1.3 Intentions

1.2.3 Architectural opportunity

Derelict spaces provide an opportunity for architecture, amongst other professions, to regenerate or grow the space back into the urban fabric through an effective reuse programme that can create new growth opportunities for individuals and the city fabric socially, economically and culturally.

Additionally, a programme that focuses on social sustainability enhances the connections between users and the surroundings through reactive and interactive architecture that reflects human interests.

According to Buser and Koch (2014), social sustainability happens when formal and informal processes, institutions, structures and connections actively promote current and future generations’ abilities to establish healthy and liveable communities.

Furthermore, derelict spaces provide an opportunity for architecture to act as a catalyst for rediscovering past histories and identities, both tangible and intangible, through economic, social, political and cultural circumstances.

Fig 2: Loss of identity in the urban fabric. (By author, 2021)

1.3.1 Theoretical Approach and objective

The theoretical approach to the regeneration of a site uncovers the site’s historical layers and functions to investigate and interpret these functions and combine them with the building of a new programme for the site. Attention to existing uses, such as leisure activities or commute routes, is also essential in maintaining existing functions.

This research adopts a theoretical approach in fulfilling its objective of contributing to the development of derelict urban spaces, specifically those that are disconnected from the active urban fabric.

A further objective of the study is to investigate whether the identity, memory and history of a site can contribute to a new architectural programme in the twenty-first century that may become a catalyst for the growth of the urban fabric and benefit the local community socially and economically, over time as more functions are added in the future.

Examining the connections between engaging architecture and user-oriented functions as a strategy for sustaining identity, users and buildings could provide a guide for succeeding in the reconnection of the derelict site and its programme to the active urban fabric.