4 Climate 59
Conceptual and Ethical Aims 42
1.4 Conceptual Approach? 18 2.3.1 Place 43 3.5 Structural Investigations 59
1.4.1 Touch Stone 18 2.3.2 Water 44 3.5.1Exoskeleton Structures 59
1.4.2 Implicit-Explicit 19 2.3.3 Energy 45 3.5.2 Masonry Shells 64
1.4.3 Performance 20 2.3.4 Health 47 3.5.3 Portal Frames 65
1.4.4 Congestion 21 2.3.5 Equity 48 3.5.4 Conclusions 65
 2.3.6 Beauty 49
2.3.7 Materials 50 3.6 Health and Safety 69
3.6.1 Refuse 69
3.6.2 Ventilation 71
3.6.3 Laboratory Operation 73
3.6.4 Lighting 75
3.6.5 Fire 77
3.6.6 Vegetation 78
3.6.7 Service Shafts 78
3.6.8 Sprinkler System 78
3.6.9 Library Operation 80
3.6.10 Accommodation List 81
6 7
1 Situating the Investigation
1.1 The Client (Who?)
The UFS Division of Phytomedicine and Phytopharmacology PResearcher erme
The group investigates the biological effects of regional -Phd Researcher nen
medicinal plants used in the folkloric medicine of the Eastern -Post Grad Lecturer t M
-Employed by the 
Free State. This means that the focus is on that of Sotho em University b
medicine. The research is a direct response to the lack of e-Logical and Focused rs
education and scientific knowledge about ethnobotany in -Managerial
South Africa. The group proposes conservation strategies 
to preserve medicinal plants. Where plants on the South Post Grad.
African National Biodiversity Institute’s (SANBI) red list are Student Gardener
-Caregiver
investigated, through micro-propagation and field trials -Researching Further -Practical
(University of the Free State, 2019). The group works in -Under Guidance -Wide knowledge
collaboration with other university departments across Africa -Logical
(Figure 1.4). 
The research at the UFS focuses on the physical properties of 
medicinal plants. However, this is only part of ethnobotany, 
while the focus is on the physical, the other aspects are 
inseparable (Figure 1.2).
Traveling Herbalist
-Purchase plants
Herbalists of the Free State can attend accredited training by Researcher -Tell Stories
the university, thus giving more public credit to their work. -Conferences -Jack of all trades
Due to the secretive and local nature of herbalists, no single -Short term study -Gatherer
person knows all the remedies available, and they may not -Focused -Exchange
pass all their knowledge on to their apprentice. As harvesting Every Day 
space is taken over by farmland and city, the knowledge about Ch Man
that area is quickly lost. Thus herbalist’s experience must be ang -Recreationi
recorded and preserved to keep ethnobotany relevant. ng -Purchase PlantsMem -Learningb -Alien
Members of the public have a misguided perception of ers
ethnobotany, which has led to western medicine being 
given priority in the minds of urban citizens. Learning about 
ethnobotany and what these medicinal plants can do will 
change this perception. 
Figure 1.2 - Focus area Figure 1.3 - Occupants
8 9
Academic
Business
1.2 The clients needs (What?)
The building is an expansion of the current university 
department functions of Ph.D., Masters, and Honors research 
(Figure 1.3). It provides researchers with access to improved 
research capabilities and educational scope. 
Academics
Both climate controlled and regular greenhouses provide 
adequate growing space for both the propagation trials 
and plant study. Included are conferencing facilities for 
symposiums with the partner universities. The library holds 
both plant specimens as well as a full catalogue of relevant University of Ibadan
study material. University of Lagos
Herbalists Lagos State University
Workshop/seminar facilities provide herbalists the opportunity 
take part in short courses engaging with the UFS’s mandate to 
engage with the city. 
Public
The city of Bloemfontein’s residents require leisure space. 
Most days every bench along the length of the spruit is 
occupied by residents enjoying their evenings. Redesigned for 
the 2010 world cup this artery through the city was revitalized 
with trees and wide sidewalks. This space has no barriers to 
entry and serves the entire population of the city. While this 
space has been enhanced, many of the squares across the city 
have been lost over time to development (Figure 1.5). This loss 
of public space within the city leads to poor living conditions 
within the CBD. Poor living conditions encourage expansion University of the Witwatersrand
to where the living conditions are ‘better’. Encroaching on the 
surrounding landscape, exacerbating the problems already ARC (Animal Production Institute)
faced by herbalists.
University of Fort Hare
Cape Peninsula University 
of Technology
10 Figure 1.4 - Partner Universities
Figure 1.5 - Lost public space
11
1.3 Identified Site (Where?) Further, it has a history and culture of cultivation within the town, through its many 
parks and squares (Figure 1.5). This means of thinking about gardens and cultivation 
Process Used: can be challenged through the way this department operates.
The site (25-27 Fountain Street) is selected by using a process of elimination. Areas are 
selected and eliminated based on the needs of the occupants on a macro , mezzo and 1.3.2 Mid-Town:
micro scale (Figure 1.6-1.13). The most important needs are considered earlier in the Currently the UFS is seen as an ‘island’, completely fenced off and away from the city 
process. center (Figure 1.6). The UFS has a mandate to ‘open’ its gates and make education 
available to the city (Appendix A). Bringing a department into the city is a physical 
1.3.1 Bloemfontein: manifestation of that goal and will allow more citizens to engage with the university 
The group focuses on plants endemic to the Free State, and Bloemfontein is a central programs. 
location which currently houses the main campus of the University of the Free State.
Transport is often a limiting factor for the herbalists and researchers involved. The As is the case with most cities, Bloemfontein’s many hospitals have commaded the 
public transport and road infrastructure are good in Bloemfontein. city’s spaces for years (Figure 1.7) whereas the herbalists work on street corners and 
Ethnobotany often has the stigma of being a rural practice, where Bloemfontein has back yards. This offers the opportunity to see healthcare in the town differently.
the Free State’s largest population, and so has the most significant possibilities to 
reverse this stigma. Figure 1.8 demonstrates four main criteria identify opportunities for a potential 
1Fi2gure 1.6 - Separation of university and city Figure 1.7 - Hospitals dominating the built landscape in Bloemfontein 13
location within the mid-town: Occupancy Potential Sites:
1. Should be within 5 minutes’ walk of the herbalist market. The project should add to the city in terms of social networks and environmental 
2. Should not be noisy or disturbing for researchers. equality. It must, within reason, avoid disturbing existing systems of people. The 
3. Should not be fully utilized. current use of buildings was evaluated and documented.
4. The surrounding city should not shade its northern façade. 28mSun Light
Difficulties: 32m
Growing plants effectively requires that each plant gets at least 6 hours of sunlight -Large Residential Difficulties:
Component -Scale of 
5 Minutes’ Walk each day. The surrounding city structures should not prohibit sunlight from -Sunlight Limited to surroundings
-Sunlight Limited to 
Currently, the herbalists sell their goods in Fichardt’s Street, outside the bus reaching the site. East and West-Edge of Walking West
terminal known as ‘Central Park.’ The yellow dashed lines indicate a 5-minute walk Range -Existing Structural Systems
from Central Park. From this list of possible sites in figure, with each is discussed individually and the 
Noise Level benefits of each considered (Figure 8). 1,560m2 21,742m
Researchers need relative quiet to focus on their projects. Noise pollution across 
the midtown is shown in red. 
50m 120m
72m
Difficulties Difficulties
-Noisy Road
Pre-Primary School Parking -Edge of Walking Paint Citroen Electronics
-Noisy Road
-Size of site
Parking range -Existing buidlings 
-Well used school VARIOUS STORES Citroen Service
3,407m2 would be difficult to 1,900m2 adapt
75m
2,505m2 Difficulties
Difficulties
-Noisy Appartments 
-Would need to 
and School
accomodate 
-Noisy Road
parking for courts
-Size of site
-Edge of Walking 64m Armoured Transit -Existing buidlings 
range
Difficulties Depot would be difficult to 
-Noisy Appartments adapt
Parking and School -Used continuously
-Noisy Road
-Sunlight Hindered by 
1,726m2 buidlings to the north 24,921m
-Edge of Walking 
range
85m
Difficulties
Private Park -Size of site
-Out of Walking 
Range
-Historic Context 88m
2,831m2 -Existing park Difficulties
-Size of site
-Out of Walking 
Range
Parking/Events -Hidden away
-Existing Park
3,860m2
Existing Higher Education/Research Site Potential Site
1Fi4gure 1.8 - Bloemfontein Mid-Town Figure 1.9 - Focus area site analysis 15
Unused
Residential
Office
Residential
Panel Beaters
1.3.4 Fountain Street (25-27): 
This selected site consists of three erven and two structures. 
The western building covers two erven (Erf 2271 and 2272). 
It consists of a co-working office space/coffee shop known as 
Green Express Café (Figure 1.13). This establishment occupies 
the front half of ground its floor. The building’s upper level is 
abandoned, filled with rubble and poorly kept. The second 
erf (11335) stretches between Fountain Street and Selbourne 
Avenue (Figure 1.12). It consists of two stories of basic student 
accommodation. The development is characterized by a 
rambling set of additions such as carports and extra rooms.
Figure 1.10 - Servitude Figure 1.11 - Descrete southern street front Figure 1.12 - Boundaries in orange
1Fi6gure 1.13 - Selected Site Figure 1.14 - View from fountain street 17
1.4 Conceptual Approach? 1.4.2 Implicit-Explicit
Individual memory is achieved through two means of 
1.4.1 Touch Stone explanation, the implicit and the explicit. 
Implicit /ɪmˈplɪs.ɪt/ - suggested but not 
communicated directly (Cambridge English Dictionary, 
2019a)
Explicit /ɪkˈsplɪs.ɪt/ - clear and  exact (Cambridge 
Rarely English Dictionary, 2019b)
do we as people see 
plants solely for their physical form, 
we attach memories, landscapes, uses, 
myths, and our preconceptions or understandings 
to them. The touchstone represents this by having the Figure 1.17 - Memory Types
plant placed on a sterile plate lit from below to show the 
fact that it is removed from its context and is under scrutiny. The 
glass plates then explain our layers of projection, in the case of the 
soetdoring it represents the presence of water and excellent grazing 
opportunities for farmers. To entomologists, it is not only a part of a 
micro-ecosystem but also can be used to pin specimens. To a herbalist, 
the bark, sap, and thorns are used to treat patients. Each has a set of 
lenses through which they see the same plant. The project aims to be 
the frame to experience multiple lenses at the same time. Ideas and 
people are congested, allowing for a greater understanding of the 
plant.
The magnifying pane shows how when the observer looks 
through the device at the plant; they look with a focus The explicit.
on a specific lens. The project’s focus is on how the 
architecture can change how the plant is seen 
by introducing new information and s
ive The project is inherently changing the focus. t
rra involved in both aspects of memory. Western a
f N  knowledge is transferred through explicit description while the 
eil
o  ethnobotanic is embedded in stories. The city’s built form is an explicit set of 
it Vic objects while the way citizens use them and how they came into being is often an implicit tale. If 
pl
m the viewer objectifies the model, it is clear to see that it is explicitly built from a concrete base. It represents the act of the city  I grid, taking over the flow of the spruit. If the viewer explains the model from within they would describe the veil and the feeling of 
being encompassed. Neither is wrong; they are different aspects of the model. 
18 Figure 1.15 - Touchstone Figure 1.17 - Concept Model Implicit - Explicit 19
Existing trees which bind the  
Individual suspense of reality . 
1.4.3 Performance Anchored in the existing city  
but also connect to the 1.4.4 Congestion    
possibilities of the heavens
above As the Bloemfontein and its supporting infrastructure expands, there are fewer ‘unknown spaces’ beyond the city. 
Until there is noting but The city itself is explicit in the way it stands within the landscape. However, the networks operate on individual 
Knowledge must be performed for imagination and connection with the tales, and how they interact, where the tales come together, become nodes of intensity. The city is the ‘new wild,’ 
it to transfer from one person to heavens which man and our urbanity bring it into being.
another. The Sotho people share 
expertise through the structure of For well -functioning urbanity, three fundamental needs should be addressed (Figure 1.20). These needs are Density, 
stories and an implicit understanding  The growing gaps and less realistic structures Access,  and Mix (Dovey, 2016:17). The city works through bringing different kinds of activity people and buildings 
of the world around them. The represent the further into convenient proximity (Dovey, 2016: 25) to create nodes of intensity. This is where the ‘chance like’ nature of 
freedom from the city and 
privacy that height city life is strongest. They are the structural core of urbanity but not enough to create urban intensity alone.
provides within the city.
Growth is a Everyday life within the city is infused with appropriations. The city’s space is territorialized by its citizens. Street 
experience of what remedies are performative action,
transforming the vendors set up shop each morning while couples spend their leisure time occupying benches along the spruit. 
appropriate for what ailment the frame structure it 
occupies Design can prevent spaces from myths imply. The growth of each Imagination is freed aseach privacy is further being used in certain ways but cannot 
story is interlinked with a multitude distanced from the rigid 
city and moves closer to determ ine whether they will be used in of other stories to describe our  whatever our fantasy a certain manner. In other words, design 
situation within the world. Where involves cannot create the congestion, it can only 
Performance as an not hinder its formation.
isolated block of
knowledge linked On a smaller scale, this project works 
by the frame
Realities are suspend- upon this principle. It places ideas and 
The city block as ed in their own levels
these stories tie together represents the stage for these of privacy ways of  thinking in very close proximity performances
the well-known aspects of the stories to one another. These are separate 
and where they are inherently secure. worlds, and the idea is not to dilute each 
Each individual’s understanding grows other but rather enhance their difference for new ideas to 
Realities are suspended 
like a plant through the structure of form. New York in the 1970s is an example of this whose in their own domain of
these stories. privacy ideas w ill be used within the context of Bloemfontein.
Figure 1.18 - Concept Model: Performance Both cities’ ground planes are currently pre-existing 
Pre-Existing concrete
Western medicine on the other hand has, since performs for the city. This performance has tended had a western influence tend to see the implicit as concrete realities and so must be carefully analyzed reality which is the and considered. This plane is practically driven and is Figure 1.20 - Urban DMAthe days of Descartes, tended to focus on explicitly to be one of the rigid grids multiplied vertically, as nothing more than stories. Thus, seeing ethnobotany city governed by the public. From there, each floor is an individual domain which is slowly freed from these practical 
explaining ailments and what removes these depicted by the western approach. This has not and the herbalists who engage with it as nothing realities and brought into the realm of imagination. “On each floor, the Culture of Congestion will arrange new 
symptoms. Its structure works like that of a uniform allowed for life within many of the city blocks of more than storytellers. Further, it enforces the and exhilarating human activities in unprecedented combinations” (Koolhaas, 1987: 125). This excitement of 
grid, once a subject is understood and expressly Bloemfontein. The model (Figure 16) shows life viewpoint that the city is not a place of storytelling possibilities happens within each building through its mix of programming but also between buildings. 
described, its research paper is a concrete fact, and it coming from the concrete reality of the city, aided by and imagination. The architecture represents an 
put in place. the structures (architecture) built on the block. interaction between the two forms of memory from 
the same block. It heightens their differences and Figure 1.19 - Concept 
The large block represents the concrete reality of The quest for specificity has driven a divide between possibilities for interaction by placing them in such Model: Congestion
the city and its layout. On top of which architecture the two means of explanation — many who have close proximity.  
20 21
Unlike Bloemfontein, New York is a city with little But what does the grid do? 
to no manifesto yet lots of realization. This culture The grid is inherently an authoritarian and rigorous 
of realization and retrospective manifestos began exercise in planning which leaves little to the 
with the cities first gesture of setting out the grid imagination. The grid as the first move limits the 
as the first idea (Figure 1.21). The overwhelming influence which nature has on the city’s buildings. 
and robust nature of this first move has lived Instead of starting with an irregular site, the 
through the city as its defining essence. architects begin with a stage onto which the design 
Bloemfontein is a city which has been built off a may perform (Figure 2.1-2). The stage is then 
deep nationalist manifesto which shows power multiplied vertically by adding floors, each floor 
and dominance over the landscape it sits within. added draws the floor further from the realities of 
This is shown through its grid and architectural the city and toward a world of pure imagination 
interventions which attempt to make sense of (Figure 1.27). This vertical movement also allows for 
their surroundings by order (figure 1.22-26). a closer connection to nature as it is disconnected 
These interventions have largely been built with from the concrete city below.
the manifesto of a single client ‘the government’. 
This means that the city was able to construct 
many buildings which follow a singular manifesto. 
Figure 1.22 - 1848 Initial Layout (Auret, 2016: 197) Figure 1.24 - 1904 Grid molds to the topography (Auret, Figure 1.26 - 2015 Bloemfontein’s expansion and loss of 
2016: 202) green space (Auret, 2016: 209)
In contrast to this dominance, the city This lack of imagination and connection to nature 
simultaneously takes a position of submission in the city planning, leads to each stage containing 
to the landscape. It is strategically protected creativity within itself. Each block becomes a 
by the surrounding koppies and is built around paranoid critical island within the lagoon of the city 
the water source . The first gesture in midtown and has an intense and distorted relationship with 
Bloemfontein was a grid pattern as in New York reality (Figure 2.1). Due to the scale of congestion in 
but has not had as much realization over time. Bloemfontein, each block has not been taken over 
However, this grid pattern was informed by by single structures but rather an agglomeration 
natural flow of the spruit (Figure 1.22). Due to of paranoid critical structures together on their 
the slow nature of realization in the town, there islands within the lagoon of the grid (Figure 2.2). 
was a strip of wilderness which penetrated its However, each block still performs as a stage, and 
heart. The winding spruit humbled it to the what happens on that stage is determined by the 
untamed landscape. But the two halves of this program. 
town were then stitched together by the bridges 
of its manifesto over the years (figure 1.23-25). 
Figure 1.21 - 1807 Comissioners Grid Plan NY Figure 1.23 - 1867-1869 Expansion of the Figure 1.25 - 1912 Canalization of the spruit (Auret, 2016: Figure 1.27 - Skyscraper as a utopian device to produce an 
22 (Kemp, 2893: 87) Grid (Auret, 2016: 199) 204) unlimited number of virgin sites (Koolhaas, 1997: 83) 23
Program Coney Island became popular as it provided excitement and escape to 
The Downtown Athletics Club’s program becomes the buildings the realm of the imaginary, which was not present in the streetscape 
ideology (Figure1.28-31. In every dysfunction, there is the potential of New York. Luna Park on Coney Island archives this through the 
for new functionalities. aggressive mix of programming. Dreamland fabricated it through 
creating a city of towers which were visually stimulating and authentic 
“In the fantastic juxtaposition of its activities, each of the to the unrelenting change demanded by the culture of congestion. This 
club’s floors is a separate installment of an unpredictable acceptance of outer change was not present within the city due to the 
intrigue that extols the complete surrender to the definitive lobotomy of buildings. This is not to say that the great lobotomy had 
instability of life in the metropolis.” (Koolhaas, 1997: 153). not been built into effect within these buildings, but rather their facades 
relationship with the outside world were more honest to the interior 
Figure 1.32 - Early design section - congestion and initial lobotomy program (Figure 1.37). Each structure needs to be inventive, critical and 
The juxtaposition of activities and smooth planning cause congestion, demanding of the city it finds itself within.
which itself creates demands which are reproduced naturally and Figure 1.38 - Early design section indicating the buildings relationship to its site
artificially through the technology of the fantastic. The building 
becomes a city within itself, thus transforming into infrastructure for This approach challenges the fundamental relationships 
the rooms within it, just as the roads of a town are to their blocks. within architecture. The site is no longer the home from 
which a building is born but rather stage on which it 
The culture of congestion demands that there Is the constant change Figure 1.33 - Early functional diagrams
performs. The program of this architecture becomes 
the ideology, and the architecture itself becomes 
and so an architect cannot design an honest façade to represent the the arrangement of the technical apparatus which 
program of the building. Koolhaas sees the façade as the means of compensates for the loss of reality (Figure 1.35-37).
protecting the public from the writhing changes within the structure. 
This great lobotomy allows for a monolithic street experience yet still Figure 1.35 - Radio City Hall - Technology of the Figure 1.39 - Early design section indicating the technology of the provides for program flexibility and thus change within the designs fantastic (Stage Elevators) (Koolhaas, 1997: 215) fantastic controlling the interior climate
— this ethnobotany project questions whether there should be a 
Figure 1.29 - DAC boxing and lobotomy at all. The writhing changes are a direct result of urbanity. 
The technical apparatus is referred to as the technology of 
oyster bar (Koolhaas, 1997: How we, as citizens, use Bloemfontein is dynamic and so why should 
the fantastic (Figure 1.38-39). It is the application of scientific 
154) the city’s built form remain static.
knowledge for the creation of a false reality. This reality is the new 
Figure 1.34 - Conceptual function stacking wild, and man creates the world through the city. This creates a 
more intense reality of ethnobotany for the public to experience. 
Ethnobotany becomes an experience which takes over rather than 
This way of thinking determines that the program should provide the an objective way of learning. The design is the infrastructure which 
underlying assumptions about the worlds that the design is creating. allows each space to operate and transform the perceptions of 
The institute’s program mixes leisure, research, teaching, and business ethnobotany. The building provides the framework from which 
as to encourage congestion within the city (Figure 1.33-34). As an the building can be critical of what it means to retain and perform 
element of the block, the architecture aims to create a unique and knowledge within the context of Midtown Bloemfontein. Human-
intense experience of ethnobotany for those that encounter it. made systems aim to provide a heightened connection to the natural world than what wild nature archives (Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.28 - Downtown Athletics Club Figure 1.30 - DAC typical floor Figure 1.31 - DAC indoor golf Figure 1.36 - Rockefeller center: Man at the Crossroads (Koolhaas, 1997: 221) Figure 1.37 - Globe Tower 
2(D4AC) section (Koolhaas, 1997: 154) plan (Koolhaas, 1997: 154) (Koolhaas, 1997: 154)
        The retention and performance of knowledge version 2 (Koolhaas, 1997: 72)
25
2 Challenges 2.1 Topology Related Challenges
This chapter introduces some of the complexities inherent in the various 2.1.1 Being Critical of surroundings 
aspects of this intervention. There are three main sections being topological, To the east of the site is an automotive workshop which is neither inventive 
typological and sustainability challenges with in each these the morphological nor is it critical in its design. However, through its use, it demands that the 
challenges are approached. Each section begins by exploring these ideas and cities spaces are used for more than one strict function. The structure was 
ends by taking stock of what has been learnt in the form of precedent studies. remade into various applications over the previous years, forming a phantom 
A wide variety of reading and analysis of existing spaces help explore the ideas architecture which “nowhere betrays the slightest trace of its original purpose 
presented.  Within this process, there are reviews of specific precedents which in any way” (Koolhaas, 1978: 104). Further, its operations take over the 
influenced various aspects of the design. sidewalk along the spruit, questioning why spaces are dedicated to a single 
purpose (Figure 2.5).
The modernist parking garage criticizes this messiness in the city through its 
perfect planning and strict order. However, it has been so rigid that it cannot be 
taken over as the town messily reinvents itself, and so the ground floor specific 
business areas remain empty (Figure 2.3-4).
The project is critical of what it means to perform knowledge and what it is to 
retain that knowledge through implicit or explicit means. It is critical of the lack Figure 2.3 - Fountain Street surroundings
of inventiveness within the block and surrounding city. It questions the perfect 
human-made orders proposed by the parking garage adjacent while accepting 
its position as a planned development. 
More than this its surrounding cityscape is not sensitive to Bloemfontein’s 
natural landscape. The few greenspaces which exist are filled with alien water 
Figure 2.1 - City of the captive globe (Koolhaas, 1997: 295) intensive plants. On the site itself, there are multiple alien tree species which 
do not represent the region. Rivers in the Free State can be seen from a 
distance as they foster life and allow larger trees to grow in the dry landscape. 
The concrete bed and large amounts of paving which have been added to the 
spruit do not allow for this life. 
F2i6gure 2.2 - Islands of Bloemfontein performing Figure 2.4 - Canalization of the spruit Figure 2.5 - Cars being cleaned 27
To the East, the The pedestrian The servitude is The Spruit 
Spruit culminates walkway has currently culminates in the 
with the bus rank. been taken over closed by a stadium complex 
for the cleaning steel gate. and Kings park to 
of cars from the the West.
Mahindra and 
Moto-Inn.
2Fi8gure 2.6 - Selbourne Avenue 29
2.1.2 Connection to existing green space 2.1.3 Servitude
The development sits along the Bloemfontein Spruit and so There is a 3.76m servitude which runs through the selected site (Figure 2.13). This servitude 
is connected to the ‘green belt’ of public space which runs provides for the passage of people on foot across the site without hindrance. The original 
through the CBD from King’s Park to the west (Figure 2.10). function of the servitude was to give access to internal sites which did not boarder on either 
This park has a rich botanic tradition that has permeated road. It is essentially a pedestrian road, a public space. The idea of having a public space run 
the city’s identity in its popular name becoming ‘The City of directly through a site has been expanded on by turning the ground plane into a public gardens 
Roses.’ Its permeance as a land mark in the city is shown in Figure 2.7 - View of site from the spruit (Figure 2.12). Currently the has been treated as a road for vehicles, it is completely paved and 
figures 1.22-26. This botanic tradition is different from that of offers no relation to how a human would interact with it (Figure 2.11). Currently the Green 
an ethnobotanist’s culture. King’s Park’s tradition is rigorously Express Café is attempting to do exactly this by placing pallet furniture in this space. The public 
ordered and explicit (Figure 2.22-23). The gardens are gardens aim to provide a more permanent softening of this harsh enviroment. The parking 
manicured into hierarchy’s, and axes, the plants within it are garage to the west demonstrates where the original servitude between sites was incorporated 
carefully grown in an unnatural climate to celebrate notions into the design (as explored in ‘3.0 Technical Challenges’).
and people beyond Bloemfontein. The park imports ideas of 
Europe through its name, the plants, and its monuments. This void space has a strong presence whenever I draw the site from memory or conceptually 
(Figure 2.13). The void area currently acts as a mediator between the two buildings on the 
Ethnobotany is entirely regional and relies on the natural site. It also serves as a means of negotiating the open expanse of space to the south and the 
landscape and the viewer’s imagination for ordering. The looming presence of the city mass to the north. The servitude does this by splitting the block into 
myths order and guide the Sotho people’s understanding of Figure 2.8 - View of spruit from site Figure 2.9 - Pedestrians on the north bank individual buildings rather than a singular agglomeration of buildings. The final design preserves 
the world, and this shows the engagement with imagination the ability to traverse the site unhindered as a reminder of the city’s past lives and the phantom 
to understand place. However, the city is man-made, the architectures which persist in the city. Figure 2.12 - Conceptual approach to site
canalization of the spruit further reduces the site’s natural 
landscape to draw from.  Thus, the layout of these gardens 
must draw inspiration from the imagination of the users as 
explored in figure 2.24 and ‘2.2.2 Enhancing an experience or 
understanding’. 
The Spruit is one of the main pedestrian routes through the 
town (Figure 2.14). During the winter months, the northern 
bank fills with slower-moving pedestrians who occupy the 
benches along the way. The spruit acts as the city’s public 
leisure space, and so the intervention must add to this 
existing pattern of city life. 
The southern side accommodates faster-moving pedestrians 
even though there is no specific pedestrian path on that 
side of the spruit. However, in summer, the northern bank is 
preferred due to its trees and buildings’ shade (Figure 2.9). 
The project supports this system by offering its ground floor 
to the public as a shaded pocket park (Figure 2.10). 
30 Figure 2.10 - Green-Space Systems    Red-Private Orange- Access Controlled  Green-Public Figure 2.11 - Humanizing the servitude by Green Express Cafe Figure 2.13 - Servitude 31
Kings Park
Gardens
Put Put
The Presidency
Catholic Gardens
Pres. Brand St.
Green Corridoor
Ethnobotany 
Institute
Anglican Gardens
Library
Hoffman Square
Motheo FET 
College
Spruit Green 
Corridoor
Figure 2.14 - Pedestrian movement along the Spruit
32 33
Central Park Bus Station
Taxi Pickup Point (Peet Ave.)
Long Distance Taxi Rank
Pedestrians Lingering
Anglican Church Gardens
The Presidency Gardens
President Brand Street
Taxi Pickup Point
Shanghai International Cruise Terminal: Shanghai Scale Binding Skin
Chandelier
SPARK Architects Although each office building is already 
Shanghai, China visually similar, the addition of identical 
Focus: Structural Systems – Relief Spaces skins which do not cut back at the edges 
provide a visual continuation when viewed 
The brief required thirty percent of the land should from the park or opposite side of the river 
remain free for the people of the city while half the (Figure2.15-17). This visual link horizontally 
floor plate area should be underground. This is to allows the buildings to be perceived as a 
counteract the density of the city. The design creates single slightly disjointed building without 
a series of relief spaces within the city along its being overwhelming to those who are 
waterfront public park. This is an addition which forms close. The giant order of these repetitions 
a part of a masterplan of interconnected, walkable, allows the buildings to sit comfortably in 
green spaces up to the length of the Huangpu River. terms of both the vertical and horizontal 
scale when the 88,000 tone cruise ships 
Relief in the city dock alongside the park.
Along the length of this newly created park, there are When the skin is illuminated at night, 
various spaces which break the monotony of office the flowing herringbone structure is lit 
buildings and mall spaces. One of these relief spaces up, creating a sense of freedom among 
is the ‘Shanghai Chandelier,’ it brings whimsical fun the rigid grid found on the facades 
into a rigid and controlled city (Figure 2.18-19). The behind. This façade does not reach the 
Faberge eggs house bars and restaurants to aid in the ground and so does not provide a clear 
creation of a cultural. By lifting the pods into the air, connection to the ground, the disconnect 
the pedestrians can look through the arch and onto aids in the ambiguity already explored in 
the park in front. Shanghai is notoriously packed and the chandelier and surrounding sunken 
to glimpses through buildings into open spaces are courtyards.
rare. The fact that these pods hang adds dynamism to Figure 2.15 - Skin Figure 2.16 - Skin
an otherwise straightforward structural system.
The design explores ambiguity in terms of where 
the ground is and why that matters to architecture. 
The design developed into a honeycomb of sunken 
courtyards onto the floors below where buildings Figure 2.19 - Skin
disappear into. This differentiation between the 
below-ground floors, ground and above ground is 
deliberately obscure and is a commentary on the 
traditional Greek typical responses to meeting both 
the earth and sky. 
34 Figure 2.17 - Scale binding facade Figure 2.18 - Shanghai Chandilier/Faberge Eggs 35
2.2 Typology Related Challenges
2.2.1 Gardens
Gardens are places of prospect and aspect. Prospect 
is the region which is being overlooked, unaware 
of its intricacies, while aspect is the view from a 
specific vantage point. This is important because, in 
the landscape, the prospect of a area is the same for 
all those who encounter it. Yet their specific vantage 
point or lenses used to see the area will never be Figure 2.20 - Stonehenge (2000 B.C.) Figure 2.21 - Walled Gardens (Middle Ages) Figure 2.22 - Renaissance Gardens (16th Century)
the same. Knowledge over time has taken the same 
relationship between prospect (that which is not 
understood) and aspect. 
Man-kind’s first gardens were monuments such as 
Stonehenge (figure 2.20). This monument is a means 
to make sense of one aspect of Amesbury’s wild 
and untamable prospect. It represents orders and 
understanding within the place and is connected to 
other such places in the sea of prospect through lay 
lines. In King’s Park, one of the first moves was to 
place willow trees. These willow trees were a means carefully looked at, it becomes a place of aspect. Knowledge 
of ordering the prospect of King’s Park. The objects in is no longer something which must be rigorously accounted 
the park tell stories a for; it can be held in objects, stories, and places. King’s To U Lion’s DenFPark’s master plan of measured order has been overlaid S
with many individual ideas about the aspect for people to 
Mountee Memorial
In the middle ages, the gardens ignore the experience freely (Figure 2.23). They refer to the measured order but are not solely based off it. This allows for 
untamable wild as it was too great a task to make sse
ou
sense of (Figure 2.21). The gardens focus on the interpretation and imagination, which is revered amongst en
h
e Royal Rose GardenModel Sailing Pond
understandable ‘inside.’ Knowledge at the time the city’s strict grid.
Gr
became internalized and for the wealthy. This UFS Axis
culminated in the Renaissance when gardens When members of the public encounter this project, they have a similar understanding of how it is set out. The task 
became an exercise in perfect order and complete 
understanding in aspects of their design. Over time of the hanging gardens and exhibition is then to depict the 
paths in the park were set out, and it was further different aspects of ethnobotany and spark imagination 
ordered through perfect avenues of neat plants. within them about the world which surrounds them. To picture is to tell stories of a place and engage with it. This To Mid-Town
The gardens have continued the lineage by adding interaction is a process of meaning, both projected onto 
layers onto the perfect order (figure 2.22). This turns space and constructed by it. 
the park back toward a place of prospect, but if 
36 Figure 2.23 - Gardens of memory (2019) 37
2.2.2 Enhancing an experience or understanding
The ethnobotany institute must enhance the understanding of ethnobotany for 
the genera public. The design must also enhance the public’s understanding of 
what Bloemfontein is. 
Cony island was a place of intense experimentation. It erased the natural 
landscape to construct a total synthetic environment (Figure 2.24). This 
environment fabricated almost any sensation and is referred to as the 
technology of the fantastic.
However the city is encountering a shift, the redevelopment of the spruit is more 
“Coney Island was the site of unsustainable compromises between imaginative. Each bollard is individually painted and where there could have been 
pairs of opposites: lowbrow and highbrow; artificial and natural. The Figure 2.25 - Suburban Park a mundane overpass there is a unique steel bridge (figure 2.6 & 28. The trees along 
Technology of the Fantastic versus the Urbanism of Good Intentions. the spruit are dynamic when compared to the stately evergreen trees planted 
The former eventually gave way to the latter and as that happened the along president brand street. Brand street uses these alien trees as a way of 
once-vital place began a descent toward irrelevance. Something similar importing ideals from another society.
has occurred outside of Coney Island’s dreamworld: Technology has 
become less imaginative and more responsible.” (Austin, 2012:1). Imagination frees the mind of the mundane responsibilities of life. It removes those 
nagging things which we believe to be ‘knowns’. These ‘knowns’ limit our thinking 
and capacity to understand something new. This is not to say that they aren’t true, 
but our realm of possibilities is reduced every time we hold on to one. 
Figure 2.27 -Foot Bridge
The design incorporates this imagination structurally by hanging the floor slabs 
from a girder rather than being clearly supported by a column and beam system 
(Figure 2.27). The design uses traditional building materials such as steel and 
Figure 2.26 - Pres. Brand Street timber, however they are used to the technical extreme. The timber is laminated to unique curves while the steel is as thin as technically possible. This gives the 
impression that the buildings various elements are floating. This inspires the 
I believe that this responsibility of technology is what has led to the monotony exploration of a fantasy world where anything is possible (Figure 2.24). Technology 
and lack of relief within the city of Bloemfontein. The urbanism of good allows for the plants to be experienced in a more intense way that what could be 
intentions is seen throughout city planning in Bloemfontein. The suburban achieved in nature through the way in which they are displayed. The density of 
neighborhoods are littered with desolate parks which house a generic steel plants per area can be much higher than if one was searching the wild. 
swing and play set (Figure 2.25). The sidewalks throughout the mid-town 
comply to the responsible regulations but do nothing further. President Brand 
Street is the epitome of this time, it is responsible and ‘highbrow’ (Figure 2.26). 
This is due to the conservative heritage of the residents within Bloemfontein 
and how they have planned the city. I believe the ideals that Bloemfontein was 
planned on are responsibility, dignity and authority. These spaces do not serve 
the practical needs of modern society.
Figure 2.28 - Steel Girder Structure
38 Figure 2.24 - Conceptual Perspective 39
The Cocoon 2.2.3 Humanizing the research space
AA Design & Make
Hooke Park, UK The research space is the contrast to the imagination and magic of the garden space. They have many practical 
Focus: Bandage Structure – Relief Spaces needs and represent the responsibility of technology to 
modern society. However there are humans who work in 
The institute should heighten the the rigorous order. Their humanity and wonder must be 
experience of ethnobotany as explored cared for. 
in New York. The Cocoon is designed to 
heighten the experience of walking through Department of Microbiology, UFS
the surrounding forests. It’s intimate Renier Bron
scale invited the user to rest against its Bloemfontein
wall as they clamber trough the cocoons Focus: Laboratory Requirements – Gathering
twists(Figure 2.29-30). These twists create 
to allow the user to imagine what is coming Laboratory spaces are functional spaces and offer little 
next and allow the smell of the wood to scope for interaction. The design articulates elements of 
be more intense. The uneasy experience its structure as to make the building more human and Figure 2.32 - Department of Biotechnology
of moving over tree roots experiences on understandable to those who work there (Figure 2.32). 
the forest floor is replicated through the This is a reaction against the typical sterile laboratory 
undulating floor. The light falling through building facades and internal spaces while remaining 
the roof provides a similar speckled light functional and sterile inside.
to that on the forest is what heightens the 
experience. Courtyards
The multiple courtyards provide relief from the sterile 
lab environment and allow for gathering in an individual 
The experience which the design creates is work environment (Figure 2.33). This is signified through 
focused on the magic and implicit aspects of Figure 2.29 - Cocoon the tree in both pot plants, benches, and partial shading. 
African storytelling rather than the process This leads to them being the spaces where creativity is 
of walking through a landscape. fostered, and staff/students can informally discuss their 
Figure 2.30 - New Perspective offered projects with one another. 
 
These spaces humanize the research environment, 
which is otherwise clear cut and clinical through their 
materiality. The courtyards are paved with brick pavers 
and are supported by the whitewashed face-brick walls 
which add natural light to a synthetic lit building. The 
trees in the courtyards add to this natural materiality and 
provide space to gather in the shade.
Figure 2.33 - Department of Biotechnology
40 Figure 2.31 - Construction of pods 41
2.3 Sustainability:
The Natural
The theme of this project is investigating how architecture can -
offer alternate perspectives of ethnobotany in the city. This Acting restoratively 
main theme breaks down into three sub questions developed toward the natural 
in conjunction with the three concepts. The goal of this is the environment.
meaningful making of place within the city for the occupants of 2.3.1 Place
the buildings and the people of the city. The intervention “realign(s) how people understand and relate to the natural the natural state that the site would be in without the influence of 
environment that sustains us” (International Living Future Institute, 2016, man, regarding “biodiversity, plant succession, water use, and nutrient 
Conceptual and Ethical Aims p. 23). The design relates deeply to the place, thus restoring the nature of needs” (International Living Future Institute, 2016, p. 24). The design 
Sustainability is a broad and all-encompassing concept and so the the place. The design encourages pedestrianization and livability within the The Social increasingly promotes and emulates the reference habitat (Free State 
purpose this section is to define what the project will to address. Bloemfontein CBD through four key areas.- Grassland) of the site as it matures. The development increases the 
“Opinions largely vary on how to define the sustainability  The project must further  Adaptive Re-use natural habitats available to the biodiversity identified as being within 
the leisure opportunities on i
challenges that architectural design is to respond to, how The project is built on a greyfields site. Gamble & LeBlanc define the reference habitat. Due to the dense nature of the city and its ts place along the spruit to make 
to align the various stakeholders involved, which scales greyfield sites as those which are “economically obsolescent, manicured green spaces, it loses many indigenous species. This project the city more livable. Further it 
and elements to consider, and how to transform these should bring different members outdated, failing or underused” (2004). provides a habitable island from which the species (both plants and 
questions into design strategies, spatial configurations, form circles of society into animals) can thrive. 
and materiality of buildings. These practices cannot be contact with Urban Agriculture
confined merely to technological problem-solving as they eachother. For cities to become truly sustainable, they cannot rely on a global 
essentially mesh a range of cognitive, social, cultural, and infrastructure and so must produce their own produce. Currently, Ecological Transportation 
material elements.” (Schroeder, 2018). the plants are grown/harvested in the rural Free State and imported The project contributes to the creation of a walkable and pedestrianized 
into Bloemfontein. The design sufficiently provides for the needs of community within the Bloemfontein CBD. It provides secure storage The second function is that it provides a framework that can for human-powered vehicles such as bicycles for all staff and visitors. 
be referred to within the design process as a yardstick for the herbalists in Bloemfontein and its surrounds. This reduces the carbon Existing pedestrian routes such as the street frontages of Fountain 
success of its sustainability. The approach is based on the ‘Living footprint while ensuring sustainable harvesting practices. Currently, street and Selbourne Avenue along with the servitude across the site 
Building Challenge Standard 3.1’ and centered around seven The Historic the plants researched by the University Department are grown on enhance and make the city more walkable through affordances such 
aspects of ecological and social sustainability. Its essence is in line - the UFS experimental farm on the outskirts of Bloemfontein. This as shading and even walkable surfaces. Showers and locker rooms are 
with the conceptual basis of the touchstone (Section 1.4.1), which The design must respect development will eliminate a large amount of travel carbon for its place as an institution along provided to encourage the use of human-powered vehicles. There is an 
is to imagine the city differently. In this case, it is to redefine the the spruit while engaging researchers while adding the benefit of more productive workdays. electric vehicle charging station for those still with a car.
city’s view of sustainability. with the city.
Focus: Imagining the city as Habitat Rehabilitation
“The ecological approach to urban open space planning and 
- Being informed by the Free State climate management [in Bloemfontein] is a sensible and achievable 
- Generating its own resources objective” (Dingaan & Du Preez, 2017: 1). The reference habitat is 
- Socially, culturally and ecologically restorative
The Cultural
- A place where every building contributes to -
the city becoming more livable The architecture must 
respectfully engage with 
ethnobotany in a namable and 
memorable building.
42 Figure 2.34 - Sustainability factors 43
2.3.2 Water Grey Water System
This aim intends to redefine how people view water wastage within the Bloemfontein CBD. Due to the site size and location of the site within the Bloemfontein CBD, 
Bloemfontein often has water issues such as poor quality, waste, and distribution, not to mention there is not a large amount of space separate from the public activity 
the waste and stormwater issues adding to the pollution of the spruit. With climate change, these where a greywater system can be placed. This offers the opportunity to 
problems will only grow, and so the building needs to account for this if it is to last and remain relevant incorporate this system into a public space where people can interact with 
over the next fifty years. it. The vast amount of garden required by the program can use the treated 
water, thus not relying on the municipal grid (Figure 2.37).
The design must provide for the sites needs through precipitation and recycling used project water as 
much as possible. Water discharge such as grey and stormwater should be dealt with on-site using a Toilets are water efficient designs which feed into the municipal sewer 
wetland greywater system and stored on site. system while the basins and taps greywater will be used within the gardens 
to offset the water requirements of the buildings. The roof design captures 
Currently the office block expels its stormwater into the spruit. Downpipes are internalized and feed any rainwater on the site and will store this water in underground tanks 
into an underground drain to the spruit. The residential units have downpipes, which direct rainwater and pumped to a tank above which will provide pressure for the lower 
onto the sidewalk (Figure 2.35). The servitude is designed to direct some of this stormwater toward floors.
the spruit. This is shown on erf 12467 to the west, where the development had to account for the 
stormwater using channels and underground pipes along the length of the servitude (Figure 2.36). 2.3.3 Energy
The intent of this aim is to prioritize reductions and optimizations in 
energy use within the development thus changing the way in which 
Bloemfonteiners view energy waste. Passive means of cooling the Figure 2.37 - Greywater treatment pond detail
greenhouse during the day reduces the energy load required by the 
building.
Greenhouse Climate Control
Cooling such a large greenhouse without over shading all the plants inside 
is a challenge and so the systems in place need to be adaptable to the Roof Area Max Rainfall Capacity Required
everchanging Bloemfontein climate. However, this offers the opportunity 
to use the whole skin of the building as the systems for controlling the 
temperature inside the greenhouse. Systems such as those used on 
the 1992 British Pavilion (Grimshaw Architects, 2019) can be used to 
Figure 2.36 - Storm put sustainability at the forefront of the public’s mind. The scale of the 21256m
Water Management on greenhouse allows for the academic component to be insulated within 2(Site =1526m ) 120mm
erf 12467 3this greenhouse shell and so can be mutually beneficial with the academic + (Febuary) = 150,72m
component heating the greenhouse in winter and the greenhouse 
insulating the academic component in summer.
Figure 2.38 - Rainwater storage calculation
44 Figure 2.35 - Rainwater Management Currently  Red - Servitude  Runoff Blue - Gutters 45
1992 British Pavilion
Location: Milan Water Wall
Grimshaw Architects As the water falls down the glass facade to the east, 
Focus: Environmental Control Systems - it takes heat energy out of the sunlight and cools the 
Memorability space inside (Figure 2.39). Further, the falling water 
evaporates and cools the surrounding outdoor 
space to the east of the building. Solar cells on the 
The facades take the physical form of the roof supply the energy to pump the water and so 
environmental control systems (Figure when the sun is less intense, the pump moves less 
2.39-44). Inside there is a void, in which water and so it cools the building appropriately.
are a series of exhibit platforms along with The falling water provides a sense of suspension 
a pool for maritime vessels to hang over. inside the pavilion, which allows the inside to 
These platforms stand independently of become ‘another world’. This is the world of Great 
the environmental control skeleton which Britain inside. The reflection pool in front of this W E
surrounds it. facade gives the pavilion a monumentality and Figure 2.42-44 - 1992 British Pavilion climate control systems (Grimshaw Architects, 2019) Figure 2.45 - 1992 British Pavilion climate control systems
Britan’s naval history endows the skeleton classical permanence.
with meaning, declaring what the pavilion 
Solar Fins
represents. It has allowed the structure to To reduce solar heat gain in the hot climate of 
become so memorable and namable that Figure 2.39 - Water Wall Seville, the architects opted to place a series of 
it was made into a stamp. The design uses fins on the roof to reduce how much sun hits the 
bold architectural moves such as the wing physical roof itself.  The gap between the fins and 
roves to achieve social sustainability, through the roof allows for the breeze to flow through and 
memorability and significance. cool the surfaces (Figure 2.41). On these fins, there 
are a series of solar cells which provide the energy 
Interior Climate Control required to run the pavilion’s pumps, lights, and 
To the west, the walls are made of large small HVAC system.
reservoirs which then have a skin of material Rigging as Inspiration
fins to keep the sun from heating them Both the North and South facades incorporate 
directly (Figure 2.45). At night the air is canvass sheets to protect the building from the 
cool and this then cools the water in the Figure 2.40 - Fin Wall harsh sun (Figure 2.40). These canvass sheets 
reservoirs sufficiently for the water to be and steel structure intemperate Great Britain’s 
used again in the day. They store the water maritime culture and craftsmanship into an efficient 
which is pumped through a large panel within environmental control system within the building. This building demonstrates how a high-tech 
the design in order to cool the main hall, this architectural building can be sustainable in its daily 
greatly reduces the heat load that the small operation through simple systems.
HVAC system needs to disperse. 
The high volume of the interior allows for the 
hot air to rise where it is naturally ventilated 
out of the building using high level windows 
and prevailing East-West winds. Figure 2.41 - Roof Fins Figure 2.46 - 1992 British Pavilion N-S Section
46 47
2.3.4 Health Eco Boulevard
The intent of this is to redefine what those who use the Bloemfontein CBD see as a Location: Milan
healthy and acceptable space. It aims to promote a productive, nourishing and healthy Ecosistema Urbano
built environment over time. Focus: Nature in the city
Access to Environment The eco boulevard project is not intended as a final 
Each regularly occupied space has openable windows that provide access to solution but rather as a temporary prosthetic for the city’s 
fresh air and light (Figure 2.47). The design promotes a connection between rejuvenation (Figure 2.51). In this case the space is not 
nature and the occupants of the building through its planning and program. used and this aims to make the space more attractive 
The design accounts for the changes in climatic conditions throughout the year for recreation to the micro climate of the space being 
without the reliance on mechanical systems. cooler than its surrounding. This idea could also be used 
to enhance existing dense public spaces to become more 
Air Quality livable for their inhabitants. It allows the plants to form 
Exhaust systems should be provided for kitchens, bathrooms, laboratory and dense habitats raising multiple levels. Once the rest of the 
janitorial areas in order to maintain a high quality of air within the building. park has been propagated these towers are to be taken 
down and the spaces left behind will remain as clearings in 
2.3.5 Equity the garden. The structure demarcates a social space under 
The aim is “to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible Figure 2.47 - Access to nature within a high rise itself and raises its-self clear of that space so it may be used 
time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage as its inhabitants please (Figure 2.49).
of anyone” Buckminster Fuller. The development should enhance the infrastructure 
provided to the holistic community within the Bloemfontein CBD. 2.3.6 Beauty
The aim is to redefine the sense of built environment care 
Human Centered Design within the CBD and along the spruit. Human delight should 
The design promotes and prioritizes human spaces rather than spaces for be promoted through culture, spirit, and place. This must Figure 2.49 - Eco Boulevard Figure 2.50 - Green wall 
automobiles, thus promoting a culture of interaction along the new servitude take the public form of gardens, art and small conveniences (Ecosistema Urbano, 2008) (Ecosistema Urbano, 2008)
space. The laboratories both have a break room which connects to the city made toward the people of the city.
outside and offers the chance to interact much like the courtyards within the 
Department of Microbiology (Page 43). 
Barrier Free Access to Nature and Place
Universal access is into consideration for barrier-free architecture and so the 
development is wheelchair friendly (2.47-48). The maximum ramp slope is 1:12 
within the project allowing for it to be accessible for all the users.  the public 
spaces is enhanced through street furniture, public art, gardens, and benches. 
This enhances the pedestrian leisure space of the spruit which runs through the 
CBD.
The built-up nature of the spruit and CBD means that a habitat extension is 
a viable approach to restoring the natural balance. This is a dense addition 
of nature which solves various climatic and social issues within the city. Eco 
boulevard by Ecosistema Urbano is an example of how this can be implemented 
through specific systems and approaches to the city (Ecosistema Urbano, 2007).
48 Figure 2.48 - Eco Boulevard inspiring design skin section Figure 2.51 - Eco Boulevard transforming the urban landscape 49
2.3.7 Materials Polycarbonate Sheeting
Readymade sizes of multiwall 
The aim is to promote a local material economy which is polycarbonate sheeting limit and 
“non-toxic, ecologically restorative, transparent and socially guide the design process when using 
equitable” (International Living Future Institute, 2016, p. 43). the material. The sheeting is used 
Red List Materials as a roofing and walling material for 
The project should not contain materials which are the greenhouses. It allows for good 
on the ‘Living Building Challenge Materials Red List’ light transmission while providing 
(as found in Annexure A), these are not ecologically high R values. It is also very light with ‘Cleardeck’ claiming that its product 
sustainable materials and so are avoided. ‘Seplux’ weighs half that of a similar 
Steel is be used for the greenhouse spaces, strength glass (Cleardek, 2019: 2). Two 
representing the cold analytical nature of the explicit types of the sheeting are used in the 
research. While wood will be used in places relating to project.
the implicit due to its warm nature which encourages Cleardek ‘Seplux’ interlocking panel 
engagement. (Figure 2.55)
The columns and trusses which span the length of the This system is used as a walling system which fits between the truss structure 
site are made of steel. Its thin members add to the of the greenhouses. The benefit of it is 
imaginative nature of the place created within the that the system has no standing seams 
gardens. The floors of the larger greenhouse to the or lighting obstruction. The system also 
east will be made of steel planking to let light through does not require lateral support, and so 
into the hanging gardens below. The perforations is completely supported by its aluminum 
add to the suspense of reality inside the building as frame. These panels are 40mm thick and 
come in a width of 435mm. Figure 2.53 - Polycarb fixing system Figure 2.54 - Sun angle calculationsresearchers seem to float as they work the gardens.
Multiwall Polycarb Panels (Figure 2.53)
Below these trusses hang a series of calabashes to be 
constructed out of timber which will house garden These do not come as a finished system 
space and walkways. These calabashes will be held in but are rather a building material 
place by steel cables to give the sense of a suspended in a thickness of 25mm. This 25mm three wall system allows for a light 
reality the participant is engaging with. The calabashes Figure 2.52 - Development render of design transmission of 72 percent. Compared 
house implicit knowledge and so area made of wood. with the 10mm system which offers 82 
percent light transmission. Thus, the roof 
angles remain relatively perpendicular 
to the suns rays in order to minimize the 
angle of incidence (Figure 2.56). Sheets 
are clamped together using aluminum 
profiles (Figure 53).
50 Figure 2.55 - Cleardek ‘Seplux’ connection Figure 2.56 - Angle of incidence 51
UFS Dept. Agriculture Greenhouses Glue Laminated Timber (Glulam)
Location: Bloemfontein This structural engineered wood product 
Focus: Construction Principles is made by bonding layers of timber 
together with structural adhesives (Figure 
2.66). The benefits of using glulam are 
The university uses two styles of greenhouse on that they are significantly more energy 
the Bloemfontein campus. One is a glass, steel efficient than steel profiles and can be 
and aluminum greenhouse type and the other is a constructed to complex curves (Figure 
newer aluminum and polycarbonate greenhouse. 2.62). The rings which make up the 
The first set shown in figure 2.57 are based on a hanging gardens off the design can be 
glass construction, the spans of glass are not very manufactured offsite and transported to 
large. These greenhouses have a light shade-cloth site thus making the process very space 
structure 500mm above the glass to protect the and time efficient. The strength of these 
glass from hail. The poly carbonate greenhouses do timber profiles can be altered by making 
not require this as the sheets are strong enough to them thicker or thinner where necessary. 
resist this alone. For the project the thinner profiles act as 
A steel structure is fastened to the slab on ground bracing while the thicker profiles gather 
foundation between which is the secondary the load of the structure and transfer it to 
structure which houses the glass panel system. the girder above. The wood gives a warm natural feel to the spaces in which it is Figure 2.65 - Connection detailEach greenhouse is separated into three climate 
adjustable compartments. The air conditioners for used, thus encouraging interaction. The 
which are located externally against the southern Bavarian Forest Treetop Walkway uses 
wall (Figure 2.61). This wall is constructed of brick to these to great effect in ‘3.5 Structural 
retain heat at night and is what the ducting system Investigations’ on page 62 and works in a 
and services fasten to. Currently the greenhouses similar structural system.
are used for three purposes. Plant Pathology; Soil, 
Crop and climate Studies and plant breeding studies. Figure 2.57 - Glass Greenhouse Section Figure 2.63 - Glulam connection detail
The greenhouses in this project will take the 
polycarbonate route as it is lighter and more 
durable. 
52 Figure 2.58 - Glass Fixing Figure 2.59 - Polycarb Fixing Figure 2.60 - Glass Greenhouse Window Figure 2.61 - Greenhouse and Climate Systems Figure 2.62 - Glulam pod development Figure 2.64 - Glulam-Steel Connection Figure 2.66 - Glulam profile development 53
Steel (Planks too)
Steel profiles are used throughout the project due 3.0 Technical Challenges
to their high strength and slender form. It has a high These investigations uncover various aspects of 
tensile strength and so steel rods are used to hang the the project and provide design cues. They do so 
floorplates and pods from the girders above. By hanging by revealing the requirements, conditions, and 
these elements rather than supporting them the steel problems associated with the different elements 
rods can be far slenderer allowing for the suspension which will be integrated into a single design 
of the pods to be less noticeable. Hidden steel plates solution.
are also used to connect the rods to each pod structure 
(Figure 2.63; 65). 3.1 Municipal Non-Negotiables
The floor of the green house uses a steel planking 
system much like scaffolding planks (Figure 2.72). These Figure 2.67 - Greenhouse Gutter Beam
This selected site consists of three erven and 
two structures (Figure 3.1). The western building 
are lightweight and offer the opportunity for a part of 
the greenhouse floor to be a mesh thus connecting the covers two erven (Erf 2271 and 2272). It consists 
public and greenhouse to an extent. of a co-working office space/coffee shop known 
as Green Express Café. This establishment 
The beams throughout this project are specially occupies the front half of ground its floor. The 
fabricated girder modules (Figure 2.69). These are building’s upper level is abandoned, filled with 
fabricated in Bloemfontein but off site and thus adding 
to the efficiency and speed of the construction process. Figure 2.68 - Gutter Beam Fixing
rubble and poorly kept. 
This also allows the structure to be light and more The third erf (11335) stretches between Fountain 
material efficient. Street and Selbourne Avenue. It consists of Figure 2.69 - Girder two stories of basic student accommodation. A 
The gutters and capping of the greenhouse structure rambling set of additions such as carports and 
are typical greenhouse gutter beams (figure 2.67; 68; Figure 2.70 - Typical Greenhouse Gutter Beam extra rooms characterizes the development. The 
70). These are gutters which also act as beams for the project consolidates the three erven into this new 
battens to be attached to. In this project they have been 
reinforced to span further that would be typical due to plot. The existing buildings will be demolished 
their structural requirements. entirely. The consolidated portion of land will 
contain the built structures on for the project. 
Composite Slab
The floorplates of each story need to be as light and 
thin as possible to be more efficient with material use. There are no building lines on the proposed site, 
This means that permanent steel formwork has been as shown in figure 3.1. The site’s boundaries are 
used to reduce the slabs depth and thus the volume of an agglomeration of past erven and servitudes. 
concrete required buy the project (Figure 2.71). On top For SG diagrams, see Annexure A. For the 
of this slab is a false floor which allows services to be consolidated site plan, see Drawing A101.
conveniently stored. It also gives the opportunity for the 
laboratories to easily change after the technology within 
becomes redundant. Once the main girders are erected 
on site the floor slabs can be quickly assembled and the 
concrete cast while the following floors are assembled. 
This process is quick as the formwork need not be 
disassembled once the slab is set. 
54 Figure 2.71 - Composite Slab Figure 2.72 - Grip Strut Decking (McNicols, 2019) Figure 3.1 - Site Plan 55
3.1.1 Encroachments 3.2 Servitudes
The municipality allows for infringements beyond the boundaries of the site. 25-27 Fountain Street has a Shedule Of Rights Shedule Of Rights Shedule Of Rights
Property Description Property Description Property Description
8.1 A cantilevered overhanging roof may be erected over the street boundary or building line, at a height of 3.76 m servitude passageway Erf/Portion - 11335 Site Area - 970.88m2 Erf/Portion - 2271 Site Area - 292.70m2 Erf/Portion - 2272 Site Area - 263.42
at least 2,75m above the finished ground level, measured from the finished ground level to the lowest point which requires that the erf can Township - City of Bloemfontein Title Deed No Township - City of Bloemfontein Title Deed No Township Title Deed No
Zoning Information Zoning Information Zoning Information
of the overhanging roof. one can cross without obstacle. Town Planning Scheme Ammendment Scheme No. Town Planning Scheme Ammendment Scheme No. Town Planning Scheme Ammendment Scheme No.
The adjacent 6 Fountain Use Zone Residential 002 Annexe No. Use Zone Buisiness 002 Annexe No. Use Zone Buisiness 002 Annexe No.
8.2 Foundations that are at least 0,75m under the ground level may exceed a street boundary or building line street had a similar servitude Development Control Measures Development Control Measures Development Control Measureswith a maximum of 0,5m. Permissable Control Actual Permissable Control Actual Permissable Control Actualrequirement when built which N/A Building Height 2 Stories N/A Building Height 2 Stories N/A Building Height 2 Stories
8.3 Sunshades and overhead lamps may exceed a street boundary or building line: provided that there is accommodated in the form 90% Coverage 51.05% 88.92% Coverage 88.22% 88.86% Coverage 88.12%N/A Floor Area Ratio 1.14 N/A Floor Area Ratio 2 N/A Floor Area Ratio 2
is a head clearance of at least 2, lm, measured from the finished ground level to the lowest point of such of a passageway through the 869.54 Floor Area 495.63 260.27 Floor Area 259.18 234.04 Floor Area 232.82
0mm Building Lines 0mm 0mm Building Lines 0mm 0mm Building Lines 0mm
sunshades or overhead lamps. center of the parking garage. 
8.4 Eaves projections may exceed the street boundary or building line (Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Both servitudes have gates on 
2016). currently and have been locked 
to keep people out.
3.1.2 Side Walk Paving
The municipal paving regulations need to be understood because the sites require a servitude across them (Figure 3.2.1 Development Rights
6). The municipality allows property owners to place and replace pacing on the sidewalks adjacent their buildings as This investigation spans three 
long as the paving fulfills specific requirements (Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, 2016). plots which are currently 
“5.2 Paving or slabs must be laid to the grade, line and cross-fall pointed out by the Council and must con- separate, erf 2271 and 2272 are 
form to the following further requirements: legally bound. The site is zoned as an urban development zone 
(a) For ordinary paving or slabs, the minimum cross-fell must be 1:100 and the maximum cross-fall as well as diverse development 
1:25. (Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, 2014). This zoning 
(b) Non-skid paving or slabs of a type to be approved by the Council must be used for cross-falls be- Figure 3.2 - Sunshade regulations classification aligns with the 
tween 1:25 and 1:15: provided that the maximum cross-fall must not exceed 1:15. intended project (Figure 3.4). 
(c) Longitudinal grades must not be steeper than 1:25 for ordinary paving. Slabs and non-skid paving 
or slabs may be used for longitudinal grades between 1:25 and 1:15: provided that the maximum 
longitudinal grade must not exceed 1:15.
5.3 When carriage openings are formed in curbs and cross footways or pavements, such openings must be 
paved or slabbed
6.1 The owner or occupier of an erf adjoining a street may, at his or her own cost, grade and plant with grass 
any land lying between the erf and that part of the street intended, laid out or made up for the use of vehicu-
lar traffic. 
6.2 The owner or occupier of an erf aforesaid may plant flowers or small shrubs in a strip of land not exceed- Figure 3.3 - Paving slopes regulations
ing 1 meter in width immediately adjoining the said erf” (Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, 2016).
56 Figure 3.4 - Bloemfontein Zoning Map 57
3.3 Topography 3.5 Structural Investigations
There is a 1250mm fall across the 3.4 Climate 3.5.1Exoskeleton Structures
site at a slope of 1:51 (Figure 3.7). The research done by the UFS 
The site is bordered by Fountain Department of Phytomedicine and The exoskeleton carries the primary lateral load of the building on the exterior of the floor plate. It is 
Phytopharmacology focuses on often characterized by the framing structure where all loads are transferred to. In the case of some Street and Selbourne Avenue and 
the spruit. The sidewalk along Free sate specific plant species. This buildings such as the Barcelona Media-tic Building by Cloud 9 (Figure 3.12-14). Each floor plate hangs Figure 3.8 - Rainfall Bloemfontein (Windfinder, 2019)
Fountain Street is 2.5m wide while Figure 3.5 - Wind Information Bloemfontein (Windfinder, 2019) means that rain and sunlight are off the primary structure thus the ground floor can be completely free of structural elements (Figure 
the one on Selbourne Avenue is not determining factors in the plant 3.14). Other solutions take the load of each floor plate out into the exoskeleton level by level. 
3.5m, both are made of concrete species climate requirements. What 
is of concern is the precipitation and Advantages:brick pavers.
adjacent water storage calculations. In •The interiors become column free
There are very few soft surfaces order to achieve the sustainability goals •It makes the building instantly identifiable
across the site; the only green identified, the design needs to store •Fireproofing becomes easierFigure 3.9 - Sun hours Bloemfontein (Windfinder, 2019)
spaces are those beneath trees. the 180m3 of rainwater which falls in •Weight of structure (More sustainable)
This continues out onto the spruit. February. The architecture should also •Can become a dual façade system easily
The trees are concentrated along provide adequate shading as the sun 
the pedestrian routes along the hours of Bloemfontein are high year Disadvantages
length of the spruit, as shown in round (Figure 3.9). •Scale is required to develop enough shear and bending resistance
figure 2.6. •The façade is dominated by the structural system thus not aligning with Koolhaas’s ideals of the city 
Figure 3.5 shows the temperature in Figure 3.10 - Rainy days Bloemfontein (Windfinder, 2019) described earlier.
There were no useful soil samples Bloemfontein as fluctuating between •Often requires precise custom-made segments to be assembled on site (Not Local and thus less 
available on this ‘brownfields’ site. 36.1 and -1.9. Figure 3.8 shows the dry sustainable)
There is a high water table due to nature of Bloemfontein. The weak and 
the site’s proximity to the spruit. predictable nature of the winds on the This system allows for each floorplate to be unique yet free of bulky columns and beams. Making each 
The South West corner of the site site is indicated in figure 3.5. This wind floor a virgin site ready to adapt to the possibilities explored on it. It also allows for a free façade where 
lies on the historical path of the can be used to cool the greenhouses in the building’s face can be changed every time the function of a floor is changed. 
spruit as shown in the maps of summer when it is stronger. 
(Figures 1.22-26). Figure 3.6 - E-W Section Figure 3.11 - Relative Humidity Bloemfontein (Windfinder, 2019)
Figure 3.7 - N-S Section
58 Figure 3.12 - Media-TIC main truss (Lee, 2010) Figure 3.13 - Exoskeleton load path Figure 3.14 - Media-TIC free ground floor (Baan, 2011) 59
Application: Departmental Flooring System Application: Propagation Greenhouse Flooring System within Exoskele-
ton
Expanded steel mesh growing trays
Growing Tray Structure
50mm Roller
Roller housing welded to post
Figure 3.15 - Permanet Steel Formwirk (GRS, 2019) Figure 3.18 - Grip Strut (Eaton, 2019)
Bond-Lok Permanent Steel Formwork Figure 3.16 - Exoskeleton load path applied Grip Strut Safety Grating Hollow Steel Section
The formwork is used within the research These are used in the same manner as scaffolding 
component and provides the base for the raised planks. The propagation greenhouse uses two plank 
access flooring system. This is a single span floor slab surfaces, namely the Grip Strut surface and the Dimple 
system which can be quickly assembled within the Only pattern. The Grip Strut surface is used along the Figure 3.19 - Roller bed structure
exoskeleton to provide stiffness during construction. 
These lengths of formwork are fixed to the top of walkway area in order to facilitate a visual connection 
the girders onto which the concrete is then cast. The and allow light into the gardens below. The Dimple Only 
girders then pierce the skin of the building and are pattern us used under the growing trays in order to 2 Rows of plants grown in buckets
fixed to the steel rods which hang from the truss prevent debris and water from falling below.
above. Figure 3.17  investigates how best to make Expanded steel mesh growing trays
the various connections between the façade, girder Advantages:
Rack and Pinion
and raised access flooring system. •	 Approximately half the weight of a traditional 
Bar Grated solution for equivalent live load Square Steel Columns
Advantages: strength
•	 Floor slabs can be thinner than traditional •	 Planks are interchangeable and so the same 
system can be used for punctured and solid 
pure concrete slabs Steel wire cross bracing
•	 The slabs can be quickly assembled on-site flooring•	 Quick installation times Dimpled Steel Planks•	 Eliminated the need for the construction and 
destruction of temporary formwork •	 Can be welded along their length to achieve a Lipped Channel
•	 No additional reinforcing other than a light more uniform deflection
mesh for shrinkage control is required Figure 3.17 - Development of flooring connection Available Lengths:
 600mm – 3 000mm for a 60mm profile depth 30mm Steel Rod
Figure 3.20 - Bed / Plank Spacing
60 61
Application: Hanging Gardens
1. Bracing Connections 1.
Treetop path, Bavarian Forest National Park
Location: Neuschonau, Germany
Focus: Walkway System – Program 500 X 200 Glulam Section
The wooden walkway is integrated into the treetops of the 4mm Brass Tie Screwed to Glulam Section
forest. Along the path there are various ‘points of information’ 
which explain the mountain forest in front of the viewer as 100 X 100 Glulam Bracing
well as ‘adventure’ points (Figure 3.21). Here the viewer has 2.
the option to take a more adventurous route as to heighten 
the experience of being high in the forest. In practice these Bracing - Bracing Primary - Primary Bracing - Primary
are sections where the slats have been replaces with a tight Connection Connection Connection
rope, individual slats, tree stumps or a net. The concept of this Figure 3.25 - Pod connections
walkway is to perceive the forest from a different viewpoint and 2. Steel Connection
engage with it where normally impossible. 
10mm Steel Plate with eye 10mm Steel Plate with eye
The structure consists of laminated timber sections, timber 20mm Expansion Joint 40mm Steel Rod 
sections and steel profiles (Figure 3.21-24). The steel is used as 
a secondary structure and bracing. The timber relates to the 20mm Stainless Steel Bolts Countersunk 5mm Steel Tube with 
forest and so it’s used as the primary elements of the structure. 40mm internal diameter
Figure 3.23 - Internal Walkway 500 X 200 Glulam Section 
Figure 3.26 - Pod steel connections
3. Walkway and Planter
3.
Lined Timber Planter 
Timber Bench
Brass Handrail Connection 
50mm Timber Handrail Figure 3.28 - Pod structure cut away model
50 X 50 Timber Posts spaced at 1m
Timber Decking
62 Figure 3.21 - ‘Adventure Point’ Figure 3.22 - Section, Bavarian Forest National Park Figure 3.24 - Walkway Structure Figure 3.27 - Pod walkway 63
3.5.2 Masonry Shells 3.5.3 Portal Frames
These are self-supporting arch based Two-dimensional rigid frames which get 
forms which act in compression to create their three-dimensional strength through 
very stable forms. Their load path must be repetition (Figure 3.33-34). The column 
within the depth of the arch structure in and beam are at times combined into a 
order to the structure to remain standing single structural element through a rigid 
(Figure 3.31). They can be made of thin connection. This is the standard way in which 
tiles and are incredibly strong (Figure 3.29- to build a greenhouse structure (Figure 3.38). 
32). Essentially, they are based upon the They are easily scalable lengthwise and 
same principles which gothic architecture provide a large clear span under which plants 
and vaults are based upon. A simple thrust Figure 3.33-34 - Thorncrown chapel timber portal frame structure (Galloway, 2018) Figure 3.35 - Portal frame load pathcan be grown.
line can determine whether an arch will 
stand by analyzing wither that line falls Advantages:
within the depth of the arch’s structure. •Their construction is easy and time effective 
Each masonry unit needs to be acting in (Locally sustainable a requirement of the 
compression for the structure to be stable. Figure 3.29 - Mapungubwe Exterior (Fagan H, 2010) Figure 3.30 - Mapungubwe  arch interior (Fagan H, 2010) sustainability report)
Examples of these structures include Peter •The elements can be prefabricated and 
Rich’s Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre assembled on sites will little space and 
and the Armadillo Vault by Block Research environmental impact
Group (figure 3.32). The armadillo vault •Provides a large uninterrupted floor space
shows the strength of these structures as •Cost-effective
it has no mortar between the single cut •They are lightweight and so require less 
limestone pieces. Figure 3.36 - Pinned portal frame load path Figure 3.37 - Column and beam portal framematerial
•Provides a structural rhythm along its length
Advantages Figure 3.31 - Masonry arch design principles
•Local construction possible with training Figure 3.38 - Portal frame axonometricDisadvantages
•They can be cost-effective •Poor fire resistance properties
•Are lightweight when compared to •Requires multiple frames in order to 
similar masonry or concrete structures become more rigid
•Strength This system while it is efficient cannot adapt to the •Their span is limited•Thermal Insulation 3.5.4 Conclusions filled with imagination and possibilities. This truss •Does not support large multistory buildings 
•Can be public space for walking on writhing change within the city. They are structures structure forms the walls of the greenhouses which are of permanence, either being completely rebuilt or All three structural systems cannot be used together the heaviest aspects of the project and so the load can 
remaining the same for centuries. They also require While this is the standard way to build in the project as their morphologies and strengths be transferred directly into the trusses. Below which 
Disadvantages large columns and the floor slab depths are thick greenhouses, these greenhouses are built don’t align with the conceptual goals of the project. laboratories and gardens will be attached. Exoskeletons •Does not support multistory buildings when used in multi-story buildings and so will not be on ground level. Further this system requires The focus for the project is on exoskeleton structures also allow for the building to be easily adapted for •Point loads are difficult to deal with large columns as the height of the buildings as these structures allow for the floor plates to hang used. future uses by replacing the floorplates with new ones. •Does not support the free façade ideals increase. This would be a wasteful use of freely without interrupting other floors. This relates This once again relates to the culture of congestion 
•Takes over the morphology of the steel and so not sustainable and so will not to one of the theoretical ideas posed in section one, further explored in the theoretical aspect of the 
building be used. where each floor has the possibility to be a virgin site, 
Figure 3.32 - Venice Biennale Armadillo Vault (Van Mele, 2016) document (Part 1).
64 65
Shanghai International Cruise Terminal: Shanghai Structure
Chandelier
SPARK Architects The exoskeleton which frames 
Shanghai, China the pods was the only feasible 
Focus: Structural Systems – Climate Control solution as two subway lines 
run directly underneath this 
The design uses multiple structural systems. The portion of the site and so 
focus will be on the exoskeleton and pod structure of they cannot take the load of a 
the jewels of Shanghai. A series of restaurants that traditional column and beam 
hang within an exoskeleton and form the focus of the multi-story building. The jambs 
design. of the exoskeleton house the 
circulation and services required 
Climate Control by the restaurants and bars 
which hang in-between. It also 
Singapore is within a tropical rainforest climate and so provides a means to reach the 
it does not have distinct seasons, temperatures range rooftop restaurant and bar. 
between 22°C and 33°C (Windfinder, 2019b). Cooling 
is, therefore, the primary goal of these systems. Exoskeleton structures require 
that the floors below hang from 
The development uses a river water cooling system to the truss which spans above the 
reduce the demand made on the HVAC systems within Figure 3.39 - Shanghai Chandelier resturant pods (Archello, 2019) floors, each floor can be totally 
the massive development (Figure 3.40). Cold water is unique as the load path can 
taken from the Huangpu River where the heat from run directly up into the truss 
the building is passed onto it through heat exchangers (Figure 3.41). This allows Spark Figure 3.41 - Load paths of exoskeleton
where it is passed under the basement and expelled. architects to be able to suspend 
whole worlds in this space 
The double skin façade allows for the UV heat to be without one affecting the other. 
trapped before it enters the building while still offering The cables supporting the pods 
the free flow of air (Figure 2.16; 34). Large sliding run in tension and so there is 
doors which open onto balconies and the smaller a risk of the structure swinging 
windows allow for the building to vent its hot air into in winds. This is counteracted 
this dual façade where it rises out of the façade. by tying the pods down into 
the lambs of the exoskeleton 
The social spaces on the laboratory floors will work and using triangular supports 
in this way, however the laboratories need a more between each floor to keep 
precise system in order to function correctly. The large the pods themselves rigid. The 
hanging gardens create a temperate microclimate smooth skins of these pods are 
which buffers the building against the harsh then supported by a secondary 
temperatures of Bloemfontein. Thus reducing the structure which is fastened to 
heating and cooling load of the academic component. Figure 3.40 - River water cooling system (Yatzer, 2019) the primary pod structure.  
Figure 3.42 - Steel structure Figure 3.43 - Pod Structure Figure 3.44 - Facade skin 
66 67
The Cocoon 3.6 Health and Safety
AA Design & Make
Hooke Park, UK 3.6.1 Refuse
Focus: Bandage Structure – Relief Spaces A compost heap in the rooftop Genral and Recyclable Refuse Chemicals Organic Waste
greenhouses reduces the volume of 1 Workstation based sorting and collection 1 Receptical collection1 Contaminated chemicals gathered after use
The Cocoon is designed to represent the experience of walking through the biological waste which needs to be 2 Refuse Chute 2 Removed to compost heap2 Stored in chemical room
surrounding forests, it provides the observer with a new perspective of the forest at removed from the site. Laboratory 3 Stored in skip
the end. It invites the user to participate and imagine what’s next in the structure refuse is collected in bins at each 
3 Collected by contractor
4 Removed by municipality weekly
4 Removed from site
thanks to its intimate scale and undulating floor. This precedent directly relates to the workstation module where it is sorted 1 2 4
calabashes proposed in the design. into recyclables, general waste and 
chemical waste. The recyclables 
and general refuse is then dropped 4
Structure down the refuse duct and collected 
The designers initially modeled the space between the three trees and designed on ground floor. Chemical waste is 
the cocoons rings to fit (Figure 3.45-49). These structural rings are CNC milled out stored in the chemical room where Break Room1 1
of plywood sheets and are where the cables which support the structure connect to it is removed by contractors. The 
refuse is removed from its skip from 3
the cocoon. The rings were then set up as they would be in between the trees and a Figure 3.45 - Structural Rings (Frearson, 2019) Figure 3.46 - Final Bandaging (Frearson, 2019) 3the Fountain Street sidewalk once a Lift 2
cedar tree was milled into thin strips for the skin. These strips were then steamed so week, like the systems used by the 2 1 1
that they could be bent and layer by screwed to the structural rings until the structure surrounding buildings (Figure 3.50). Chemical Store
was stiff enough to be hoisted into the trees. Steaming means that the structure Preperation Room
is naturally prevented from rot issues and so the natural wood adds to the forest Store
experience. 
1
1
This structure is designed to support 2-3 people at a time and so it can afford to be ColdS-11
held to together by the thin strips of cedar. Its scale is also such that 5 anchor points Store
can support the whole structure whereas the calabashes in the design are multiple 
stories in height and support a large amount of ground and people within them. Thus Freezer
the calabashes need to be more structurally proficient than the inefficient bandaging 7
onto rings demonstrated here. The handmade nature and informality of the cocoon is, Figure 3.47 - Initial Bandaging (Frearson, 2019) Figure 3.48 - Hanging (Frearson, 2019) Dark 
however, a desirable aspect of this project. Room Laboratory
Incubators
Eye Wash
2
3 2
Figure 3.50 - Refuse Removal Laboratory levels and Ground Floor 
68 Figure 3.49 - Construction Process 69
Center for Sustainable Landscapes 3.6.2 Ventilation
Design Alliance Architects
Pittsburgh, USA Application: Efficient mechanical ventilation systems
Focus: Laboratory Requirements - Ventalation The labs require a mechanical ventilation system to 
keep the air inside them safe and contaminant free. This 
Laboratory Units system needs to be able to do six air changes per hour 
The Laboratory units in this project are mainly used for taxonomy in an in each laboratory. This means that the system needs to 
3
educational sense and so they are large and open with little equipment. change 4500m  of air per hour or 2648 CFM. This dictates 
Each Lab unit has a small writing desk space attached or an area for that the ducts need to have a cross-sectional area of 
2
collaboration. These spaces are nearer the circulation for less disturbance 0,27m . The labs must be ventilated as efficiently as 
and contamination of the experiments (Figure 3.51). They do however possible yet still meet the regulations discussed. 
follow the health aspect of what the Phytopharmacology Labs need to Figure 3.52 - Atrium stack effect
achieve. This is done by making the lab floor slab 12m wide with windows The design uses an extraction vent and a filtered inlet 
on both sides (Figure 3.52-53). The windows also ensure that fresh air is vent as the labs should remain in positive pressure as 
circulated through and expelled using slanted ceiling panels which rid the not to let in contaminants. Thus the inlet vents have 
space of the warmer used air and reflect the natural light into the center a greater area as more air needs to be blown through 
of the floorplate. The shorter northern ceiling panel is due to less light them. The design places the inlets on the floor and at 
entering through this elevation and so the more powerful southern light the lowest point in the ceiling (Figure 3.54; 56). The lab 
needs to be distributed deeper into the space. A light shelf to the south tables may not have gusts of air flowing over them and 
helps draw in this more powerful light without allowing natural light to so air is brought into the lab above the movement space 
directly disturb the lab tables. The remaining light is provided by upward and is blown against the service rooms to further diffuse 
facing LED’s which evenly spread their light over the space below. any strong air currents. It remains efficient and safe by 
not mixing the hot contaminated air with the new cool 
Atrium air through the ceiling design and placement of piping. 
The circulation spaces and the atrium space uses a stack effect to ventilate Figure 3.55 investigates ways to efficiently keep the 
the building naturally (Figure 3.52). The building can be completely naturally building cool using the raised access floring and natural 
ventilated since the laboratory units aren’t used for chemical or biological ventilation for areas such as the break rooms.
experiments. This means that the air pressure isn’t strictly controlled, and 
the contaminated air does not need to be expelled safely.
70 Figure 3.51 - Laboratory Layouts Ground Figure 3.53 - Airflow and Light panels Figure 3.54 - Using the ceiling efficiently Figure 3.55 - Design development Figure 3.56 - Air currents on section 71
Natural ventilation system of the propigation greenhouse UFS Dept. of Biotechnology and Microbiology Labs No. m² %
Renier Bron Labs 75 7 525 67%
Bloemfontein Supporting rooms 404 51%
Focus: Laboratory Requirements Grow Room 15 1 15 2%Small Incubator 6 7 42 5%
The design articulates elements of its structure Large Incubator 35 1 35 4%
as to make the building more human and Microscope Room 13 2 26 3%
understandable to those who work there. This is Lab Cubicles 10 5 50 6%Culture Collection 23 1 23 3%
a reaction against the typical sterile laboratory Crystalography 25 1 25 3%
building facades and internal spaces while Cold Room 9 2 18 2%
remaining functional and sterile inside. Freeser Room 20 1 20 3%
3.6.3 Laboratory Operation Radioactive Room 20 1 20 3%Dark Room 10 2 20 3%
Laboratories are located along the perimeter of the Storage 100 1 100 13%
building with circulation, offices, and supporting Deliveries 10 1 10 1%
services tying the labs to the courtyards (Figure Admin 383 49%
2.33). These courtyards become a relief space General Offices 15 10 150 19%
within the rigorously controlled environment Reception 15 1 15 2%
within the labs. This, however, becomes a problem Waiting Room 25 1 25 3%
as the office spaces are where a lot of writing Seminar Room 60 1 60 8%
happens and so the staff can easily get irritated and Staff Room/Kitchen 95 1 95 12%
distracted by others outside. With this interference, Ablutions 38 1 38 5%
however, comes communication and connection as Total Area 787 100%
other staff members join those already outside. If OtherCirculation 390 1 390
this effect could be incorporated into the circulation Figure 3.58 - Laboratory Station (Renier Brönn, 2019) Courtyards 150 2 300
rather than the office spaces it could be a very 
effective tool for collaboration.
The laboratories are for students at the university 
and so apply to the postgraduate laboratory 
proposed by the design. Their desk areas and the 
equipment required is crucial to the planning of 
these spaces (Figure 3.58-60). 
Figure 3.57 - Greenhouse airflow and sun angles Figure 3.59 - Specimen Cabinet Figure 3.60 - Workspace Layout72 73
Application: Laboratory layout 3.6.44 Lighting
1 2 Natural lighting is used as much as 
Experement Process possible in the design. The large eastern 
A
1 Specimines brought down in cart façade of the departmental block 
B consists of floor to ceiling windows and 
2 Specimines cleaned and disected composite panels. This facade is shaded 
3 Book lab module + Rules by the greenhouse and pod structures 
C
4 Lab Station - Conduct Experements throughout the morning. Thus, the light 
Break Room which enters the labs is largely indirect 
5 Store Cart
lighting. This light is evenly distributed 
6 Specimines placed in test enviroment 6
1 through the space using a high slanted 
7 Record Results LiftD 5 ceiling (Figure 3.63). This idea is taken 
8 Discuss results with peer/supivisor from the Center for sustainable landscapes Solid Flooring Grip-Strut Planks Solid Flooring
eilings to Disperse Light
4 2 investigated on page 70.The laboratories Slanted C
9 Write up results Chemical Store
Preperation Room require less natural lighting than the 
library spaces and so the panels in the 
3
Chemicals E window system are designed to let in less Store
1 Chemicals booked out + Safety Checklist light.
1
2 Chemicals Used
4
3 Eye wash station ColdS-11 S-11
5
F
4 Store contaminated substances Store 8
5 Contractor removes chemicals 2
Freezer
7 9
G Dark 
Room
Laboratory
Incubators
H
3
Eye Wash
J Basement Light Well
K
Figure 3.62 - Sectional lighting concept Figure 3.63 - Lighting material diagram
74Figure 3.61 - Laboratory Operation 75
Privacy Screen
High Opacity Panes Low Opacity Panes High Opacity Panes Clear Panes
Application: Basement lightwell
1 2
3.6.5 Fire
Fire Safety
SANS 10400 Part T states that the design requires two paths for escape A
and thus the building requires two sets of stairs to evacuate the building. 1 Fire Escape
The path to which cannot be longer than 45m at any given point. B2 Fire Hose Reel  + Escape Plan 5
d) Any building of a height of more than three stories shall 3 Fire Hydrant + 30m Hose Reel
be provided with not less than two escape routes and 1) an C
emergency route shall form part of each such escape route, and 4 120min Fire Rated Walls
Privacy Screen 2) such emergency route shall include a stairway that forms part 5 Vented Stairwell
of the escape route and also that part of the escape route from 1
Steel Structure for screen 4the lower end of the stairway to any escape door. (SABS, 2011) 2
Concrete fins to support screen
It further states that the design needs a hose reel per Floor where the D
hose will reach all areas of the floor. 
Planetd Gardens Figure 3.65  - Basement light well concept
4.34 Hose Reels
Permanent Steel Formwork E
R.C. retaining wall cast in situ 4.34.1 Hose reels for the purposes of fire fighting shall be 
installed in any building of two or more stories in height or in 
any single-story building of more than 250 m2  in floor area, at 
a rate of one hose reel for every 500 m2 or part thereof of floor 
area in any storey, provided that such hose reels shall not be S-11
required in any building classified as H4 or in any dwelling unit in F
Precast Sill an occupancy classified as H3 where each unit is provided with 
Steel Grating independent access to ground level.
Concrete Rain Water Channel 4.34.2 Any hose reel installed in such building shall comply with 
the requirements in SANS 543, shall be installed in accordance 
with SANS 10105-1 and SANS 10400-W and shall be maintained G
Figure 3.66 - Privacy screen connection in accordance with the requirements in SANS 1475-2.
Damp Proof Membrain
4.34.3 Any hose reel so installed shall be positioned to ensure 
Single Skin Brick wall that the end of the hose will reach any point in the area to be 
Gravel protected.
100mm Geo Pipe H
4.34.4 Any hose reel installed in any building shall bear, in a 
120mm No Fines Slab prominent position on the reel disc facing the user, a certification 
Sand mark from an accredited certification body. J
4.34.5 Where no water supply is available, two 9 kg or equivalent 1
Figure 3.64 - Basement light well diagram fire extinguishers that comply with the requirements of 4.37 shall be provided in place of each required hose reel.  K 3
Figure 3.67 - Basement light well fins 
76 Figure 3.68 - Fire safety diagram 77
Further, the site requires two fire hydrants as the design is over 12m in height 3.6.7 Service Shafts
and has 8 floors which means that that it requires 8 hydrants.
The Labs require a services shaft and so the fire rules regarding shafts are were kept in 
mind when designing the shafts.
4.35.1 Hydrants in positions subject to direction by the local authority 4.40 Protection in service shafts
shall be provided in
4.40.1 The walls of an internal service shaft shall have a fire resistance of not 
a) any building that exceeds 12 m in height, and less than the requirements for structural stability given in table 6, subject to a 
b) any building (excluding buildings classified as H4) of any maximum requirement of 120 min.
height with a total floor area that exceeds 1 000 m2. 4.40.2 Where a vertical service shaft provided in a building is not separated from 
4.35.2 Any hydrant required in terms of 4.35.1 shall be provided at a the floors it serves by a separating element, and such shaft does not contain any 
rate of not fewer than one per 1 000 m2 or part thereof of total floor combustible material, it shall be fire-stopped at the level of every second story 
area and not fewer than one per story located in the firemen`s lift above the bottom of such shaft. Such fire stop shall have a fire resistance of not 
lobby in such building or occupancy, or emergency stairway where no less than the requirements for structural stability given in table 6, subject to a 
firemen`s lift is provided, as the case might be, and shall be distributed maximum requirement of 120 min.
in such a manner that the fire hose referred to in. 4.40.3 Where such a shaft is so provided and it contains any combustible 
4.35.3 can reach to every part of the relevant area. material, it shall be fire stopped at the level of every story above the bottom of such shaft.
4.35.3 Any hydrant shall, where required by the local authority, be 
provided with an appropriate fire hose of 24 m or 30 m in length, 4.40.4 Where a vertical service shaft is used for ventilation or contains non-
together with couplings and a 16 mm internal diameter nozzle, all combustible plumbing or drainage services or is a non-combustible rubbish 
of which shall comply with the requirements of SANS 1128-2. Such chute, no fire stop shall be required within such shaft, and the doors to such 
hose and nozzle shall, when positioned in the open air or in any shafts shall be self-closing fire doors in accordance with the requirements of 4.10.
factory building, be suitably housed in a cupboard, provided that this 4.40.5 Where a service penetrates a separating element, such separating element 
requirement shall not apply to an occupancy classified as J4. (SABS, shall be firestopped with a suitable system of the same rating of the element it 
2011) passes through. Such system shall have a test report prepared in accordance with 
the requirements of SANS 10177-2 and shall be installed in accordance with the 
3.6.6 Vegitation provisions relating thereto. 
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality has a specific by law which deals with (SABS, 2011)
vegetation on site, this, however, should not be a problem due to the kinds of 
plants which are used for medicine within the Free State generally not being 
creepers or vine plants which would take over the structures. 
3.6.8 Sprinkler Systems
7. (2) No person may allow grass, weeds, reeds, shrubs, trees or any like 
vegetation to become The feasibility of incorporating a fire sprinkler system into the greenhouse spaces so that 
it could double as the watering system for the plants was investigated. However due to 
overgrown on premises to such an extent that it may pose a fire hazard the watering precise control required to be efficient wen watering the plants, the system 
or a probable fire would be too wasteful. Thus the design uses hydrants and hose reels.
hazard on such premises or to any adjacent premises or any other 
person’s property (Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, 2013)
Figure 3.69 - Development based on these laws
78 79
3.6.9 Library Operation 3.6.10 Accommodation List
Growing Space Single unit Area Units 1132 m² Public Single unit Area Units 636 m²
 Propagation 772 1 772 m²  Exhibition 259 1 259 m²
Entrance Admin Store  Climate Controlled 53 5 265 m²  Workshop/Training 111 1 111 m²
Lobby +  Public Gardens 150 1 150 m²  Auditorium 137 1 137 m²
Server Room
Photocopy  Hanging Gardens 500 1 500 m²  Storage 18 1 18 m²
 Headhouse 80 1 80 m²  
 Garden Store 15 1 15 m² Social Single unit Area Units 170 m²
 Balcony 10 5 50 m²
Academic Single unit Area Units 1130 m²  Break Room 60 2 120 m²
 Laboratory 248 2 496 m²
 Preparation Room 53 2 106 m² Services Single unit Area Units 142 m²
Workspaces Circulation Counter Specimine  Microscope Room 9 2 18 m²  Ablution 17 1 17 m²
Collection  Incubator Room 9 2 18 m² 8 1 8 m²
 Freezer Room 9 2 18 m² 16 1 16 m²
 Cold Room 9 2 18 m² 13 3 39 m²
 Dark Room 9 2 18 m²  Refuse 9 1 9 m²
 Store 15 2 30 m²  Pump Room 20 1 20 m²
 Chemical Store 6 2 12 m²
Masters
Circulation Single unit Area Units 450 m²
Cubicles
 Library 338 1 338 m²  Horizontal 167 1 167 m²
 Masters Workspace 58 1 58 m²  Vertical 21 7 147 m²
 Store 12 1 12 m² 26 6 156 m²
Catalogue Read/View  Hanging Gardens 255 1 255 m²
 Recording Room 38 1 38 m²
Total Area 4552 m²
Administration Single unit Area Units 404 m²
Periodicals  Foyer/Reception 110 1 110 m²
 Offices 135 1 135 m²
 Individual Offices 11 8 88 m²
 Academic Record Store 19 1 19 m²
Audio Subjects Reference  Multi-functional 52 1 52 m²
Visual Material
80 Figure 3.69 - Library operation diagram 81
4.0 Design Synthesis
 4.1 Design Development 2 3 4
1
Take Out Take Out Take Out
Take Out •	 Is it a shed or a duck? Currently •	 The endless freedom of a walkway •	 Using such a strong form and it’s a shed with some feathers cannot drive this design. It is frivo- merely placing it alongside the 
•	 The morphology of the building needs to glued on. The building should be lous and does not help dictate the world of imagination and intrigue 
be more interesting. Koolhaas talks about a namable and memorable, and layout of functions meaningfully. does not help engage either
monolithic street experience and inside is this is neither. It is not envisioning There needs to be a middle ground 
where the magic happens, this magic needs ethnobotany from new lenses. between this and the previous •	 Suspending a ball or element 
I must imagine the most crazy authoritarian box. which should be on the ground to be planned.
and beautiful way of creating the adds excitement, it is a new way 
•	 The ground plane needs to become a public space and work back from there of seeing the traditional botanical 
space living onto the spruit. adding functional elements. gardens. 
•	 There must be more involvement for the •	 Botanical gardens all have paths 
person experiencing the gardens, walkways from which you view the plants. 
through the gardens treetops would ignite This can be used as the basis of 
imagination. my imagination.
82 83
5 6 7 8 9
Take Outs Take Out
•	 Firstly the strong geomet- •	 Maximizing solar gain is Take Out Take Out Take Out
ric forms helped make an more important for the •	 This is an institution’s plinth. •	 It becomes difficult to place •	 There was something beautiful 
impression on the spruit. greenhouse and research This will not change the per- meaningful rooms under this type about being able to interact with 
This presence is essential component where condi- ception of ethnobotany itself the buildings by being able to 
because most herbalists tions consistent with the of public component.but rather lump it into the •	 I must remove the existing walk on their roof.
will walk from central park rest of the Bloemfontein is university system.
up the spruit to reach the important. structures to meaningfully increase •	 The ground plane needs to be 
institution. the density on the site, thus more about the gardens than 
•	 There must be a series of allowing for congestion. fitting functions into it.
•	 I then investigated the experiences within the 
possibility of placing all progression through the •	 The original servitude and draw 
the functions under a project. This starts on across the site are lost by placing 
ramp, which allows for the the ground plane for the the buildings like this.
most growing area on the public.
site.
•	 For things to grow I need-
ed to maximize the solar 
gain. 
•	 However, this orientation 
does not add to the life 
on the spruit and discon-
nects the gardens from it 
completely.
•	 Adding a slope allows for 
people to rest in front of 
the building on its steps 
and gives it a presence 
along the spruit. 
•	 The walkways of the gar-
den need to be integrated 
into the fabric of the built 
landscape. Just as the 
boomslang in Kirstenbosch 
integrates into the natural.
84 85
10 11 13 14 15
Take Out Take Out Take Out Take Out
Take Out
•	 This is a bit meaningless. It draws •	 Using such a strong •	 By refereeing to the natural land- •	 Offices should not be sepa-
you across but does not relate to form and using that scapes of the Free State I am not •	 Using the strong rated from the research com-
anything else. to draw people embedding the project as a thing void space is a ponent. I must rather look 
across the site is a of the man-made wilderness (The better drawing 
The servitude is used too directly as back to the program stacking •	 good idea. City). element across 
a street which is not that interest- I investigated in 12. Making the site. 
ing and it is not being reinvented. •	 I enjoy the interac- •	 Slanting the columns reduces the one site the gardens and the 
The path over the roof is closer to a tion between the rigor and monotony of the design. other the research compo-
reinvention. gird of offices and nent has many benefits.
the walkway of •	 The ramp is impractical if it 
gardens. attempts to get all the way 
to the roof. The roof should 
•	 The gardens shade 
the offices and labs just be Greenhouses. A visual connection with the labs 
well. (where the research is actual-
•	 Imagining the de- ly done is better). 
sign as the ‘Down-
town Athletics Club’ 
is a productive way 
to free my imagi-
nation yet remain 
functional.
•	 This diagonal 
element needs to 
relate to something 
meaningful.
86 87
16
Take Out
•	 The truss structure •	 Combining the experience •	 The Ground floor must 
can suspend every- of the ball which I lost in be very open and 
thing below! This step 4 and the experience clearly public space in 
structure allows for of the garden path is a order to add to Bloem-
the strong form and meaningful step in the cor- fontein’s green.
the intriguing experi- rect direction.
ence below.
88 89
17 18 19
Take Out Take Out Take Out
•	 I enjoy the meandering path which fol- •	 This gives the experience of walking •	 Suspending a ball or element which should be on 
lows the general direction of the strong through a rolling valley. This is not a Free the ground adds excitement, it is a new way of 
void space. State experience. seeing the traditional botanical gardens. 
•	 Storing water in the gardens is a good •	 The ground is still meaningless. It is an •	 The pods cannot be made of bowstring trusses 
visual way to change people’s view of experience without any context. and they need to be more loosely assembled. 
wasting water.
•	 The pods need to be able to be a complete struc-
tural system which is then hung in place.
The pods are conceptually based 
on calabashes and baskets which 
store valuable supplies for the 
herbalist much like this institution 
stores knowledge and plant 
species for future generations of 
herbalist. When the user walks 
through it he is exploring the 
plants which are in the herbalist’s 
repertoire.
90 91
20 21
Take Out Take Out
•	 Having buildings with the public •	 Too many geom-
gardens on the roof is impractical as etries on the win-
they must be sunk into the ground dows. Stick to the 
creating multiple issues. existing triangular 
geometry.
92 93
4.2 Design Conclusion
94 95
96 97
98 99
100 101
102 103
104 105
106 107
108 109
110 111
112 113
114 115
116 117
118 119
  
5.0 Reflection 
With this said I genuinely believe that this project 
would be a worthwhile addition to midtown. 
I think it achieves various goals that I set and 
discovered throughout the process. 
Exploring what the city could be
The project really adds to the daydreamy vibe 
of the spruit on a Saturday afternoon. It would 
provide a needed fully public green space where 
there isn’t one near. Further than that it performs 
I began the year intrigued by a bookn of short stories. Many showing how South Africa is along an critical but underappreciated corridor 
turning against what has served it so well over many years. Using plants to treat ourselves within the city’s built landscape. I believe that 
is something every one of our cultures did. With this came an intimate knowledge of the this small project restores the built landscape to a 
land. Through my five years here it feels to me that Bloemfontein has a culture of longing. level of contempt far beyond its site boundaries.  
Firstly to be ‘one with the land/our heritage’ while simultaneously wanting to be like the big 
South African cities. At the end being satisfied with neither. Investigating this in-between Change in perception
has inspired me with the magic and potential which lies within the mid-town. So often The building certainly challenges the current idea 
projects are timid, that is not what the building needed to be. To change a perception the of what a building within the mid-town looks 
thing needs to be perceived, and I have loved the freedom this has brought me. like and how it interacts with the rest of society. 
This project has had many iterations partially explored and then traded for a new idea and Further, its walkways provide an exciting way in 
inspiration after a Friday night spent looking out over the site. I think each one has been which to see the plants with Bloemfontein as the 
better than the last. However many of these iterations could have been a viable solution, context. I think that the building represents and 
and so maybe I should have stuck to an earlier idea and pushed through with it. With this houses these viewpoints as separate entities yet 
said at each step I tried to choose the most logical and simple solution to the problem. still a part of the same morphology.
When compiling the development of the design I realized that many of my ideas were Functioning Ethnobotany Research Space
present in much earlier iterations; however I failed to understand the importance of them 
in the moment and so moved ‘onward and upward’ missing what I was looking for. I have Finally, the building functionally suits the use 
probably still missed many. patterns and requirements of a university postgraduate research group. I believe the line 
between being a functional department while 
maximizing the public enjoyment of the site has 
been carefully walked. The design can fit far more 
in terms of the program onto the site than its 
peers. These functions have strict needs and each 
of them has been met through careful congestion 
of the vertical space on the site. 
120 121
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