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Nkoane Makutu (M2

Nkoane Makutu (M2

Designing Ecological Responsive City Channels in Kampala

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Shaldon

48

Provocation: Water and City co-extistence

Channel-City Convergence

The aim of this MDP is to discover a new aesthetic that foresees a lifestyle in which the wetland landscape and the city of Kampala become interconnected along the Nakivubu channel. The proposal begins with a series of questions: what if this connection can encourage new trades and new economies along a reviving wetland corridor? How can the introduction of small community interventions and public spaces within the wetland become a facilitator for broader economic activity in Kampala, and how might this MDP set a precedent for a reinvention, which looks at a wetland as an abundant natural resource that over time can lead to the re-examining of wetland ecosystems. This project reimagines the existing Nakivubu channel in terms of new wetland infrastructure that is sensitive to the context and over time, will create a hard-working public amenity for water filtration, energy creation, business and recreation (Charlesworth: 2011).

The MDP has three main ‘acupuncture’ points: Kampala City, the Namuwongo informal settlement and Lake Victoria. The proposed points or platforms – are intended to inspire a public conservation framework, based on a 10 - 25 year timeline. By ensuring the adaptability of the platforms, it is envisaged that they will become co-dependant within their context. These platform structures will be designed to preserve and rehabilitate the wetland and filter water along the channels that have been created. These platform structures will be designed to adapt to varying contexts. This intervention will inject additional retail, social and educational programs necessary for the successful link to the city of Kampala, the Wetlands and Lake Victoria. This project will develop design principles for re-vitalising wetland channels that integrate commercial activities, protect wetlands, filters storm-water, enhances vegetation and provides recreational open space, at strategically placed public crossing points.

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