REVEALING THE [DISRUPTED] JOHANNESBURG DANIELLE BAGWIN
GLOBAL URBANISM[s] JOHANNESBURG AND KIGALI | SUMMER 2018 instructor JOHN HOAL + FERDINAND Le GRANGE + JONATHAN STITELMAN assistant ANDREA GODSHALK
SAM FOX SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND VISUAL ARTS WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
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reveal (v.) to make known; disclose
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Due to apartheid, the public life within the inner-city went missing and moved behind the wall. The public domain had been reduced to the left-over space within the city which created a connective tissue which was seen as unsafe and unsanitary to move through. Rather the government took extra precaution and in spaces which they felt were not being used in “the appropriate manner� placed a fence to divide the public from using its immediate surroundings. With the use of walls, fences, and barriers, the city was fragmented and created pockets of isolation which made the city further fearful of itself. Not allowing the people to use its environment for what it was designed to do but rather internalized itself and became a city of interiors.
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joburg revealed... disruptions, fragmentations, barriers, social barriers “First stepping out into the streets of Johannesburg, my group walked to the southern portion of our site to complete our site analysis. Walking down Anderson Street into the industrial landscape, the underutilized land, closed off buildings, six to eight feet fences, concrete walls and security and car guards were present along the walk. With the lack of transparency, there was a sense of isolation I felt from my environment. Feeling detached from my surroundings made the realization of the fear within the city real� -DB Johannesburg unveiled the layers of its disruptions, the fragmentations and the contested spaces which make up the DNA we know today. Not only through its physical environment which is apparent when walking throughout the inner-city but has also created divisions socially and culturally. Through its present design, elements within the city has contributed to its closed off, divided nature.
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abandoned buildings as barriers
layers as barriers
columns as barriers
burgalar guards as barriers 10
walls as barriers
streets as barriers 11
fences as barriers
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DISRUPTED ground transparency
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DISRUPTED FLOWS [walls, fences, gates]
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Disrupted elements of design Elements within the city which have contributed to the disruption of the public realm.
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BARRIERS
PUBLIC SPACE
UNderutilized BUILDINGS
opaque
internalized
seperate uses [zoning]
XENOPHOBIA no public interactions
EXCLUSION limited and exclusive
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disruptions
topography, landscape, gold, infrastructure, apartheid “Over time gold has lost its shine but the mine dumps have remained as a prominent feature of the Johannesburg landscape.� – Jake Brink Historically Apartheid played a major role in the erasure of whole communities and their displacement. While the institutionalized actions are still present today, disruptions to the landscape existed before the city was constructed. Gauteng and Johannesburg has always been physically divided between the north and the south. Looking at the landscape, the city was naturally divided by Witwatersrand. Witwatersrand divided the rand from the reef created two stark conditions in the landscape and how the different topographic conditions contributed to the development of the region and city as a whole, constructing a physical barrier. Diving into the landscape, the original farming community was located on the southern portion of Witwatersrand. With the discovery of gold on the Main Reef, the existing farming community and agriculture economy was destroyed. The once natural landscape was disrupted and transformed into public digging grounds which at first was minimally invasive but as the mines grew deeper the need for addition labour, machinery and infrastructure grew generating more disturbances. The landscape was no longer productive from its initial use and the need for development of this growing economy flourished. From the discovery of gold, Johannesburg was built from the ground up and its success no longer supported an agriculture community but relied on the wealth from the gold.
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THE DISRUPTED TOPOGRAPHY As a natural form, spanning 56 km wide, the Witwatersrand scrap is situated within Gauteng serving as a continental divide.
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Witwatersrand
1,000 m.
“Rand-Reef”
1,100 m. 1,200 m.
1,300 m.
1,400 m.
1,500 m. 1,600 m. 1,700 m.
1,600 m. 1,800 m. 1,600 m. 1,500 m.
1,888 m.
908 m.
1,600 m.
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THE DISRUPTED LANDSCAPE With the discovery of gold and mining grounds spreading across the region, Gauteng was divided between the north and the south.
Untreated Pockets of Inhabitable Waste
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Mining Ground 1956
Rand-Reef Extent
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THE DISRUPTED FARMING COMMUNITY Before the finding of gold, farmers used the land as productive measures to live. Once gold was discovered, the once agriculture landscape transformed into a gold mine and eventually a city erasing the existing community.
Randjeslaagte, Pre-1888
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RANDJESLAAGTE REPRESENTED A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE WISHES OF THE DIGGERS TO LIVE NEAR WORK AND THE NEED FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH A SAFE AND CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
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The disrupted RAIL With the need to transport coal from the city to the mines, the Rand Tram was constructed in 1890. The rail created a stark division between the north (suburbs) and the south (mines).
Construction of the Rail, 1890
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Light rail (The rand tram) 1886-1900(Spreads of Suburb and Townships) 1901-1910 (Spreads of Suburb and Townships)
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The disrupted Highway With the construction of the M1 (N-S) and the M2 (E-W) contributed to further disruption to the western portion of the city; physically dividing it from the Central Business District.
M1 Highway, 1967
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M1
M2 M2
M1
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The disrupted Normality Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation. The Groups Areas Act of 1950, was enacted which physically separated people based on their race. In some cases, the removal of entire populations were relocated.
Racial Segregation within the Rail System, 1947
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Rich White Residents
D WATE R S ERSRAN T A W WIT
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Middle Class; Mainly English speaking 1
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Poor White Afrikaners| African | Indian Colored people
Cosmopolitan Working Class Southern Suburbs Racial Sectors 1904 | Later ‘Black Enclaves’ 1 Vrededorp 2 Malay Location 3 Kafir Location 4 Coolie Location 5 Brickfields 29
a contested site the disrupted form to district
Although gold was no longer the main economic driver in Johannesburg, preceding the gold rush, the infrastructure which was laid in place disrupted the continued development of the inner-city. The M1 bisects the inner city east and west, causing friction to the urban form. The contested site additionally has two significant breaks which bookend the shift in the grid which is where the urban form is in conflict with itself. On the west side, the urban form grew from Mayfair to the east but when the urban form hit Newtown, it came in conflict with the network growing from the east to the west. This encounter of the two grids resulted in a fragmented site with the opportunity to reveal the isolated pockets becoming spaces of opportunity. Within the contested site, Fordsburg is a mid-rise residential suburb housing numerous shops, restaurants, schools and religious facilities. It is one of the only places in Johannesburg where the public spills onto the streets. The space is very transparent, where activity is seen and heard from the streets making it very active. But just a few blocks away to the east, Newtown is closed off and opaque. Mostly light industrial and with very few residential apartments, the streets are not active with people or activity, making it an underutilized space within the city. But what divides Fordsberg and Newtown is the moment when the two grids converge and are disrupted – Oriental Plaza. As a district, Oriental Plaza reveals the potential Fordsberg and Newtown have to redefine the west by turning the mall inside-out to create a transparent and active newly defined town within Johannesburg.
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Infrastructure division
Urban form break
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The disrupted GRID The most contested edge of the site is located at the convergence of the two grids; dividing Fordsburg from Newtown.
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the disrupted history|Fordsburg Fordsburg is a historic area in Johannesburg. Although it has gone through its up and downs from the 1800s, it has always been a space where culture meets decay but sustains itself through the investment of the people.
“Thus began Johannesburg’s long history of ‘urban renewal’, whereby black residents were progressively pushed further to the west onto arid waste sites beyond the townlands and oldsites were erased both from the map and from human consciousness.” - Clive M. Chipkin, architect, 1993
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Johannesburg, 1897
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Oriental plaza (1970’s) Built during the apartheid era, as an internalized shopping mall for Indian shop owners, Oriental Plaza is the result of the disruption of a fine grain suburb which once existed; now serving as a controlled, isolated public space.
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FORDSBURG IN 1888
FORDSBURG IN 2018
FORDSBURG IN 2050
FORDSBURG-NEWTOWN CONNECTION REVEALED
as wall ucture infrastr
wall
phy as
topogra
wall
economy as wall
public space as
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xenophobia as wa
security as wall
IDEATION CONCEPT PULLED FROM LORENZO’S WORKSHOP Disconnected Networks | Isolated Spaces 48
a small town vision vision for Fordsburg 2050
VISION for FORDSBURG 2050 Living in a city of walls and fear, in 2050 Fordsburg will redefine itself as a SMALL TOWN IN A JUST CITY. By disrupting the defined edge through stronger connectivity, reconstructing the urban form, integrating Oriental Plaza into the landscape, preserving the existing fabric and creating a sense of a mixed community, Fordsburg will grow to the east to produce a transparent western portion of the city.
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constructing the new town Disrupting the once fine grain fabric of Fordsburg, Oriental Plaza was built as a control mechanism amongst the Indian community during the Apartheid era. Prominently Indian owned shops which were once a part of the city were moved inside concrete walls with strict restrictions on what could be sold, ownership and not being allowed to merge, combine or enlarge the shops. From this model, a new form of socialization was adapted as a way to control space, usage and activity. With the design of the mall, courtyards became a new typological outdoor space designed within the structure of the mall. These internalized spaces were separated from the public and access was restricted to only those who used the mall. Oriental Plaza being a destination point rather then an everyday use, resulted in the mall becoming an underutilized concrete box constructing a new defined edge of Fordsburg and detaching it from the rest of Johannesburg. By disrupting this defined edge, Oriental Plaza can reveal itself and become integrated back into the urban landscape. Due to its success as an interior space rather then destroying it and going through another cycle of erasure then construction, by simple redesigning the exterior to optimized transparency into the community will transform the mall exponentially and create new relationships within the town. Additionally, by growing the shops into the fabric with the increasing populations, the mall will feel more integrated into its surroundings.
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The design proposal attempts to atomize Oriental Plaza back into the existing urban landscape to optimize the potential it has as a successful public space between Fordsburg and Newtown. With a handful of important anchors, the newly designed small town will flourish through new connections being made at a pedestrian level increasing access to all. Within Johannesburg, inequity is a dominant issue based on stark differences between the rich and the poor. As a town, Fordsburg would break that cycle and provide opportunities to benefit all rather then a selected group. Principles of the New Town Within a Just City: Equity: Provide social infrastructure to all ages, culture, race, ethnicity, gender Democracy: Historically the Red Square which was demolished with the development of Oriental Plaza, the town will integrate public space and civic places which will be open and available to all. Diversity: With the combination of new immigrants arriving into Johannesburg each day and the current diverse population of Fordsburg, spaces will be shared amongst different groups specifically on the ground level as it will become the intricate thread to weave the town together.
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GOALS for A small town in a just city To unveil Fordsburg as a just city, promoting safety, equity, diversity and connectivity will foster an overall better quality of life to benefit all.
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safety
connectivity
diversity
equity
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safety
connectivity
diversity
equity
SAFETY Formulate pedestrian friendly environments through an increase of residential homes, more transparent materiality in street design and lighting strategies to promote a safer and walkable public spaces to be used 24/7 by all.
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safety
connectivity
diversity
equity
EQUITY Foster a better quality of life by providing access to housing, education, health care, green spaces and civic places.
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safety
connectivity
diversity
equity
DIVERSITY Promote Diversity through the inclusion of all religions, cultures and ethnicities.
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safety
connectivity
diversity
equity
CONNECTIVITY Provide transportation options to connect people to job opportunities
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Revealing transparency design elements Along with goals to foster a better quality of life within this newly designed town, these design elements help support methods of transparency at various scales.
ENTRANCE BARRIERS transparent
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Public space and Civic places PUBLIC SPACE externalized
Active building underutilized buildings mult-use buildings
DIVERSE INTERACTIONS XENOPHOBIA increase interactions among differnet ethnic groups
accessability Exclusion accessable to everyone and is inclusive
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tree coverage [+] heat capacity [-] air quality [+] passive heating and cooling system [+]
ENVIRONMENT
Measurements of a just city
ACCESS AND MOBILITY
walkability [+] access to amendities [+] car usage [-] bike paths [+]
smaller street blocks [+]
walls and fences [-] transparency on the streets [+] materiality [+] 60
URBAN FORM
HEALTH + WELL BEING
ground floor and street relationship [+]
civic green space [+] food access [+]
xenophobia [-]
EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT
spaces for informal and formal diverse economies [+] local jobs [+] poverty [-] demographic diversity diversity in housing [+] increase amendity access for all users [+]
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linking joburg region and city scale
Street disconnections within the inner-city, generate pockets of isolation across the site revealing and emphasizing moments in the disrupted city. These spaces are either underutilized or are not walkable (either on the site or to the site). They ultimately become the leftover spaces or are classified as unsafe zones within the city. This framework provides a resolution for making the isolated pockets throughout the city into productive public spaces. Containing two parts, the framework provides anchors and institutions which will support these new defined public spaces. Additionally, along with new transportation options connecting east-west, a new pedestrian bridge will connect the existing park in Brammfontein to the rail station ultimately connecting back into Newtown. The city has invested in a new BRT line recently, Rea Veya, within the inner-city but investment in the line stopped at the highway cutting off the west. Isolating the west, reductions opportunities provided in the east (the CBD) because it is currently inaccessible. By extending the BRT from the CBD into Fordsburg (at oriental plaza) and rounding off at the Mayfair Rail Station, the framework provides a stronger connection across the entire city, providing people with more opportunities beyond Fordsburg. With already important schools, religious facilities, and markets existing on site, the framework will add important supportive institutions to provide all possible needs when in the town without destroying the existing fabric. Lastly, the framework reclaims unused space for public use across the city.
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Revealing the opportunity
vertical street network
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horizontal street network
vertical street network
vertical + horizontal street network
horizontal street network
isolated pockets
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isolated pockets
isolated pockets reveal productive public spaces
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BRAAM FONTEI N
MAYFAIR
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Social Infrastructure supporting public spaces + Extension of Transportation
residential commericial mixed use office infrastructure civic and instituional industrial
PROGRAM
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BRAAM FONTEI N
MAYFAIR
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inverted plaza a reconnected district
As an inverted district, Oriental Plaza will reconstruct the typology of the suburban mall which was created as a destination centered around the automobile. The design of a large scale concrete building, surrounded by a sea of parking spots, the mall disconnected itself from its surroundings. By removing some of the parking and relying on public transportation, bikes and/or walking, the mall can reconstruct itself back into its immediate environment. By revealing the mall, the shops have the ability to continue into the Main Streets and bleed into the existing fabric through a new urban grid to support the intimate town feeling. Defining a new Main Street in Fordsburg and Newtown, the Main Street has the power to create a new sense of place. By taking a main street approach in the design of the inverted district, the space has the ability to create gathering, civic and public spaces amongst and apart of the buildings. Additionally, with already integrated markets on the site, The Fordsburg Market and Hajera Centre, used as anchors these markets have the ability to be used as catalysis to organically grow the town. With the addition of market spaces near the new BRT stop, people have the ability to buy fresh product to or from work When walking through small towns, the ability to window shop or see into the shops or restaurants bring a new dimension to the transparency of the ground floor. This relationship between person and experience (the transparency of the space) defines new characteristics Fordsburg has but Oriental Plaza and Newtown need.
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Optimize connections across site With the lack of current connections across the existing site, by redesigning the urban form to optimize pedestrian connection from Fordsburg into Newtown will push transparency across the defined edge.
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EXISTING
PROPOSED TOWN WITHIN A CITY
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urban forms as barriers
BLOCKS 76
BUILDINGS
VERTICAL STREETS
HORIZONTAL STREETS
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Supporting infrastructure as barriers
PARKING 78
TRANSPORTATION
WALLS AND FENCES
INSTITUTIONS 79
spaces of ‘publicness’ as barriers | supporting the economy
INTERNALIZED PUBLIC DOMAIN
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DESTINATIONS
ECONOMY
HISTORY 81
design principles
URBAN FORM Reconstruct the urban form by creating smaller, intimate blocks to increase walkability. By turning Oriental Plaza inside out, the connection from Fordsburg to Newtown strengthens and the streets become more productive.
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GREEN AND CIVIC SPACE With the lack of public spaces currently in the dense fabric of Fordsburg, the addition of public spaces will provide places where people can interact with one another and be apart of the urban environment.
HOUSING DENSITY
INSTITUTIONS AND ANCHORS
By not removing existing buildings, the addition of housing will be added to the existing fabric where it can provide more density and increase the population in Fordsburg and expand into Newtown.
Bind pedestrian only networks together through new and existing institution and anchors. Focused on two armatures which are connected by Oriental Plaza, the northern armature is focused on education, community center and a library connected to through new public parks. On the southern edge, market spaces connect the neighborhood as a way to connect people through different cultures. 85
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the inverted plaza framework
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the inverted plaza
INSTITUTIONS AND CIVIC ARMATURE
MARKET ARMATURE
COURTYARD CONNECTION
PEDESTRIAN ARMATURE
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BRAAM FONTE IN
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the transparent promenade The transparent promenade explorers the relationship between the people, buildings and the streets. Originally, the transparent promenade was an inactive street used for mostly service with some shops in between leading into one of the gated entrances of Oriental Plaza. By creating an active edge, the promenade reveals itself as a space where people want to be apart of their environments through food, retail, residential spaces and new market space bleeding into a transformed and extended Oriental Plaza. Developing new techniques to transform the hard edge of buildings becomes a strategy for altering and integrating the streetscape by pushing and pulling walls and ceiling to accommodate new transparent spaces. Additionally, by increasing housing to accommodate more residences, the street will sustain life 24/7 and develops a lighting strategy to do so. With a Mosque part of the promenade, it is critical to understand the flows and usage of that space and its relationship to the promenade throughout a single day since there are peak moments when there is an influx of people either coming or going.
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the transparent promenade
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BRAAM FONTE IN
MAYFAIR
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GLOBAL URBANISM[s] JOHANNESBURG AND KIGALI | SUMMER 2018 instructor JOHN HOAL + JONATHON STITELMAN assistant ANDREA GODSHALK
SAM FOX SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND VISUAL ARTS WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS