02_Master's Thesis 2022

into the Future

DETERIORATION

...oh great johannesburg, what ever happened to thee? you were once great, but not so much to me you were once a fresh city of gold now you are a hazardous city of contaminants rotting and breaking down the environment one particle of dust at a time...

TRANSFORMATION

...oh johannesburg, you can be great once more this time not for your gold or your mineral ore, but rather for how you can transform the past into the future, through the lens of health and wellness. you can do it, you can change for the better your reputation can be much greater & you can fix what was done before...

REMEDIATION

...oh johannesburg, now that you are ready for change, the best place to start is in one small community, i know you are about money, but please be about health and don’t forget the communities that have suffered because of you,make one difference and it will spread wellness, not contamination...

architecture & health & REMEDIATION OF A COMMUNITY BUILT IN THE TAINTED MINING LANDSCAPE

The Problem

Air pollution is caused by natural and non-natural factors, such as mining, industrial factories, airplanes, vehicle exhaust fumes, fires, and agriculture. According to research air pollution causes 5.5 million premature deaths per year and causes 6.5 million deaths per year. Airpollution causes sicknesses such as asthma, lung cancer, respiratory infections, eye infections, and high blood pressure. Air pollution is made up of certain chemicals, particles, and biological matter.

A link is suggested from (Nkosi et al., 2015) between the respiratory issues amongst residents that live in communities next to mine tailings & waste facilities. These communities are exposed and have an increased prevalence of “chronic respiratory symptoms” compared to other communities (Van Wyk, 2013).

THIS STARTED IN 1852 AND HAS CREATED A CAPITALISTIC

MINE TAILINGS

THE LEFTOVER RUINATION OF THE LANDSCAPE CAUSED BY DIGGING UP & DUMPING OF SAND URBAN PLANNING

THE NATIVE JOHANNESBURG TOWNSHIP SCHEME DURING APARTHEID HAD ZONED BLACKS IN TOWNSHIPS NEXT TO THE MINE TAILINGS

AIR POLLUTION

THE LANDSCAPE BECAME TOXIC BECAUSE OF ALL THE CHEMICALS WITHIN THE SAND OF THE MINE DUMPS DISEASES

THE POLLUTION CAUSES DISEASES THAT AFFECT THE CHEST, LUNGS, AND ORGANS, THIS HAPPENS IN OLD & YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEY NEED TREATMENT

REMEDIATION

THE POLLUTION NEEDS TO BE STOPPED IN WAYS THAT IT CAN BE REDUCED, REUSED OR EXTRACTED

ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSE

THERE NEEDS TO BE INNOVATION OF MATERIALS, TECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE METHODS TO HEAL THE LANDSCAPE

GOLD RUSH JOHANNESBURG

My research will be divided into three main themes. The first theme will be about the amount of people who suffer from diseases which are linked to the mine dump. This will be using a qualitative method of research and will be done using online resources.

I will also be using personal experience as a method of research. I will be visiting the township alone to see how I personally get affected by the climatic environment. I will also forward an online questionnaire to the community’s social media groups to find out their opinions about the social and cultural context.

I will also be exploring sub-themes as follows:

• Architectural theory – power and psycho-geography

• Socio-Cultural – current condition of the township

• Urban-political – apartheid planning

• Health – diseases from mine dumps

• Historical-economical – gold rush & capitalism

• Technical – combating of dust pollution

• Identity – emotive and personal culture

These sub-themes will allow me to break down my site into smaller conditions. These conditions are important to understand the site as it divides the site into its most significant categories. Carrying out this research will allow me to experiment and cut down if it is not relevant.

Abstract

The Witwatersrand Mining Basin has been in existence since 1852, which is more than a century old! It is the world’s largest gold and uranium basin and has created extraction from over 120 mines stretching from the East to the West of Johannesburg. It is an integral part and the backbone of Johannesburg’s economy. However, regardless of how much mining has boosted the economy, it has not played a sustainable role with the health of the citizens of Johannesburg. This is largely because of radioactive chemicals within the pyrite basin, holding 600 000 tons of uranium, amongst other chemicals as well (Liefferink, 2022).

These radioactive chemicals are spread from the mining basin into the surrounding environment via windblown dust (Coetzee et al., 2008). Monitoring of these occurrences have shown that this dust is inhalable due to its structure and particle size, that being either PM 2,5 or PM 10. These happen at residential settings and have exceeded the levels of occupational health standards. A link is suggested from (Nkosi et al., 2015) between the respiratory issues amongst residents that live in communities next to mine tailings & waste facilities. These communities are exposed and have an increased prevalence of “chronic respiratory symptoms” compared to other communities (Van Wyk, 2013). There are currently 585600 people living in communities next to mine tailings according to the 2011 census. (Kneen et al., Ojelede, Annegarn, 2015).

The community I will be conducting my research will be in the Township of Riverlea, located in the South-West of Johannesburg. Riverlea is in close proximity to industrial areas and mine dumps. Research has shown that harmful pollutants can from these areas can have negative effects such on the respiratory system, as the particles are airbourne (Makene, 2007). Built in 1963 during Apartheid, ‘coloured’ residents were forcibly removed from other parts of the city and given new homes by the government. The township is conveniently located 500m away from the mine dumps, thus making it a high exposure zone to airborne dust pollution (Kneen et al., 2015).

The respiratory diseases in Riverlea are caused from environmental problems. To relate this Architecturally, I speculate that social problems cause the residents to be unhappy about their environment. This unhappiness and deals with the ‘Sense of Place’ for the resident’s and I believe, alters their social and cultural behaviour, hence many of these communities suffer from poverty, drugs, and crime (Najafi et al., Shariff, 2011). Using the design methods of Salutogenic design, which promotes healthy living and creates better places that can reduce stress, encourage physical activity, and afford opportunities for socializing, enhancing the general daily health and wellbeing of people (Cushing et al., Miller, 2020). I aim to design a health clinical facility that remediates the social and environmental problems which contests the current narrative of the context.

MINING & HEALTH HAZARDS

CLIMATIC SOCIOCULTURAL

SENSE OF PLACE IS CONTAMINATED REMEDIATION & HEALING

HOLISTIC

DUST POLLUTION

social

RESEARCH

respiratory

HEAL immunity

DISEASES

How can a contaminated landscape be remediated through the design of a clinical health facility that contests the effects of Apartheid Planning?

The major theme that will be addressed is the health conditions from a community that was built next to a mine tailing, most critically respiratory & cardiovascular diseases, and social and cultural conditions. To heal this landscape, I will explore the idea of ‘breathability’ in the context, and I ask what makes architecture promotes health and wellness.

Within this contaminated landscape there are subthemes such as oppression, marginalization, and segregation. This is due to the urban planning Group Areas Act No. 41 of 1950. The contamination refers to climatic conditions as well as mindsets of the urban planners into Apartheid. These decisions, which I deem as bad, made by people of power (at a large scale), has also infiltrated the mindset of the community (at a smaller scale). This means that their way of living has been contaminated, as the socio-cultural context of the community is at a disadvantage.

My building will act as a catalyst for health and sociocultural integration, this will allow for healing in a community that has been marginalized, contesting the current narrative of the Township and remediating it into something better.

Mariette Liefferink

Chris van Wyk

Topic Relevance in Architecture

Project: Lost & Found: Phantoms of Spaces & Times, 2015

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Typology: Restoration Area: N/A

Architects: CounterSpace Studio

“Counterspace is a Johannesburg-based collaborative studio that believes “every space has an equal and opposite counter-space. Vally, de Villiers and Kaskar tell us how they played with image and narrative as a means of deconstructing and reconstructing Johannesburg’s deserted mine dumps, which have become synonymous with the city’s landscape and history. The project is an analytical excavation of the mine dumps that includes stories about people who now occupy the spaces, as well as stone fragments, discarded objects or soil samples found on site.”

The Political Spatial Barriers that Divide

IN THE NORTH

1KM RADIUS

LANGAAGTE GOLD FOUNDED ERGO

FAR WEST

Contaminants in the Climatic Environment

Aluminium: this affects the central nervous system of the human body and is both neurological in children and adults. It can have effects of the

Cobalt: this affects the respiratory system and can cause asthma, pneumonia, shortness of breath, and wheezing of the chest.

Manganese: this affects the lungs by causing inflammation and reducing its function. It may also affect the nervous system and cause neurological

Arsenic: this affects the respiratory system and can even cause cancer. It can also lead to digestive issues within the gastro-intestinal area and can lead to symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

It can also cause problems with the cardiovascular

Copper: this affects the upper respiratory irritation (eyes, nose, and throat) from inhalation and nausea, diarrhoea and stomach cramps from ingestion. Very high concentration may cause major damage

Lead: this affects the kidneys and the blood levels, allowing for an increase in blood pressure, and may cause colic affects in children, and neurological effects in adults. With serious cause it could affect

Cadmium: this affects the kidneys from digestion food and the lungs from operating effectively with inhalation.

Nickel: this affects the lungs and the nose by causing inflammation and reducing its main function, which could lead to cancer of the lungs and the nasal cavities.

Case Study: Restoration of Scarred Landscape

Project: The Eden Project, 2000

Location: Cornwall, South-West England, UK

Typology: Tourism & Sustainability Area: N/A

Architects: Grimshaw Architects

“Grimshaw can claim their horticultural Eden Project in Devon, South West England as being among their most iconic works. Nestled in a disused quarry, simultaneously acting as an embedded landscape feature and an alien spacecraft holding precious specimens and plants, the scheme has been celebrated as a successful modern interpretation of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome concept.”

geo-dome bracing

forms on mine dump

new eco-system

Case Study: Regenerating the Neighbourhood

Project: Sweet water Foundation, 2000

Location: Chicago, USA

Typology: Social & Sustainability

Area: N/A

Architects: Emmanuel Pratt

Sweet Water Foundation practices Regenerative Neighborhood Development, a creative and regenerative social justice method that creates safe and inspiring spaces and curates healthy, intergenerational communities that transform the ecology of so-called ”blighted” neighborhoods.

Sweet Water Foundation utilizes a blend of urban agriculture, art, and education to transform vacant spaces and abandoned buildings into economically and ecologically productive and sustainable community assets that produce engaged youth, art, locally-grown food, and affordable housing.

Riverlea within Johannesburg

Located in Nasrec, in the South-West of Johannesburg. The site is a coloured township by the name of Riverlea which was built in 1963, as an urban buffer. The National Housing Commission approved a loan of close to R900 000 for a government housing scheme to accommodate 623 coloured people with 5 people per household. It then expanded to 788 houses in total in 1965 (Van Wyk, 2015).

The coloured people of Johannesburg had moved out of the white areas and some of them were forcibly removed and placed here. This allowed them to pay rent for their homes to ultimately become homeowners. The community is built next to a mine tailing. Within the community there is a railway line that divides it in two. On either side of the railway line there is more infrastructure than the other and historically the side with less infrastructure has been looked down upon. Placing my intervention at this division line will be a symbol of togetherness instead of division. Many households continue to live in unhealthy conditions such as low cost housing or informal settlements, despite an impressive housing delivery record in Johannesburg.

Riverlea is classified as an informal settlement that consists of low cost housing, this allows for unhealthy living conditions and requires more housing to be erected in Johannesburg.

The population is at roughly 16500 people, consisting majority of coloured people, then black. The community is adjacent to two large mine dumps over 50m in height, and is divided by a railway line (Van Wyk, 2015). According to the results of the HEAD study, Riverlea has a wide range of social, environmental and health problems. Riverlea residents were found to have high levels of chronic illness such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension due to the high levels of smoking, asbestos roofing. (HEAD Study, 2020)

MAINREEFRD

NASRECRD

Riverlea is a site neighborhood that has a slope. Along this slope it is divided into 3 parts. The first part being close to Main Reef Road is the highest part of the site, this part is where the higher class residents stay. This part is located 1500m away from the mine dump, making it a low exposure zone to TSF dust emissions. Their homes have enough space in the yards and each house is not sharing an ERF.

The second part of Riverlea is the middle and this houses the middle-class residents, and their homes have yards although many of them share ERFS with their neighbors through an adjoined housing unit. This part is located 1000m away from the mine dump, making it a low exposure zone to Tailing Storage Facilities dust emissions. The 3rd part of Riverlea sits within the lowest part of the site. This part of the site is called ‘Zombie Town’, because of how dark and dirty the place is. This part is located 1500m away from the mine dump, making it a low exposure zone to Tailing Storage Facilities dust emissions.

Riverlea Proper and 2 form the same zoning, however part 3 does not. This is because there is a railway line that divides them. One can see the poverty and quality of spaces fall short in part 3. According to folklore of the community, many people from Zombie Town were not allowed to use the facilities of part 1 and 2. This is because the people were considered to be lower class. This division of the train line and quality of spaces is what causes divides between the people, as one side has more infrastructure than the other spatial planning of the communities and the houses within them. This unhappiness and stress deals with the ‘Sense of Place’ for the resident’s and I believe, alters their social and cultural behavior, hence many of these vulnerable category communities suffer from poverty, drugs, and crime (Najafi et al., 2011).

Map showing Exposure of Dust Emissions

Section showing Exposure of Dust Emissions within my chosen site

Sense of Place

Salutogenic Design Theory

- creation of places to establish a balance between body and mind for overall health and wellness.

- access to nature, physical activity, balanced nutrition, clean air, safe spaces, and social interactions (Cushing et al., Miller, 2020).

- improves the wellbeing of the community

Pulmonology, Cardiovascular, and Mental

“A pulmonologist is a doctor that has specialized training and education on the respiratory system. Pulmonologists primarily focus on diagnosing and treating conditions and diseases affecting the lungs or respiratory system.

Pulmonologists can provide treatment for respiratory conditions such as sleep breathing disorders, infections, autoimmune, inflammation, lung transplants, and other respiratory conditions. Pulmonologists are also able to diagnose and treat lung diseases such as neuromuscular disease, obstructive, interstitial, and other lung diseases. There are also some pulmonary conditions that can involve other areas of specialized healthcare such as cardiovascular. The pulmonary vascular disease is a prime example of how certain diseases may require two healthcare specialists from two different healthcare fields. This disease is a condition that affects not only the respiratory system, but it also affects the cardiovascular system that may need a cardiologist to get involved with treating the patient.” (Shah, 2018)

How this relates to my programme is that the main reason for people seeking healthcare in Riverlea is because of coughing, and asthma. This has to do with breathing and has to do with the lungs. The anatomy of the lungs relate to the building as a metaphor. That being said that the passageways that allow for inhaling and exhaling allow for access of what goes in and out. That is important to control those factors.

How this relates to my programme is that pulmonology and cardiology go hand in hand with eachother. What this means is that often when the respiratory system is affected, so is the cardiovascular system. These are the only 2 diseases that work together. In theory, providing spaces such as fitness routes, stress relieving, and diet kitchens, this ultimately helps the individual become healthier through exercise.

“Cardiologists are qualified to treat heart attacks, heart failure, heart valve disease, arrhythmia, and high blood pressure. Cardiologists work in hospitals as well as private practices. To make a diagnosis, cardiologists may give physical exams, order tests — such an electrocardiogram (EKG), blood tests, exercise stress tests — as well as interpret tests. They may also prescribe medicine, recommend lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, reducing stress levels and managing weight. Cardiologists can perform procedures such as implanting a pacemaker or inserting a cardiac catheter.“

(Shah, 2018)

In terms of mental, counselling can be an option for the community as a way of healing as it will inform the way the residents see and think of themselves. the most important factor is that healing is not just about the physical but it is also about the mental and how a person recovers after being in pain for a long period of time.

After visiting the site and walking in the exposed zone of the dust emissions, I had a hard time breathing.

When I got back home I had phlegm in my throat and I was coughing and had a wheezy chest. I have a history of seasonal asthma so I cant fully prove that the climatic environment is the cause of the, but what I can say is that it definitely jump started the symptoms.

I used the method of aromatherapy to clear my respiratory tract. I boiled eucalyptus leaves and added Vick’s VapoRub and drops to the water steamed with it.

EucalyptusLeavestobeBoiledAddingVick’sVapoRubtotheMixture

Map showing the Distances of Hospitals from Riverlea

The Unfairness of Infrastructure between Two Divided Communities

DIVIDER EXISTING NON-FUNCTIONING RAILWAY

STREET

RESIDENTIALSTREETRAILWAY

RIVERLEA PROPER RIVERLEA EXTENSION (ZOMBIE TOWN) SITESTREET RETAIL

My Family History

I have 12 family members who live in Riverlea currently.

They are my aunties, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces. My grandparents moved from Klipspruit to

He moved to ‘Riverlea Proper’ and his brother moved to ‘Riverlea Extension’. This created a divide within the family and my mother and her siblings would not set foot in ‘Riverlea Extension’, otherwise

Today, my granddads house belongs to his eldest sons grandchildren, and they do not associate themselves with the family in Zombie Town. This is how the divide has affected my family personally.

GRANDAD’S

GRANDKID’SHOUSE

GRANDAD’SBROTHERHOUSE

Photoofmymotherandcousincirca1977Mapshowingfamilyhomes

Coloured people who are marginalized have a hard time becoming successful. The term ‘coloured’ was coined during Apartheid to classify people who were of mixed race, most notably originating from Cape Malay ancestry (Van Wyk, 2015).

Mostly because of their environment that they are living in. Many of these coloured communities suffer from poverty, drugs, crime, gangsterism, and bad habits (Najafi et al., 2011). This affects their daily way of living. The people living in communities next to mine dumps have a slight disadvantage. However, man makes his own choices and the whole idea of my thesis is about recovery, not only of the physical health aspects but also the mentality.

My programme acts as a place off recovery and remediation because it also aims to allow the person to self-heal after getting treatment for their disease. This is a mental aspect of healing. Healing is not only about the physical, but rather of the mental of how one thinks about themselves.

Design internal courtyard spaces

Design a public thoroughfare for pedestrians

Design an urban edge for safety

Design 2 buildings, one for social and one for medical

Axonometric

Step 1: Create a Thoroughfare (Pedestrian Movement & Desire Lines)

INITIAL DESIGN CONCEPT

Precedent: Threshold & Thoroughfare (Pedestrian Movement/ Public Space)

Project: Kempton Park Civic Centre

Location: Kempton Park, Johannesburg East Rand

Typology: Government Area: 17000m2

Architects: N/A

Kempton Park Civic Centre is a great example of how the pedestrians use a public space: - the staff using it for functions - the public using it to rest or walk through

The public space is on 2 levels and has 4 entrances which link the back of the block to the front. This allows for pedestrians to walk to the taxi rank and the main road. The public space also contains urban furniture for resting, and a garden to make the space feel healthier.

urban furniture

thoroughfare

public space pedestrian sidewalks

hall library clinic council

front entrance back entrance

side entrance 2 side entrance 1

‘Rhythmanalysis’ by Urban philosopher Henri Lefebvre

Overlayed

2021

What is Breathable Space?

‘Life Between Buildings’ by Urban Designer Jan Gehl

PositiveSpacediagram

NegativeSpaceDiagram

Section through thoroughfare

Courtyard Thoroughfare Courtyard

Axonometric showing thoroughfare

Step 2: Lift the Thoroughfare, Change Orientation, and Dig into the Ground

Precedent: Connection to Ground Level & Terracing

Project: Friendship Center, 2011

Location: Gaibandha, Bangladesh

Typology: Social Area: 3000m2

Architects: Kashef Chowdhury - URBANA

“The low lying land, which is located in rural Gaibandha where agriculture is predominant, is under threat of flooding if the embankment encircling the town and peripheries break. An extensive program with a very limited fund meant that raising the structures above flood level (a height of eight feet) was not an option: nearly the entire available fund would be lost below grade. Being in an earthquake zone and the low bearing capacity of the silty soil added further complications. The third and final design relies on a surrounding embankment for flood protection while building directly on existing soil, in load bearing masonry.”

long section ground line

arch framing view

Floor

plans exploring Thoroughfare and change of orientation grid spaces 10x10m thoroughfare on 1st floor

Step 3: Two buildings with linked programmes

INITIAL DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Project: Vredenburg Hospital, 2017

Location: Western Cape, South Africa

Typology: Healthcare

Area: N/A

Architects: Wolff Architects

“To have the interior of a hospital naturally lit sounds simple enough, but it is often only partially achieved. Conventionally, the demand for deep floor plans and ceiling based MEP services mean that the floor plates of a hospital are overshadowed by a layer of services which is impenetrable to light. Light is usually admitted from the facade into the wards which leaves the depth of the plan, where the staff are often located, artificially lit. Often, primary service runs are located in the ceilings above corridors and therefore they are devoid of natural light.”

sunlight sawtooth roof

daylight tunnel roof

natural lighting

Precedent: Courtyards

Project: Obesity Clinic, 2014

Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands

Typology: Healthcare Area: N/A

Architects: Maciej Abramczyk

“A specialized clinic hosting treatment facilities and prevention centre is a relatively unexplored building type. A question arises of an appropriate expression and atmosphere of the building that could mediate its public character and a sense of intimacy and security. The building spans a representative street Westersingel and Museumpark – a green area at the back of Museum Boymans van Beuningen and Kunsthal. An accessible location in the centre of Rotterdam makes the clinic part of the regular community life, not a secluded place of illness.”

external courtyard with double vol. spaces section

floor plan

Walkways & Urban Edges

Project: Surroundings and Access in, 2018

Location: Lycee Francais, Barcelona, Spain

Typology: Urban Area: N/A

Architects: Coma Arquitectura

pavillion

“In a plot with a moderate slope in the north east commune of Medellín, the geography is gently shaped creating sequences of terraces where vegetable, animal and human populations are connected around material reuse, generation of soil permeability for infiltration and the use of run off water, and the implementation of vernacular building techniques. The project is a metaphor of what arises, emerges and grows in a natural way, it is built upon the naturalization of cultural action as a vital principle in the future of the city.”

pavement

edge

Environmental Impact Diagram of my Building

North Elevation (scale 1:250)

South Elevation (scale 1:250)

ROOF FFL. 110.598

SECOND STOREY FFL. 107.492

FIRST STOREY FFL. 104.535

GROUND STORY FFL. 100.230

BASEMENT 1 FFL. 96.895

BASEMENT 2 FFL. 93.895

106 x 73 x 222mm FBS bricks layed on 150mm RC slab resting on 500 x 280mm RC beams with flush grey mortar finish at 7° angle for fall

150mm RC floor slab poured with timber formwork

500 x 280mm RC beams with flush mortar finish

growing medium (potting soil)

gravel drainage layer cement screed to fall

geotextile liner bitumen waterproofing layer

25mm timber board fixed to 38x38mm timber battons

RC 700 x 280mm upstand concrete beam

200mm RC floor slab

75 x 50mm galvanized steel angle

50 x 50mm galvanized square steel profile

tinted double window 4.23PVB safety glass. UV resistant fixed to 50 x 50mm square galvanized steel channel

aluminium frame window 6.38PVB safety glass + 6.5 space + 6.38PVB safety glass. UV resistant

100mm x 100mm x 6mm galvanized steel C-channel section chemically bolted to RC beam

RC downstand beam with drainage 75mm downpipe