Portfolio in Progress: Altered States_Unconstitutional Court by Natache Iilonga

DECLARATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Masters of Technology in Architecture

Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

I, Natache Sylvia Iilonga, hereby declare that the minor dissertation for the degree of MTech (prof) Architecture to the University of Johannesburg, apart from the help acknowledged, is my own work and has not been previously submitted to another university or institution of higher education for any degree.

By: Natache Sylvia Iilonga 201227320 Supervisor: Stephen Steyn Co-Supervisor: Patricia Theron 2017

Signed:_____________________ Date: November, 2017

Acknowledgements I would like to thank my father and mother, Tate Paulus Iilonga na Meme Julia Iilonga, for continuously being my pillars of strength throughout my entire academic career. I would like to thank my family for their love and patience with my prolonged absence from home. Thank you Nina Maritz and the office for the tremendous support and encouragements over these two years of masters. Thank you to all my lecturers and tutors over the two years, especially Stephen Steyn and Patricia Theron for providing the most profound conversations, for all the nights spent proof reading my academic writings and constantly encouraging me to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;trust your instinctsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Thank you Tuliza Sindi for the immense mental support, the unapologetic-ness and for availing yourself when a sister needed an ear. Prof Lesley Lokko and Dr Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, it has been a great honour having you as my mentors. A special thank you to Bakari Kilumbilo, for your patience and unconditional support.

Table of Contents Who is She Hyperlinks Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Portfolio Guide Volume 1 Entry 1 Entry 2 Entry 3 Entry 4 Entry 5 Volume 2 MDP: Altered States: Unconstitutional Court Design Realisation Annexures History Theory Dissertation Professional Practice Alternative Practice European Conference of African Studies Volume 3 2016: The Weighting Aisle_Dismantelling structures of power in the check-out aisle

8 10 10 10 10 11 12 14 16 24 28 32 40 42 106 123 124 160 186 190 200 202

| Volume 1 | Natache Sylvia Iilonga | M2

WHO IS SHE She is her shadow her experiences seeking validation her being yet to be legitimised Architecture as the manifestation of her interiority.

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Volume 1 Please click to access A Representation to reality

Volume 2 Please click to access Altered States: Unconstitutional Court

Volume 3 Please click to access The Weighting Aisle

This document is acompendium of architecture manifested as a representation of the interiority of the black woman. Exploiting architecture to speculate spaces of perceived normality and power. My Major Design Project is an inverted power structure for an invisible reality. Exploring the nature and desire (for power) of the [dis] appearing body of the black woman, in the state of democracy; the architecture plays on the indirect relationship between invisibility, being and inconvenience. The quality of transparency is used to create a form of control and order that are difficult to confront since their power lies precisely in their absence.

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Volume 1 A Representation to reality

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ENTRY 1 The Expanded Field An exploration of decontextualisation of the sand into an architecture that is neither architecture nor landscape, yet both. First in its form suspended, in structure and in pattern. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;objectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dictate and define their space as architecture yet constructed of landscape.

Suspended

Structure

Pattern

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ENTRY 2 Autonomous Architectures Architectures of autonomy can then be derived by isolating the objects in compositions/scenes. This allows for a study of composition using internal formal logic, incorporating main influences on architectural design (use, scale and context in particular). Therefore developing different ways to derive form using internal formal logic rather than contextual logic.

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ENTRY 3 A Proscenium The threshold between the real world and the imagined world as architecture provides a way of seeing. Represented in the construct of self as architecture and the shadow.

In a room

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You see

In the city

Your light shines And you become

Lit, to your angle An eye pleased

As truth decreases Illusion increases

For it is not, if it weren’t for you Us

The torch sees

Us all.

A blindness lifted Even so just for a moment. Allowed, a conversation

With her head piece With his motor

Could we get any weirder?

With self

A society in disintegration Veiled in darkness Unseen

It walks It is nothing But I see him

In a city

I want to

It drives It can’t afford the wheels But I see him It wants me to

Through the window It doesn’t reply Yet it speaks “straighten the curls! Or else!”

It is nothing…

Sound 001 - Poem

What you see Just an accumulation of spectacles

But I see her She is me.

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ENTRY 4 I am obsessed with the mind and how it allows us to experience space through the reading of a plan. the ability fo rdimensionality to occurthrough obscuring conventional rationalities we are all too familiar with. What happens when we perceive distortion in a transparent plan and section In architecture, we romantically narrate a sense of reality into a two-dimensional drawing, yet to live in its actual spatiality, we are subjected to its illusion, only to operate in its shadows. Its skin, lit as spectacle. Forming realities for ourselves, to identify as identities.

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GROGR UNODUN D LI LIN E NE

Video 001 - Metamorphosis

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ENTRY 5 A new ground floor Build a city out of the real elements of the central Business Districts of Pretoria/Tshwane and Johannesburg/Sandton. A city which is recognisably neither the City of Capital nor the Capital City, but rather a complex mix of the two.

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Magneto in City of capital Capital city

If to walk Is to breathe Is to money Is to gather What makes collective different from a stash? Crowds, of money Stacks, of business If a pavement could speak, It tells you of city A magnet to fortune Dependent on an us It’s busyness alluding To a promise Of grasp Buildings so towering They shadow their value A landscape Succumbed to artificiality If we were to dissolve Your footsteps non-existent The planes lend themselves To moving, voices, shoes So distinct, the roles. I know it’s the capital I see them. Balloons of smoke An orchestra of hoots Sizzles of gizzards Hands clutch coins Touching shoulders A rush Of gold For city would not be Everyone needs a piece …

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Data Map

Social and economic fabric city data for Johannesburg and Pretoria cities, that informed the figure ground map

GSEducationalVersion GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.41

Voids and Solids

Voids and Solids Map

Inverted figure ground map for Magneto pavement city

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The pavement as an embodyment of a threshold that holds no discrimination, this common ground becomes an expanding element for access into the city and its realms. Morphing itself into stairways, platforms, doorways, allyways; the third city becomes a construction of an ideal state of equality for all.

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Volume 2 Altered States Unconstitutional Court

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ENTRY 1 Abstract: Black, and generally attached to the ground, your shadow is a veil that does nothing but follow you in the daylight. In darkness, it disappears with you. Since the relationship between ‘appearance’ and ‘being’ is not direct - things may be, even if they appear not to be – following Jean Baudrillard, it may be possible to use transparency to create forms of control and order that are difficult to confront since their power lies precisely in their absence. The definition of transparency is irrevocably tied to light - it is defined by its own absence, which is made apparent through the presence of light. It is also apparent that, in this visual era, to be seen to exist (to be represented) is essential in staking a claim for one’s humanity. For this reason, transparency is touted as a positive or desirable quality: since it allows light through, it allows us to be seen. Metaphors of light and transparency remain at the core of much of the liberal rhetoric of South African politics. The Constitutional Court of South Africa is at the epicentre, and stands as a material representation of this concept. It is difficult to find a review of the Court Complex that does not use the word ‘transparency’ as a positive value judgement on its design. What this ignores, however, is that transparency can also be a quality in itself. My Major Design Project will rely on another absence, darkness – the absence of light – as a counterpoint and/or stabilising concept to investigate alternative forms of representation. The removal of light from architectural representation allows the circumvention of transparency as both an architectural concept and as a rhetorical cliché in the production of a South African public. But, since absences can only be represented, confronted and

seen through the presences that they accommodate, I will also use sound as both a means of architectural drawing and a programmatic rationale. I argue that the unique ability of sound to communicate volume and material through echo, reflection and absorption, combined with its ability to communicate (spoken language), makes it an essential component in the development of contemporary South African architecture. On a political level, the intention is not simply to attempt to remove normative identity categories implied by race, class and gender, for example, but instead to shift the hierarchies from the visual (hair, skin, features etc.) to the aural (voice, content, accent and intimacy). In reference to historical oral traditions on the continent, this Major Design Project will use spoken words and echo to design, ‘draw’, describe and experience the Unconstitutional Court. The project will be located in the theoretical Third City, developed by Unit 10 during the second quarter of 2017. It will house a facility for the operations and machinations of the so-called ‘Deep State’. The Deep State refers to those networks and communities of exceptional influence, which operate ‘para-legally’. It is the Deep State, which, for example, organises society in times of severe illegality or crises of legitimacy (like war, or natural disaster). There are often a number of ‘Deep States’ operating in parallel to the visible organs and procedures of the state. They work either in collaboration or opposition to one another. Since their mandate is to remain unseen until a crisis forces them to surface, their primary modes of influence include propaganda, lobbying, secret meetings in secret clubs and coded messages. The Unconstitutional Court is a place where the Her Deep State manifests and is made explicit, but, in keeping with its contrary nature, it is made explicit only in sound and not in vision.

Sylvia Iilonga | M2

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“THE CONSTITUTION IS A BLUEPRINT FOR A REVOLUTION ” T.Sindi

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ENTRY 2 Site 1 An inverted power structure for an invisible reality, positioned directly above the courtroom of Johannesburg’s Constitutional Court, the Unconstitutional Court exists as a parallel experience, separated from and ignored by daily operations continuing below. Its programming accommodates the workings of a black women community as a ‘Deep State’: this is the capacity of a society to engage in war when placed under existential threat. Upon the unleashing of martial law, the constitution is forgotten, action is guided by whatever will preserve a way of life. The Deep State can act in a space beyond legality and justice, for alternatively perceived objectives. In mobilising, the Deep State acts paraconstitutionally, its mobilisation capacity is lodged in such a way that liberalism cannot explicate.

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26°11’20.13”S 28° 2’35.47”E

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[CODE] Her Case

ENTRY 3 Site 2 The late 20th century saw the rise of an emancipation generation who used freedom, openness, transparency, and equality to call to arms a struggle for liberation. These weapons brought about the attainment of democracy and the current political state. Proposing the notion of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;samenessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to a once segregated racial society. It is now 21st century South Africa and we are in the next phase of the same struggle, of which plays out in the internal self, calling for an interrogation of the very weapons used to fight inequality and injustice during the Apartheid past.

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Her deep state of power. We can no longer speak about freedom, openness, transparency, and equality as it has now become hegemony, vulnerability, exposure, and sameness. Where social hierarchies continue to render â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;black and femaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as being least deserving of social respect. The womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charter meant to lead us to equality with them, yet I still trade in my autonomy negotiating thresholds of access, of acceptance, of being.

24hours to independence

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Dismanteling structures of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;samenessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for her representation to reality

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ENTRY 4 Codex The interiority embodies an architecture of thresholds, where secrecy is unpacked in the sequencing of the spaces. For the guest, autonomy is traded for access. For her, her safe space. Within this work as a built logic, subjects would make their way through what is in effect an elaborate and extended â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;doorwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; containing domestic spaces which locate the workings of unseen power within the daily experience of the inhabitants.

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Press for door 3

FIRST THRESHOLD the choice when there is no choice GSEducationalVersion GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.93

The overt occurs in this architecure where once the back door access was the limit for women of colour, it now opens to opportunity. The accessing of this architecture occurs at the back of the constitutional court playing on the nature of internal and external thresholds confronted by ornate secret doors.

Press for door 2

GSEducationalVersion GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.93

Press for door 1

3 19 x 163 = 3 100

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7 26

6 30

4 26

11 10

12 11

3 20

22 21

19 x 163 = 3 100 10

18 x 233 = 4 200

18 x 222 = 4 000

4 x 233 = 933

6 9

26 14 13

19 18

16 15

3 14

1 29

9 8

30 x 237 = 7 100

14 23

30 x 237 = 7 100

30 x 247 = 7 400

7 6 5 4 3

10 4 x 233 = 933

9 8

17 15 16

14 13

30 x 237 = 7 100

22 x 250 = 5 500

30 x 247 = 7 400

7 6 5 4

6 5 4 3

3 2 2 1

Guest Gate 2 GSEducationalVersion GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.91

Guest Gate 1

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SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

18 11 10

9 16 8 7

6 14

22 x 227 = 5 000

5 4 3

MEETING ROOM

The meeting room echoes the relinquishing of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power and control to a space of vulnerability, so you may be screened. It is somone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home, and the seating is placed to drain you of pride and into vulnerability. Seated facing the wall, you do not see what happens behind you. Seated in the middle of the pathway, you are forced to be acknowledged and scrutinised by others having to make a way past you.

4 5 6

15 14 13 12 11

10 9 8

4 x 233 = 933

18 x 233 = 4 200

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1. SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

2. SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

15 x 167 = 2 500

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22 29 x 172 = 5 000

20 19 28

18 17 16

15 6

14 26

4 25

3 2

BACK TO THE MEETING ROOM

You failed. Try again. 7 x 257 = 1 800

1 933

11 11

2 500

9 8 7 18

6 5 4 3

23 x 261 = 6 000

9 8 7

6 22 x 227 = 5 000

5 17

4 3 2

700 1

800

760 13

2 154

30 x 167 = 5 000

18 1 17

30 29 18

3 4

3 = 4 200

10 14

8 12

7 11

6 9

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15 x 167 = 2 500

2 2

15 x 167 = 2 500

1 1

1 933

22 29 x 172 = 5 000

20 19 28

8 7

7 6

15 6

10 9 19 8 7 18

6 5

23 x 261 = 6 000

7 x 257 = 1 800

9 12

18 23

2 500

10 x 230 = 2 300

7 x 257 = 1 800

29 x 172 = 5 000

17 16

2 1

22 6

700 11 15

2 500

9 8

5 11

760

23 x 261 = 6 000

800

2 1

3 10

2 1

2 154

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

700 19 18

800

30 x 167 = 5 000

760 13

2 154

30 x 167 = 5 000

18 1 17

10 x 230 = 2 300

800

2 265

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ROBING ROOM UNVEILING IDENTITY 18 17 16

15 18 14 17 13 16

12 11

10 14 9 13

7 6

5 10 4 9

8 x 200 = 1 600

18 x 222 = 4 000

19 x 200 = 3 800

1 18 17

7 x 207 = 1 450

ROOF TOP ACCESS

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7

18 x 222 = 4 000

6 5 4 3 2 1 22 21

19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 22 x 250 = 5 500

7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Refuse Exit

Return to floor

1 933

23 22 29 x 172 = 5 000

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

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20 19 28

18 17 16

15 26

4 25

3 2

7 x 257 = 1 800

9 23

8 7

22 6

4 11

2 500

9 8 7 18

6 5 4

23 x 261 = 6 000

3 2 1

700 800

760 13

2 154

30 x 167 = 5 000

19 18

1 17

LAVATORIES Gateway: Female A bathroom sits as one of the most socially neutral zones in whichever space it exists in. It is the ritual nature of accessing the private private realm through cleansing.

10 x 230 = 2 300

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WALK-IN CLOSET

18 x 222 = 4 000

The one space where derobing of societal identity occurs. The ritual of removing shoes, clothing, hair, make up; to then wear yourself A robe.

15 1 14

18 17

10 16 9

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

15 14

5 13 12

ROBING ROOM UNVEILING IDENTITY

3 7

19 x 163 = 3 100

18 x 222 = 4 000

17 16

15 18 14

4 17

3 2 1 22

12 11

10 14 9

21 13

7 6

5 10

23 9

22 21

17 8

15 16 14 15 8 x 200 = 1 600

7 6 5 4

19 x 200 = 3 800

11 10

22 x 250 = 5 500

30 x 247 = 7 400

30 x 237 = 7 100

18 x 222 = 4 000

4 17

3 2 2 1

ROOF TOP ACCESS

15 14 13

Subject Gate

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 18 x 222 = 4 000

5 4 3 2 1

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

7 21

6 20

5 19

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15 x 167 = 2 500

CORRIDOR

23 22 29 x 172 = 5 000

21 20 19 18 17 16

15 5

4 3 2

7 x 257 = 1 800

2 500

8 7

= 6 000

1 933

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11 1

9 2

7 5

6 7

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15 x 220 = 3 300

SECRET CLUB ROOM

15 x 167 = 2 500

Playing on the rituals of dining: sit.eat.discuss.with many.

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

1 933

7 x 257 = 1 800

6 5 4 3 2

220

4 978

220

7 18 x 222 = 4 000

10 x 230 = 2 300

2 500

2 500 8

2 1

ROOF TOP ACCESS

ACCESS

1 9

4 11

6 13 7

5 x 207 = 3 100

800

2 18 x 222 = 4 000

17 x 182 = 3 100

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17 x 182 = 3 100

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

7 x 247 = 1 730

17 x 182 = 3 100

4 3 5 x 200 = 1 000

KITCHEN

Place for production, production tools and knowledge gain whilst15in wait. x 220 = 3 300

16 x 200 = 3 200

1 12

15 x 167 = 2 500

7 x 247 = 1 730

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GSEducationalVersion

YOU ARE HERE

Unconstitutional Court Negotiates an architecture of invisibilty.

Domestic Realm The extended ‘doorway’.

Constitutional Court Chamber A representation of reality coexisting with inconvenience. SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

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LOBBYING ROOMS Intimate lobbying space accomodates meeting for the production of the black woman agenda.

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

17 13 16 12 15 11

17 x 182 = 3 100

7 x 247 = 1 730

17 x 182 = 3 100

3 2 1

5 x 200 = 1 000

5 1

7 x 247 = 1 730

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15 x 207 = 3 100

11 x 164 = 1 800

2 29 3

28 27

26 5

25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18

BROADCASTING ROOM

17 16

The spaces culminate in a broadcasting room from which media provides the form of networksconsensus that can operate beyond societal and built constraints. The function of this room caters solely to the media infiltration of the black woman agenda through radio and web video production. Complete with a control room to monitor social impact.

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

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UNCONSTITUTIONAL COURT The journey that culminates in the broadcasting room, releases to the inverted Unconstitutional Court. A paradise of automnomy characterised by staircases that emphasise a grand descend, yet holds moments of contemplation with every landing.

SELECT FOR NEXT LEVEL

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CONSTITUTIONAL COURT The return of the subject back into society is signified by the exiting of the Unconstitutional Court, to enter the constitutional court chamber.

1 33 2= x 21

2 3

0 7 00

4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 22

19 20 21 22

23 24 25 1

19 18

27 4 x 233 = 933

28 33

16 15 2 14

30 31

12 11 3

30 x 237 = 7 100

6 5 4

7 22 x 250 = 5 500

30 x 237 = 7 100

30 x 247 = 7 400

8 7

6 5 4 3

3 2 2

GSEducationalVersion GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.94

3 166

220

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12 13

15 x 207 = 3 100

4 17

5 16

11 x 164 = 1 800

220

15 7

29 28

9 26

7 5

8 25

6 7

5 23

17 x 182 = 3 100

6 22

21 9

11 x 182 = 2 000

10 1

20 19

18 2 17

7 x 247 = 1 730

17 x 182 = 3 100

7 x 247 = 1 730

15 15

14 14

13 13

12 12

11 11

10 10

9 9

8 8

7 7

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 5 x 200 = 1 000

1 15

3 3

15 x 220 = 3 300

2 2

15 x 167 = 2 500 15 x 167 = 2 500

1 1 1

19 x 211 = 4 000

16 x 200 = 3 200

3 4 5

933 11933

2 7 1

29 29

28 28

27 27

26 26

25 25

24 24

23 23

22 22

21 21

20 20

19 19

18 18

17 17

16 16

15 15

14 14

13 13

12 12

11 11

9 9

8 8

10 10

7 7

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1

8 12 3030

2323

2222 x 172 5 000 2929 x 172 = 5=000

2121

2929 10

2020

2828

1818

2727

1919

15 12

1717

14 13

1616

7 7

1515

6 6

1414 2626

7 x 257 = 1 800 7 x 257 = 1 800

5 5

1313

12 4 4

2525

3 3

2 2 2424

15 16

1 1

1212

2323

220

4 978

220

7 2222 18 x 222 = 4 000

500 22500

1010

7 7 1818

6 6 5 5 4 4

500 22500

2 1

23 x 261 = 6 000 23 x 261 = 6 000

8 8

9 9

1919

1111

2020

10 x 230 = 2 300

2121

17 x 182 = 3 100

ROOF TOP ACCESS

1 1

2 2

3 3

1717

1 9

4 11

18 x 222 = 4 000

800 800

1515

15 x 207 = 3 100

700 700 1616

6 13 7

1414

760 760 1313

8 14

9 15

10 1212

1111

POINT OF ACCESS

1010

2 154 2 265

9 9

8 8

7 7

ROBING ROOM UNVEILING IDENTITY

6 6

5 5

30 x 167 = 5 000

4 4

2 2222

18 17 16

15 18

2121 1

2020

1919

1818

12 11

1717 14

1616 13

1515 12

1414

7 6

1313

5 10 4 9

8 1212

1919

8 x 200 = 1 600

2 1818

1010

1717

19 x 200 = 3 800 2

1616

5 5 4 4 3 3

1515 1 1414

22 x 227 = 5 000 22 x 227 = 5 000

6 6

7 7

8 8

18 x 233 = 4 200

9 9

18 x 222 = 4 000

1111

18 17

1313

1212

2 2 1 1

1111

1010 16 9 9

8 8

7 7

6 6

ROOF TOP ACCESS

15 14

5 5 13 12

4 4

11 10

30 30 29 29 28 28 27 27

9 8

3 3

LEGEND:

18 x 222 = 4 000

1 1

2 2

2626

5 4 3 2

3030

2929

1 1 1

1818

2828

2828 21

3 3 4 4 5 5

1717

2727

1616

2626

2525

2424

2323

2222

1515 1414

6 6

1212 1111

1 1

1010

2424 2323

2121

2222

2020

2121

1919

2020

1818

1919

1717

1616

1515

1414

1313

27 4 x 233 = 933 4 x 233 = 933

9 9

28 8 8

1818

1616

1717 2 2

1515

1616 1414 1313

1212 1111

3 3

1111

1010

4 4

1010

9 9

8 8

7 7

1212

1212 x 237 7 100 3030 x 237 = 7=100

30 x 247 = 7 400 30 x 247 = 7 400

8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4

7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3

3 3 2 2

1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11

1 1

11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1

2525

1313

22 x 250 = 5 500 22 x 250 = 5 500

18 x 233 = 4 200 18 x 233 = 4 200

2 2

First Threshold Meeting Room Lavatories Walk-in Closet Corridor Secret Club Kitchen Lobbying Room Broadcasting Room Unconstitutional Court Constitutional Court Point of Access

x 163 3 100 1919 x 163 = 3=100

2 2 1 1

Within this work as a built logic, subjects would make their way through what is in effect an elaborate and extended ‘doorway’ containing domestic spaces which locate the workings of unseen power within the daily experience of the inhabitants.

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On the exterior the project is a grand stair encased within an opaque glass box, its monumentality only ever experienced upon exiting the programmes and returning to the seen world. It is at once an architecture of thresholds and a theatre of the domestic and political realms.

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101

Transparent Skin

Court Intrusion

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103

Corridors

Power Platforms

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105

MONUMENT

Enclosed Secret

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107 Metal flashing on 3mm Aluminium parapet capping fixed onto fibreglass insulation Aluminium ventilation flaps with perforated panel.

ROOF

VENTILATION

200

T.O.C. 31 808mm

Heat ventilation: Skylight louver for hot extraction with self-adhering bituminous membrane bonded between vent curb and roof sheeting.

10mm insulated glass fastened onto an extruded aluminium frame.

33 155mm

ROOF

300Ø reinf. conc. columns as per eng. detail around outer perimeter glazing skin.

32 055mm

31 608mm u/side of rc slab

ROOF NOTE: "kliplock" profile "colormet" roof sheeting as per spec. to manufacturers and NHBRC standards. 100mmØ treated gangnailed trusses @760mm c/c's, on 114x38mm wall plate to be tied down with double galvanised wire anchors. Roof to be prpoperly braced at both ends. Roof sheeting colour - Charcoal

8th FLOOR 29 755mm

7030

Continuous steel channel anchored onto 300Ø reinf. conc. columns as per eng.

5mm tempered glass Aluminium double glazed curtain wall system with 500mm ventilation/air space, 100mm fibreglass insulation, air water and vapour barrier all fixed onto 300Ø reinf. conc. columns as per eng.

7th FLOOR 26 655mm

BROADCASTING STUDIO FLOOR

200

T.O.C. 24 577mm

Continuous steel channel anchored onto 300Ø reinf. conc. columns as per eng.

24 377mm u/side of rc slab

Continuous steel channel anchored onto 300Ø reinf. conc. columns as per eng.

6th FLOOR 23 555mm

7000

5th FLOOR 20 455mm

40x10mm gms. flat bars welded to vertical channel

SECRET CLUB FLOOR

50x50 C-channel vertical welded to 150x150mm steel plate fixed to reinforced concrete slab

Design Realisation

4th FLOOR

17 180 mm u/side of rc slab

17 355mm

32 200

200

T.O.C. 17 380 mm

underside of reinforced concrete slab to have off-shutter concrete finish

Silicone sealant with backer rod

4 815

Spandrel panel Mullion Metal flashing

3rd FLOOR 14 255mm

LAVATORY FLOOR

Continuous steel channel anchored onto 300Ø reinf. conc. columns as per eng.

200

T.O.C. 12 356 mm

12 165 mm u/side of rc slab

underside of reinforced concrete slab to have off-shutter concrete finish

2nd FLOOR 11 155mm

Air/vapour barrier

5mm tempered glazing Insulation void Fire stop (2 hour rating)

1st FLOOR 07 100mm

12 865

Extruded aluminium curtail wall frame tiedback to structure 300Ø reinf. conc. columns as per eng. detail around outer perimeter glazing skin.

Existing brick wall (Recycled brick)

Interlocking brick pavers on min. 50mm sandblinding layer

Single skin shutter wall. Internal skin of brickwork to be waterproofed as per specialist detail

gravel layer around agricultural drain which is encased in Bidem membrane backfill behind concrete wall to be fine grain rubble or any approved porous material for drainage

GROUND FLOOR NGL 00 000mm

T.O.C. -00 700 mm

700

-00 955 mm

255

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT CHAMBER

carpet floor finish on min. 30mm thick screed. 110Ø PVC agricultural drain with opening on top half of pipe laid at 1° fall REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB NOTE: 255mm rc. surface bed as per eng. detail and design on 375mic d.p.m. on min 50mm layer of sand on min. 150mm layer of well compacted hardcore filling

GSEducationalVersion

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;All forms of consensus are by necessity based on acts of exclusionâ&#x20AC;? C.Mouffe

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“What we need is a hegemony of

democratic values and this requires a multiplication of democratic practices, institutionalizing them into ever more social relations so that a multiplicity of subject positions can be formed through a democratic matrix - It is in this way and not by trying to provide it with a rational foundation – that we will be able to not only defend democracy but also deepen it. Such a hegemony will never be complete, and anyway, it is not desirable for a society to be ruled by a single democratic logic. Relations of authority and power cannot completely disappear, and it is important to abandon the myth of a transparent society, reconciled with itself, for that kind of fantasy leads to totalitarianism. A project of radical and plural democracy on the contrary, requires the existence of multiplicity, of plurality and of conflict, and sees in them the raison d’etre of politics.” C.Mouffe

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Annexures

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Annexure A

History Theory Dissertation

Annexure B

Professional Practice Business Plan

Annexure C

Alternative Practice

Annexure D

European Conference of African Studies Essay

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DO URBAN REGENERATION MODELS GIVE RISE TO E`XCLUSIVE SPACES? A Case Study

Maboneng Precinct

NATACHE SYLVIA IILONGA 201227320 University of Johannesburg M Tech (Prof) Architecture 2016 (HTD Minor Dissertation)

DO URBAN REGENERATION MODELS GIVE RISE TO EXCLUSIVE SPACES? A CASE STUDY OF MABONENG PRECINCT

Head of School: Prof Lesley Lokko HTD Supervisor: Dr Caroline Kihato

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Table of contents Module code: MAAT19X Dissertation Title: Do urban regeneration models give rise to exclusive spaces? A case study of Maboneng Precinct Full name: Natache Sylvia Iilonga Student number: 201227320 Lecturer: Dr Caroline Kihato Due date (if applicable):

Declaration

Abstract

Introduction

Rationale

Research Methodology

1. Plagiarism is to present someone else’s ideas as my own. 2. Where material written by other people has been used (either from a printed source or from the Internet), this has been carefully acknowledged and referenced. I have used the Geneva Convention for citation and referencing. Every contribution to and quotation from the work of other people in this essay has been acknowledged through citation and reference. 3. I know that plagiarism is wrong. 4. I understand what plagiarism is and am aware of the Faculty’s and University’s policy in this regard. 5. I know that I would plagiarise if I do not give credit to my sources, or if I copy any written or graphic part/s from a book, article or Internet source without proper citation. 6. I know that even if I only change the wording slightly, I still plagiarise when using someone else’s words without proper citation. 7. I declare that I have written my own sentences and paragraphs throughout my essay and I have credited all ideas I have gained from other people’s work. 8. I declare that this assignment is my own original work. 9. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. 10. I understand that if someone else submits work that is copied from my own, I may be held equally liable.

Background

SIGNATURE:

DATE: 23 August 2016

Maboneng’s Story Literature Review

9 14

Urban Regeneration versus Urban Renewal

Private Urbanism

Social Class Creation

Gentrification: ‘invisible all-out war against the poor.’

Gentrification Without Displacement

Gentrifying The Physical

Spatial Exclusivity by Social Class

Social Class Exclusivity and Urban Regeneration

The Banality of Social Exclusivity in Fox Street, Maboneng

Findings

Maboneng? Which Maboneng?

Maboneng: A pioneer of socially integrated regeneration

Blurring Boundaries

Conclusion

Bibliography

List of Figures

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Introduction

Abstract This essay explores urban regeneration in Johannesburg using Maboneng Precinct as its case study. Specifically, it seeks to explore Maboneng’s model which, according to its developers, is aimed at creating an inclusive space. Despite claims at inclusivity, Maboneng is paradoxically, socially exclusive. Drawing from primary research conducted in Maboneng and literature, this essay argues that urban regeneration models like Maboneng, exclude poor people, who do not fit in with the preferred social class. And seeks to further understand why. The research finds that, indeed, there is a subtle, veiled sense of class discrimination existing within the urban regenerated neighbourhood of Maboneng. This is contradictory to its marketing strategy on their website, which states that it aims at cultivating an “inclusive and integrated” urban community. This claim is merely consistent with mainstream literature which state that urban regeneration models encourage social integration of people from all economic and social backgrounds. The essay ends by suggesting that while indeed the model does not discriminate people racially, it does however discriminate by class. The movements of poor people in and around the space are controlled. Keywords: urban regeneration, urban renewal, gentrification, social class, class discrimination and social exclusivity

How exclusive is ‘integrated’ in Maboneng Precinct? “The message seemed clear: you are welcome as you are but only when you fit in.” (Rees,2013)

It was a Sunday morning at the Market on Main, and I for the first time found myself in Maboneng Precinct. A destination famed and praised both locally and internationally for being the flagship model for the urban regeneration of decaying city spaces in not only Johannesburg, but other South African cities as well. (Evans,2012) Moments earlier, I got off of a Reya Vaya bus on to a makeshift pavement space aside Albertina Sisulu Road, that my bus driver indicated as being the bus stop to Maboneng. I stood on the side of the road, waiting for the speeding traffic to afford me way to cross the street, in this relatively impoverished area of Jeppestown. The littered street, ill maintained factory building facades; a breeze carrying the aroma of urine littered somewhere nearby. And black people. Some were hurrying- old womanly hands gripping bibles and dressed in the all too familiar ‘church attire’- while others, in their youth and sporting bright coloured unbranded fashion wear, hung along the edge of the pavement on the other side; engulfed in drunk laughter with bottles in brown bags littering the ground, as evidence. My chance to cross the road finally came, so I jogged across and quickly made my way to Commissioner Street. The last barrier to my destination in Fox street. Once again, I yielded to the volumes of taxi traffic. To my left, on the street pavement, lay a seemingly homeless- filthy black man. The source of a lingering smell of the hunga (a street drug mix of marijuana and ARV drugs) drug and a sight so often associated with the Johannesburg inner-city. But within minutes, was rapidly and aggressively escorted from the Place of Light. The same security guard that greeted me with such enthusiasm and respect, who was responsible for guarding the nearby Museum of African Design (MOAD) – a Maboneng Precinct development. I guiltily watched, as he stumbled and grumbled, disappearing around the corner in to Jeppestown territory. With a questioning mind, I hurriedly crossed the street, and took in the upmarket, main artery of the Maboneng Precinct. Feeling ‘safer’, Fox Street looked like a page out of SoHo in New York, except it was located in the infamous Johannesburg inner city. The buildings were retouched, the street clean of litter and lined with high-end fashion boutiques and restaurants that made my wallet cry. Even the air the breathed was guaranteed fresher due to the presence of the trees that lined the pedestrian friendly-paved street. Well-to-do people dressed as if for a high-end fashion show, paraded up and down the market and street space comfortably. Black and white visitors, artsy and tourists; extravagant and moderate vehicles. The “rejuvenated” space visibly controlled and monitored. Yet, I couldn’t help but pick up on the subtle hints of exclusion of those who, just along the periphery, did not fit in.

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Rationale This research dissertation began with a hunch, upon a visit to the Maboneng Precinct with my research group. First noticing the stark aesthetic contrasts between the precinct and the surrounding neighbourhood of Jeppestown, I began to question how the model integrated with its visually low income neighbours. Observing the clientele that frequented the precinct and the price ranges of the cafes and boutiques that lined Fox street, I felt rather socially excluded. The space clearly catered to a higher social class of people but seemingly in such a way that it almost appeared gated from the reality surrounding it. And so prompting the question of how socially exclusive the precinct actually was considering that urban regeneration models are usually meant to be spaces of social integration.

Research Methodology Expanding on my hypothesis, this study explores whether urban regeneration has resulted in social exclusion with in the Maboneng Precinct. Being a space accommodating to a social class not inclusive of the surrounding community, thus no social integration exists between the Maboneng community and the surrounding community. It draws on primary participant observation and a total of 25 interviews conducted with members of the public in and around the site. As well as gathered information from an interview with Shruthi Nair, Propertuity’s Key Projects Manager representing the developers of the Precinct, in terms of their masterplan. Fig.1. View down Fox Street and a Propertuity security guard

The interviewees consisted of: 5 business owners operating beyond the perimeter of Maboneng, in Jeppestown and Doornfontein; a Kwa Mai Mai Traditional Healers Market Official; 9 persons employed at businesses operating within the precinct including Thiresh Govender, an urban designer and architect; 3 traders from the Maboneng Sunday market; 5 visitors to the precinct and a security guard. Secondary sources will also be used to further unpack my argument, using literatures that support the argument. My study concludes that urban regeneration models such as Maboneng Precinct, which are designed to cultivate “integrated” communities in a safe and clean urban space located in an impoverished area, seemingly exclude people of the existing community. Excluding certain people due to their perceived social class and socio economic status,

Fig.2. View of Commissioner Street, adjacent to Fox Street

This paper proceeds as follows: Firstly, I will explain the story of how the Maboneng Precinct came into being, in the Inner City context of Johannesburg city. With primary focus on Fox Street. Exploring the mandate of the establishment of the Precinct based on information gained through an interview conducted with Shruthi Nair, a representative of the Propertuity devlopers. Through literatures, I will then unpack the discourse around the terms ‘urban regeneration’ and ‘urban renewal’, and their relevancy to the argument of ‘social exclusivity’. Exploring frameworks, concepts as well as contextually relating back to the urban regeneration model of Maboneng Precinct. Thirdly, I will explore the role of urban gentrification in enabling the formation of socially exclusive spaces in a low income neighbourhood like Jeppestown. Further unpacking social exclusivity on the bases of class. I will then unpack my hypothesis, through a combination of conducted research interviews and reviews of relevant literatures. Looking at how social exclusion manifests in Maboneng, in relation to the existing urban community of predominantly Jeppestown, but also New Doornfontein and the Kwa Mai Mai market communities, in which Maboneng is established. And lastly, my conclusion as a summary of the main argument unpacked in this research.

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Background Maboneng’s Story

In order to understand the site, around which this study focuses, in this chapter, I will give an overview background of how urban regeneration came to materialise in the post-colonial city of Johannesburg, and how the Maboneng Precinct capitalised on urban regeneration development. As a result of the transition from a gold mining city to a post-mining urban metropolitan city, Johannesburg has seen a varying use of some of its inherited buildings. Affectionately known as the City of Gold, the city centre was in its past, a hub of industrial and some residential buildings that housed the interests of colonial gold mine owners and gave residency to white affluent families. But in later years, amidst the acquisition of independence, in 1994, a subsequent economic boom led to a series of transitions that later led to businesses relocating to Sandton; and with them, the affluent white families moved out and formed surrounding outskirt suburbs. The abandoned industrial and some office buildings then gradually transformed into informal living spaces for infamous desperate individuals in need of shelter. Leading to major urban decay in the inner city. And it is this urban decay of the inner city that has attracted the likes of Propertuity property developers. Identifying the need but also the economic opportunity in rejuvenating the Municipality-neglected urban space, so as to create a safer and cleaner area that encouraged ‘integrated’ communities. But at what actual underlying social cost to the existing community? My hypothesis, is that urban regenerative models are rather spaces that result in social exclusivity by class, with in communities. This being in contrast to their claim of promoting integrated, socially coherent spaces within decaying urban areas of the inner city. (Maboneng, 2016) Bheki Dube (2016), a young backpacker business owner on Fox street, explained that the term ‘maboneng’ is derived from the local language of Sotho and translates to the Place of Light. According to Shruthi Nair (2016), a Propertuity representative, this was the vision the developer Jonathan Liebmann had, when he first gazed his eyes upon the uninhabited buildings in a dilapidated part of Jeppestown. Fox street, bordered by Main Street, Commissioner Street and Berea Street, was notoriously known for being crime ridden. And instilled great fear of safety among the Jeppestown residents after sunset. In the evenings, the street would turn into a breeding ground for crime. A dark street alley of broken street lights, hiding vagrants in the abandoned industrial buildings, recalled a skater shop keeper Thabo (2016). The developer, albeit criticism from other developers alike, saw investment opportunity in the low valued property, and took a gamble. The project was founded in 2009, as the Maboneng Precinct, and is a privately funded urban regeneration model located on the eastern side of the Central Business District, in the inner city of Johannesburg (ref to Fig.6 and 7). Propertuity, the property development company that established the precinct, began by buying up the abandoned industrial warehouses in the then dilapidated Fox Street, Jeppestown, with his first purchase being what is today named “Arts on Main” – a popular urban hip street purposed to provide artist studio space and begin to bring back lights in the street. And the initiative was positively received by the engaging public and residents of Jeppestown. (Mason, 2015) Fig.3. View of the Popular Maboneng Sign

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Propertuity, then soon expanded their regenerative intentions, buying up more decaying industrial buildings to rejuvenate, as well as renewing the actual street, planting trees and installing street lights. With the vision now, to ‘bring people back into the city’. Symbolically, hoping to undo the movement of the rich people out of the Johannesburg inner city (in the 1980s), back, to integrate with the inner city again. By creating a renewed, ‘clean and safe’ mixed-use space, the new regenerated neighbourhood of The Maboneng Precinct was established. The ‘artisan’ Fox street, as it is known amongst the artistic community, now comprises of high-end (and ranged) residential and office buildings, hosts artsy markets, high-end (and ranged) restaurants, boutiques, galleries, small businesses, artist studios and a boutique hotel. With the Precinct’s development profile including loads of small businesses, many galleries and residential buildings, a primary school, a backpackers, a park, and a museum. When questioned of expansion plans, the Precinct plans to continue expanding in to the surrounding low-income suburbs of Jeppestown, City and Suburban and New Doornfontein (Nair, 2016).

Fig.4. Street view of Fox Street in Maboneng

Fig.5. Eurocentric Sunday Market on Main mainly occupied by local and foreign tourists,

These revival changes turned Maboneng in to a Eurocentric trendy inner-city destination, attracting both local and international tourists and artists, but substantially rich people (define), to invest and be part of the community of the space. A socially integrated neighbourhood. However, Maboneng, explains Shruthi Nair (2016), is not a registered suburb name, it is a philosophy which means a Place of Light. “Finally there’s light on the east city of Johannesburg. But let us not forget that the legislated name of this area is known as Jeppestown.” Reminded a tour guide. Below are maps that illustrate the extent of the expansion intentions of the precinct.

Fig.6. Maboneng Precinct Development area

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Literature Review The aim of this section is to unpack the literature around urban regeneration creating socially exclusive spaces, the role that urban ‘gentrification’ plays as an enabler and the social exclusion on the basis of class, that results; being my argument for this paper. Relating the discussion back to the Maboneng Precinct as the urban regeneration model to study and using the interviews conducted in and around the site, as findings (primary evidence) to further interrogate the social exclusiveness of the Maboneng Precinct.

“Urban regeneration is not always all good, especially in the lives of those that get ostracised due to the perception that they do not fit in” (Murray, 2008).

Urban regeneration or Urban Renewal? Walking down Fox street, along the cafes, boutiques and restaurants that etched their new and hip identity into the openings of renewed old industrial buildings. And with the smell of artisan coffee riding the breeze in the air, it becomes difficult to even fathom a thought of how this exact space could possibly have looked more different just over 8 years ago. Jane Jacobs (1961) writes how ‘amongst the most admirable and enjoyable sights to be found along the sidewalks of big cities are the ingenious adaptations of old quarters to new uses’. Hinting of the incredible way in which urban regeneration can completely transform a once past derelict space or building to become a part of the visual present. And have positive effects on the surrounding community, bringing an area back to life.

Fig.7. Propertuity Developers proposed area expansion

According to Granger (2010) urban regeneration is a broad banner with current diversity in interpretation depending on the context and perspectives. And in its most basic form can be understood as ‘action to address need’. This need is usually identified as an urban development need. Further narrowed, Roberts (2000 cited by Granger,2010) adds urban regeneration to be ‘a comprehensive and integrated vision and action which leads to the resolution of urban problems and which seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental’. Granger brings to light that urban regeneration is indeed a broad, composite activity with constant global debate. Whereby it is not solely involving the creation of visually attractive spaces, but also having social, economic, physical and environmental effects. And in recent years, the discourse on ‘[…] urban regeneration, entrepreneurial urbanism, public–private coalitions, city reframing, cultural capital, the creative class, amenities, liveability and urban design have all entered the vocabulary of regeneration practice’ (Granger ,2010). However, what is interesting is how Granger’s (2010) study argues that there should be debate questioning whether much of the urban regeneration that has taken place in recent years, was rather urban renewal than urban regeneration. Referring to the ‘physical rather than economic or social nature, its exclusive design and its limited impact on addressing existing needs’ of the decaying neighbourhoods in which they manifest.

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This is interesting, as referring back to the Maboneng Precinct, Shruthi Nair (2016) states how, it is regarded as a very successful global urban regeneration model given its great economic success on its investment in the inner city of Johannesburg. As well as their praised efforts for physically improving Fox street, a once derelict part of Jeppestown, by cleaning up the street, renewing pavements, dilapidated buildings, adding trees and street lamps. But ironically, it does not integrate well, socially, with the existing neighbourhood in to which it has located itself. And this the developers of the Precinct fail to admit.

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Private Urbanism The economic preferences to negative social considerations of private urban regeneration initiatives, are questionable; in terms of what forms of regeneration for neglected neighbourhoods, are really necessary in this post-apartheid city. Neal (2003) notes how cities are today taking on a policy of urban renaissance which has at its heart the re-establishment of these previously neglected areas, by attempting to turn such areas into economically thriving and attractive urban spaces. But according to Bairner (2006), this urban renaissance is based on consumption and visual attractions. This, in turn, raises questions about how socially inclusive this economically and aesthetic renewal approach can really be. Especially considering that it is what the private urban developers have been doing in the past recent years. Expanding further on the implications of urban renewal, Granger (2010) brings into perspective some of the negative traits of urban renewal, as the concept behind postmodern urban regeneration: (a) changing demographics and socio-economic cleansing (b) exclusive developments (c) gentrification (d) mono-functionality of land use (e) continuing deprivation (f) the uncontrolled private-led assault on the function and ownership of urban areas. This is relevant to the argument as it brings to light the overarching negative social impacts of economic and aesthetic based private urban regeneration. However, for this study, I will specifically focus on the resulting social class segregation, how it manifests in these spaces and how it is blatantly represented in these socially exclusive spaces. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ultimately, this is a business and we are here to do businessâ&#x20AC;?, is the response given by Propertuity brand manager Evans(2010) when asked about any social discrepancies with the existing Jeppestown community regarding the presence of the precinct. Bringing me to question why there is no further debate on the non-race based discrimination that takes place when a low income neighbourhood becomes regenerated for the benefit of the gentry. Social Class Creation

Fig.8. The renewed Fox Street Studios Building with both retail, office and residential components

Discrimination is no stranger to the urban neighbourhoods of the Johannesburg city, considering the apartheid history of the country. Systematic segregation of mainly race of people, which also manifested itself into spatial segregation. Whereby the system was favourably inclusive of the few and excluding of the rest that did not fit in. Fast forward into the post-apartheid city of Johannesburg and even though the system is no longer in power, the remnants are still very much prominent. However, it is almost as though the notion of systematic segregation is resurfacing. But this time in the guise of capitalist urban renewal, perhaps? This brings up the question of how socially sustainable are the postmodern urban regeneration models, really?

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With literature on the social aspect of urban regeneration models being relatively skim, it is difficult to research the affects apart from conducting primary research on site. This study argues that urban regeneration models, make use of gentrification as an enabler, to regenerate a derelict neighbourhood, but as a result, the space becomes socially exclusive to the gentrifier. This brings up the discourse on gentrification. The language of negative spatial expression of capitalism (Granger, 2010).

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Gentrification: ‘invisible all out war against the poor’ (Murray,2008) “Islands of renewal, in seas of decay.” (Wyly and Hammel, 1999).

Viewing urban gentrification through the traditional debate around its definition, urban gentrification is generally expressed as the process by which decaying neighbourhoods are revitalised, by the moving in and occupying of space, by middle class to upper class communities. Which in turn leads to the residential displacement of the low income community that had been existing in the particular neighbourhood. Residential displacement occurring due to the effect on rises in property values or purchase and rehabilitation of dilapidated urban property. Which in turn, would then have the ‘secondary effect of driving out poor families’, consequently resulting in the transformation of that urban space in to a higher class neighbourhood (Smith and Williams, 1986) (Less, Slater and Wyly, 2010). Essentially, the taking over of poor people’s urban space, by rich people. However, advanced debates have concurred that the residential displacement that generally takes place due to the act of gentrification is being understood as merely a resulting negative factor, than part of the definition itself. As is exclusion and marginalisation. This brings gentrification to be relevant to my argument that urban regeneration models, by the process of gentrification, create socially class exclusive urban spaces.

Fig.9. One of the number of cafes that line Fox Street

Therefore, in further unpacking gentrification and its part in urban regeneration, postmodern literature has drawn the correlation of gentrification to enabling the lack of social integration in some urban regeneration models, by being a ‘visible spatial component of social transformation’ (Smith and Williams, 1986) (Less, Slater and Wyly, 2010) of a space. Ultimately forming class exclusive enclaves, under the ‘pretence’ of regenerating an urban space. Granger (2010) further expands this view in bringing out differences in the concepts of urban renewal from urban regeneration, stating that according to Lees et al (2008) (Granger,2010), ‘the most marked depiction of the gap between urban renewal and actual regeneration is expressed in urban spaces where traditional neighbourhoods have been rehabilitated by middle class professionals in a process known as gentrification’. Essentially, Grangers article brings to point the downgrade of the positive concept of urban regeneration to mere renewal that employs gentrification as a tool to justify renewal of an urban space. And further expresses gentrification to be ‘the negative spatial expression of capitalism’ but more accurately, an ‘expression of class inequality’ or ‘class revanchism’ (lees et al,2008) (Granger,2010). This is particularly interesting as gentrification is now understood as the enabler of the result of establishing social class exclusivity within an urban space. But it is a process whereby ‘the emphasis is on effects rather than causes; the causes were generally taken for granted, but the effects were hailed by many as a timely answer to inner city decay’, according to Smith and Williams (1986). This suggests that gentrification involves not only a social change but also a physical change as well as economical change, at market scale (Smith,1987), of an urban space. Similarly, Maboneng Precinct markets its residential investments towards the rich people of the suburbs, who fancy a live + work + play lifestyle in the inner city, but have spatial criteria requirements that impose a sense of order and control in the notorious reputation of the inner city.

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Further, I will explore the social, physical and aesthetic changes that express gentrification; changes that blindingly outweigh the causes that may take effect due to the process. This is the case because a low income dilapidating neighbourhood always considers the criteria that come with the rich ‘gentry’, to only possibly be of positive impact. And so social class exclusivity manifests under disguise of gentrification, limiting any forms of social integration of the classes.

Gentrifying The Physical

Gentrification Without Displacement

To fully grasp how the powers of social exclusion operating in a gentrified space, requires us to visualize the aesthetic of the urban space (Murray, 2008). Essentially, in his book ‘Taming The Disorderly City: The Spatial Landscape of Johannesburg after Apartheid’, Murray speaks about the great fear, anxiety and distrust the middle class people have of poor people. And so, in the context such as the Maboneng Precinct, gentrifying in that urban space meant they would bring with or demand their spatial comforts into the inner city. This relates to my argument as the demands of the middle and upper class manifest and make the space of the urban regeneration, into one of exclusivity, on the bases of social class, as this ‘good living’ (Beauregard, 1986) lifestyle is considered alien to a neighbourhood of low income community. From the interviews conducted, it is clear that the vision for the Maboneng Precinct is for the space to become a destination where affluent types of people can live, work, partake in leisure activities and participate in urban market events; in line with the global standard of postmodern urban living of a niche society, as Johannesburg aspires to become a world class city (Murray, 2008). I will further explain how this gentrified spatial representation takes form, creating a class exclusive space, in a subtle but blatant manner, but yet remains seldom debated about.

This paper argues that urban regeneration models, by engaging the process of gentrification to rehabilitate a decaying urban area, create socially exclusive enclaves defined by social class. Like middle to upper class Maboneng Precinct established in the low income neighbourhood of Jeppestown, social class discrepancies resulted. In addition, Wyly and Hammel (1999) (Less, Slater and Wyly, 2010) propose another view of understanding the social impact of the process of gentrification. They analyse gentrification to be a process ‘rooted in class’ and ‘inherently geographic in its manifestation’. Further stating that it is the “class transformation of those parts of the city that suffered from systemic outmigration, disinvestment, or neglect in the midst of rapid economic growth and suburbanization”. A process of social and spatial differentiation (Zukin, 1987) (Less, Slater and Wyly, 2010). This statement is relevant to my argument, because the class differentiation is what I observed upon my research of the social exclusivity nature of the Maboneng Precinct. Observing the visual surface of Fox Street, there appears to be disaggregated economic, ethnic and racial integration at the neighbourhood level (LeGates & Hartman, 1986) (Zukin, 1987), but when visualising this in the context of Jeppestown, the class enclave becomes most apparent. Especially when aware of the security guards station around the precincts borders, symbolising a barrier between the neighbourhoods social classes. Conversely, the effect on the existing community in that they now have to deal with the superimposition of the culture and consumption patterns of the gentrifying class (Zukin, 19870). To a neighbourhood such as Jeppestown, the urban regeneration model of Maboneng, indeed did bring contextually alien urban leisure amenities of the rich. However, the improvements on the once notorious Fox street, such as the cleaning up of street garbage, installation of pavements and street lights and the planting of the trees, although part of the rich people criteria amongst security, were highly welcomed. And almost exclusively, these are the only points along with the two communities collectively agree upon. Whereas, the social integration almost remains limited to non-existent, according to an old coloured grandmother we had interviewed (Anon. C, 2016). She continued to add, “Yes, they brought light, and this area nearest to Maboneng has those security men. But they only protect Maboneng, but I don’t go there. Maboneng, have nothing for me there.”

“The gentrifying impulse as an art form resulting in the desired beautification of the cityscape.” (Murray, 2008)

Spatial Exclusivity by Social Class “...the reliance on market competition for access to strategic locations as the main underlying mechanism for guiding urban development unleashes the oscillating dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, whereby those with the greatest marketplace bargaining power are able to commandeer prime urban sites,” (Murray,2008)

This paper argues that urban regeneration models like Maboneng Precinct, do create exclusive spaces. Spaces of exclusive social class. In this case, the Maboneng community consists of rich people establishing their spatial identity in the low income neighbourhood of Jeppestown. Mainstream debates regarding the social inequalities that surround urban regeneration of decaying inner city neighbourhoods of Johannesburg city, by gentrification, remain lacking. However, while most institutions continue to emphasize and shame any form of segregation or discrimination by race, ethnicity or gender; segregation or discrimination by social class in urban regeneration and renewal needs to be emphasized equally. Any form of social segregation or discrimination inhibits social integration amongst communities, and so staggering aspirations of a socially and spatially equal post-apartheid city, recovering from the radical days of apartheid.

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Conceptualising the term social class, in his article titled ‘Culture and Social Class’, Dr. William K. Gabrenya (2003) notes that there are various ways in which social class can be expressed, depending on the political or theoretical orientation of the writer. Further stating that social class is a ‘subcultural effect’ stratified on the bases of collective cultural values and beliefs where ‘each social class lives in a symbiotic relationship of power and privilege with the others. And ultimately, this discrimination form is an inherent problem brought about with having a capitalist economic system. Seekings (2010) further briefly elaborates on the universal social stratification comparison of people by which social class is usually studied. Indicated in his diagram below are the social class categorisations of people on the bases of ‘educational attainment, occupational prestige and sometimes wealth or income’:

Fig. 11. The Class Structure of South Africa, 2008 (calculated from NIDS data) (Seekings,2010)

However, Wyatt-Nichol, Brown and Haynes in their piece ‘Social Class and Socioeconomic Status: Relevance and Inclusion in MPA-MPP Programs’, argue to define social class discrimination as contributing to economic segregation among regions and neighbourhoods, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, but remains marginalised in discussions of social equity usually dominated by gender and race, even in public administration.

Fig.10. View of a feeder street onto Fox Street. Reminiscent of the dilapidated state Fox Street once was.

Now that an understanding of what is affiliated with the term social class in mainstream universal discussions has been outlined, and its marginalised understanding in the discourse of social equity has been highlighted; I can further unpack its relevance in the discourse of the regeneration of urban poor neighbourhoods. Along with other dilemmas associated with the regeneration of decaying urban spaces.

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Social Class Exclusivity and Urban Regeneration ‘Conversely, social exclusion refers to a failure of the mechanisms of social integration to incorporate the urban poor into the mainstream urban life.’ (Murray,2008)

An interesting point by Polese & Stren (2002) notes how the popular assumption that urban regeneration of a space suffering from decay, ultimately leads to ‘economic development and subsequently to social development’ (integration), is a rather questionable universal thinking that lacks support by experience. In fact, Murray (2008) argues that in the context of postapartheid Johannesburg, urban regeneration seemed to be led with aspirations of achieving a global city status. Whereby, a reliance on ‘market competition for guiding urban regeneration’ is being practiced. This gives those developers with the ‘greatest bargaining power’, the ability to take prime urban sites especially in decaying neighbourhoods, on the bases of projected economic sustainability. Adding further that ‘[…] coercive force of market driven, competitive economics ensures that social exclusion, displacement, and marginalisation are insinuated into the normal routines and rhythms of everyday life.’ (Murray,2008). Thus, with an inherent aim to bring the Johannesburg city’s urban space to global city status, some urban regeneration models may be implying that there is a need to renew and rid the inner city of its decay, in favour of beautified gentrification. Furthermore, Murray (2008) reiterates that social exclusion, in conventional academics, remains ‘a largely opaque, loose, open concept’ as it is typically deployed alongside related terms such as marginalisation. And regards the concept to be the result of determined efforts by developers, urban and city planners alike, to ‘homogenise urban space by minimising differences and limiting diversity under the guise of restoring social harmony and maintaining spatial cohesiveness’; in an attempt to realise a well-managed city of global status. Whereby, the social exclusion actually gets justified by ‘appeals of aesthetics, functionalities and utilities’, despite it occurring significantly as a negative effect in the regeneration of poor dilapidating neighbourhoods (Murray,2008). Ultimately, social exclusion becomes banal, in the practices of urban regeneration. With the affected urban poor ‘sacrificed on the altar of urban progress and revitalisation’ (Murray,2008) in the chase for global city status. And the interplay of powers between the privileged rich people and the underprivileged poor people over urban space becomes apparent but remains justified to the disadvantage of the poor people.

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The Banality of Social Exclusivity in Fox Street, Maboneng. Guided by a hunch, the hypothesis that this paper establishes is that urban regeneration models, Maboneng Precinct being the case study, create socially class exclusive spaces, as a result of a process of gentrification. And given the loose academic usage and lack of debate around the concept of social exclusion by class in the urban regeneration discourse, this paper attempts to highlight the significance of the concept in contributing to debates tackling urban segregation in post-apartheid Johannesburg. In his chapter ‘Class Definition and the Esthetics of Gentrification: Victoria in Melbourne’, Michael Jager (1986), Argues that social class indeed does manifest in the gentrification of regenerated areas. Explaining that ‘(…) the process of gentrification is intimately concerned with social class, yet in economic, social and political terms, the class dimensions of gentrification are only beginning to be scrutinized. The architectural and internal decorative esthetics of gentrified buildings and neighbourhoods have attracted only passing comment and almost no sustained attention.’ Essentially, Jager (1986) speaks about how in the context of regeneration, the ‘built environment’ then becomes ‘both a container and expression of social relations’. This means that architectural and internal aesthetics of a regenerated space, can obviously yet subliminally reinforce the social class exclusivity boundaries of the space. Established by and to reflect the likeness of the gentrifying class. The rich people. This is particularly interesting as Jager (1986) brings to light how aesthetics of class in the urban built space, further reinforces the exclusivity of a space. Referring to social class, in the regenerated context, as being a ‘set of relationships in continual reconstitution and constitution’ and how the regenerated urban built space can become a product of social differentiation, emphasising social distinction from its surrounding. In which rich people feel the need to demarcate themselves from the poor people, despite being occupying space in the lower income neighbourhood. Jager (1986). In his book ‘The Untamed City of Fragments’, Martin J. Murray (2008) further explains of regeneration: ‘(…) they justify exclusions by appeals to aesthetics (cleaning up and beautifying derelict places), utility (adopting “the highest and best use” of urban space), and functionality (making the city work efficiently and smoothly).” Having observed the regenerated Fox Street site, one sees the arguments of both Murray (2008) and Jager (1986), of how a socially class exclusive space manifests, however in a subliminal manner. How the distinction itself is what distinguishes the ‘oblivious boundary’ that segregates the rich community occupied in the precinct from the existing low income community of Jeppestown. The architectural aesthetics of the renewed buildings, contrasts with the surrounding deteriorating architecture of the existing neighbourhood. The clean, tree lined street competing with the SoHo city streets, contrasts with the dirty neighbourhood streets they run paralleled to. The styles of consumption are distinguished distinctively by price. With the renewed area favouring artisan coffee, outdoor seating cafes, high end restaurants and pricey boutique stores frequented by individuals alike; whilst around the corner lies the old neighbourhood mini-bakery, the cheaper street traders, the shisanyama spot, frequented by individuals not accommodated in the renewed area. And the prominently visible security men, like fences, ensuring that the interests of the gentrifying community are well protected from the ‘have-not’ hands of the existing neighbourhood. A space transformed into a destination for tourists.

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Findings Through unpacking relevant literatures surrounding the discourse of urban regeneration models creating socially exclusive spaces, I have grounded my understanding of Maboneng to indeed be such a regenerated space exclusive to a community of middle and upper social class. Thus, in this chapter I will make use of evidence obtained from interviews conducted from within and around Maboneng, to demonstrate how this model performs as a socially exclusive space. Whilst referencing from relevant literatures. Maboneng? Which Maboneng? Urban regeneration within the city of Johannesburg, has thus far manifested in many forms, of which one form is through the renewal of decaying built spaces. However, despite the visible positive impacts, it comes at a social cost, typically to the existing community of a space. Seeking to understand how the Maboneng model behaves in its location in the inner city, I sought views from the existing community members beyond the precincts boundaries. Remarking on the presence of the renewed Maboneng area, a Mai Mai Market Official (2016) stated: “Maboneng, is a new name they came with. It was called Jeppestown. We are the community of Jeppestown”. He referred to the manner in which Maboneng intruded in to the neighbourhood of Jeppestown without communication. Establishing itself right in the backyard of the Jeppestown neighbourhood, and then isolating its brand from affiliation with the low income neighbourhood. Through further research I came to understand that Maboneng was in fact initially established in the neighbourhood of Jeppestown. And at current, its expanded area lies predominantly in Jeppestown, with some overlapping in the neighbourhoods of New Doornfontein, Doornfontein and City & Suburban to essentially form the precinct. Thus, this suggests a sense of deliberate distancing on the precincts part, from the realities of the inner city neighbourhoods.

Fig.12. Image of a recycler took on Fox Street. Due to the nature of work of recyclers, they are permitted into Fox Street. However, street children passing by get confronted by the precinct security guards.

In an interview with Shruthi Nair (2016), a Propertuity Group representative, the developers of Maboneng; explained how ‘Maboneng was basically an area located between three different townships’ and that it is ‘very difficult to say’. Dismissing the Mai Mai Market Official claim of Maboneng’s socially exclusive nature, she says: “It’s not like Maboneng versus Jeppestown, it’s more like us as a community... We are not an official township” (Nair, 2016).

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Maboneng: A pioneer of socially integrated regeneration “You will not be excluded because of the colour of your skin but because of your culture, your class”. (Ferreira cited from Rees, 2013)

Fig. 13. Locating Maboneng Precinct within existing neighbourhoods of Jeppestown, City and Subruban, Doornfontein and New Doornfontein.

In addition, a Doornfontein business owner, Alesha (2016) expressed annoyance with the model’s lack of communication with existing communities. As she stated: “Sometimes we don’t know, we don’t understand what they are doing. We can just see a lot of white people gathering and we are just here wondering what is going on here. We don’t have an idea, of especially that side [Fox street]. We don’t know what is going on”. She further elaborates how the development ‘uses’ the low income community’s children to ‘make themselves look like they care about us’ (Alesha, 2016). In his article ‘Maboneng Precint: ‘I am an island’ ‘, author Malcolm Rees (2013), further elaborates on Alesha’s claim. Rees writes on the experience of Zean Ferreira, the founder of Nollie Faith, an outreach initiative for children of the surrounding neighbourhoods beyond Maboneng, that teaches children to skateboard down Fox Street in Maboneng. Ferreira expresses: “It’s a difficult balance because yes they [‘Maboneng corporation’] want to ‘use them [the surrounding neighbourhood children]’ and they want to feel that they are socially responsible but they … don’t want people from the community hanging around,” (Ferreira cited from Rees, 2013). This is in light of Maboneng’s claim to be a socially integrated space, when the reality seems otherwise. Therefore, this adds to the exclusiveness of the urban regenerative model as the considered poor surrounding community was not the type of people the model wished to attract. “It is only for the Europeans and the rich people in Joburg. They didn’t even tell us what they were doing here in our neighbourhood,” commented the Mai Mai Market Official (2016). Meanwhile, visitors praise the “cool and hip” ambience of the main artery of Fox street, oblivious to the underlying social issues.

“I can’t live here, because I cannot afford to,” was the response of Thabiso (2016), a business owner I interviewed. He is one of very few and scattered business owners within Fox street that had food prices that were indeed affordable, whatever your social class. But the bigger picture was that he was flanked, on the one side, by a high end boutique and on the other, a high priced coffee shop. Maboneng came as an opportunity for people of all income groups to be able to integrate with each other. And this is to be further enhanced by the offer of high and low income accommodation and affordable business space (Nair, 2016). But the definition of low income within the model appears to differ from the reality of the economic status of the surrounding community. Nevertheless, Thiresh Govender, an urban designer and architect operating along Fox Street, further explains this intension stating: “I think the thing with Maboneng, is that there was a new vision that came in there. Someone came in and radically shifted the perception of downtown Joburg for a tentative middle or creative class.” (Govender, 2016) According to the documentary ‘Maboneng: Place of Light’ by Janssen (2014), the mandate of Propertuity developers is to bring rich people, usually settled on the suburban outskirts of the city, back in to the city. Essentially, ‘bringing the money back’ (Dube, 2016) into a decaying urban space that was once historically abandoned by the rich people and businesses, by the process of gentrification. And although this has resulted in the formation of indeed a vibrant, artistic space, it simultaneously became a ‘destination’ socially exclusive to middle and upper class people. Contextualising on the aspect of socially exclusive spaces throughout the greater urban landscape, Bheki Dube, a young business owner along Fox street, commented: “I mean, listen that disparity or that contrast is throughout South Africa. I mean if you look at Sandton, Alexandra Township and go to Cape Town, you’ll be shocked as well and it takes more than just one company to be able to merge that” (Dube, 2016). Acknowledging this, Propertuity’s representative Shruthi Nair, remarked on they are not really gentrifying the space, but are instead trying to create integrated, mixed income spaces by allowing for variances in economic activities and accommodation. She stated: “That’s the first thing, I guess, in terms of defining that we are an urban renewal company, as opposed to your stock standard gentrifiers.” (Nair, 2016). This is interesting because it becomes apparent that the developer is indeed aware of the socially inclusive community it is creating, however, tries to justify the lack of social integration between the gentrifiers and the existing community, by introducing low income accommodation and retail space as the ‘mixed income’ aspect of the model. Shruthi Nair defends this, stating: “If you look at our rental rates, whether it’s office, retail or residential, we’ve got a sliding scale, depending on how big the space is. So what we’ve really done is we’ve created a dense mixed use environment that has a sliding scale. So the economy is mixed” (Nair, 2016).

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But in the context of Maboneng, “How low is low income accommodation? Because asking R3 500 for rent from people here who can only afford R500 for rent. That is not low income. It is low for them, not for us”, notes the Mai Mai Market Official (2016). Blurring Boundaries Indeed, it is fair to acknowledge that the urban regeneration model of Maboneng is a private development. And thus, the developers withhold their right to do what they wish with the property they rightfully purchased. On further understanding revitalisation within the city, Thiresh Govender added: “What you see in terms of urban renewal, there are individuals. They could buy up cheap properties and they could flip it, convert it into something, and they would convert it for their own needs and means and do what they want. And in some ways, is that wrong? To do that? No one was looking at that area. Took it and then flipped it and converted it and created something. And there was displacement and there would be gentrification anyhow, anywhere. Even if the city had to go and put something there” (Govender, 2016). While the act of regenerating a derelict space is indeed welcomed, it is the social disparities that result, that hamper any form of social integration from taking place. An anonymous architect from Houghton, who works for a firm in Maboneng, relayed her feelings on the space: “I think it’s too easy to dismiss as completely, negatively gentrified. But I mean we can’t also ignore the negative factors about it, I think it still functions like a gated community in a lot of respects. It’s in the materials, the people class…there’s security guards on each end. So because it’s now an area of wealth, I think it’s also a prime spot. But I think that it’s great in that it brings everyday people who aren’t architects or spatial practitioners into the city, so at least it’s a start to learn from,” (Anonymous. A, 2016). The Mai Mai Market Official (2016) further added: “We’re not against the development of the city or the area, because they have brought us light and even more tourists for us, which for us is good for business here. But if which, if it happens in this kind of way that excludes other people, that is the problem,”. And it is this social exclusion that has the existing community of Jeppestown feeling unwelcomed in Maboneng, with some being oblivious to its existence. Putting case in point, Rees (2013) notes that “Indeed, when creating a residential offering catered to those a little better-off and used to the relative tranquillity of Johannesburg’s sprawling suburbs, there is a need to provide a sense of security, an aura of cleanliness and order. But with its efforts to control and monitor its “rejuvenated” spaces, experiences such as this seemed to point towards a subtle exclusion of those from across the tracks” (Rees, 2013). Thus, essentially, the act of rejuvenating the derelict space, cleaning up the streets, re-establishing access to resources and renewing the built form, is indeed needed within the inner city space. And for this Maboneng is undeniably applauded. Considering its developers were not given incentives to work by the state, to go into an area that nobody else was looking at, invest in its infrastructure and create a vibrant space (Govender, 2016). And that has in turn also had a positive effect on businesses around the area of Jeppestown due to increased visitor numbers (Mai Mai Market Official, 2016). An economically sound model. However, with its ‘gated community’ aesthetic and notable security guards within and around its perimeter, who in addition protect the precinct from misfit poor people; there still remains a social boundary between Maboneng and the Jeppestown neighbourhood that inhibits social integration.

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Conclusion I began this research with a hunch, that urban regeneration models like the Maboneng Precinct, create class exclusive spaces. This hunch was based on my observational realisation of a sense of blatant but subtle disparities in the social class types of people. Those included in the Maboneng ‘neighbourhood’ and those excluded, in the Jeppestown neighbourhood. The urban rich people and the urban poor people, respectively. And I recall finding this to be rather strange. Because I understood the idea of regenerating a previously decaying urban space, as to create a renewed urban space for social, physical and economic benefits. But the social integration the developers of the Precinct had promised to create, was non-existent. This prompted me to do further research into why this would be the case. My research led me to conduct numerous formal and informal interviews with various people types from both within the precinct and Jeppestown, as well as unpack the literature of urban regeneration itself. And it is clear that urban regeneration models like Maboneng precinct, do indeed create exclusive spaces. Spaces exclusive to the middle and upper-classes of people, whilst being geographically located in a working/ low class neighbourhood. There is very little social integration between the ‘gentry’ community and the existing community of Jeppestown. However, although having proven my argument true, I do not conclude on a concrete solution for this negative social effect of urban regeneration. Reading various literature sources, it seems that many private regeneration models, like Maboneng Precinct, put least importance on the actual social effects on the existing communities and more on the economic efficiency and physical aesthetic. But due to economic power and market flexibility, it is difficult for one to argue against them for their social commitment as they are under no obligation to care for more than their investment interests. So once again, the blame falls on the government’s lack of involvement and policies on the issue. Finally, social class exclusivity that results from gentrification, greatly lacks further debate in the literature discourse around the social sustainability of urban regeneration in decaying inner-city neighbourhoods. Therefore, I hope that this research can contribute to a lack of debate on the topic, with regards to the local context.

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Fig.14. View from Fox Street Studio onto rejuvenated pavements, watching tourists as they frequent the neighbourhood.

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• Daffonchio and Associates Architects,. The Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg CBD. [online] Available at: http://www.daffonchio.co.za/the-maboneng-precinct-johannesburg/ [Accessed 26 April 2016]. • Maboneng Precinct,. A Culture Of Thinkers And Makers. [online] Available at: http://www. mabonengprecinct.com/about/ [Accessed 26 April 2016]. • Rees, M. (2013). Maboneng Precint: ‘I am an island’. [online] Available at: http://mg.co.za/ article/2013-03-08-maboneng-i-am-an-island [Accessed 26 April 2016]. • School of Medicine and Public Health: University of Wisconsin-Madison, (2012). SocialClass Discrimination Contributes to Poorer Health. [online] Available at: http://www.med. wisc.edu/news-events/social-class-discrimination-contributes-to-poorer-health/38020 [Accessed 26 May 2016]. • Weaver, M. (2001). Urban Regeneration - The Issue Explained. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2001/mar/19/regeneration. urbanregeneration1 [Accessed 30 May 2016].

PDF • Caruana, J. Research Article: Social Sustainability, Urban Regeneration and Postmodern Development approaches for Strait Street, Valletta. 1st ed. [pdf]. Available at: https://www. um.edu.mt/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/257969/dissertation_Jonathan_Caruana.pdf [Accessed 10 July 2016]. • Colantonio, A. & Dixon, T. (2011). Urban Regeneration & Social Sustainability. 1st ed. [pdf] West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 3-10. Available at: http://samples.sainsburysebooks. co.uk/9781444329452_sample_416350.pdf [Accessed 11 July 2016]. • Gabrenya, W. K. (2003) Culture and Social Class. 1st ed. [pdf], pp. 1-15. Available at: http:// my.fit.edu/~gabrenya/social/readings/ses.pdf [Accessed 19 July 2016]. • Granger, R. (2010). What now for urban regeneration?. 1st ed. [pdf]. Publisher: Institution of Civil Engineers. Available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/10726/2/what%20now%20 for%20urban%20regeneration_udap163-1-9-16.pdf [Accessed 15 July 2016]. • Mosselson, A. (2016). ‘Joburg has its own momentum’: Towards a vernacular theorisation of urban change. 1st ed. [pdf] London, United Kingdom: Urban Studies Journal Limited. pp. 1-17. Available at: http://www.rc21.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/I2-mosselson. pdf [Accessed 11 July 2016]. • Pratt, A.C. (2009). Urban regeneration: from the arts ‘feel good’ factor to the cultural economy. A case study of Hoxton. 1st ed. [pdf] London, United Kingdom: Urban Studies Journal Limited, pp. 3-19. Available at: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/12251/1/hoxton-1(CRO).pdf [Accessed 20 May 2016]. • Seekings J. (2010). Class, race, and inequality in South Africa. 1st ed. [pdf] Centre for Social Science Research,. Available at: https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/22646/ Seekings_Race_classinequality_2010.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 20 July 2016]. • Seekings, J. & Nattrass, N. (2005). Class, race, and inequality in South Africa. 1st ed. [pdf] Michigan: Yale University, pp. 3-10. Available at: http://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/ files/file%20uploads%20/professor_jeremy_seekings_nicoli_nattrass_classbookos.org_. pdf [Accessed 20 July 2016].

Blogs • Constable, H. (2015). Johannesburg: A Success Story of Urban Regeneration. [Blog] Harri Travels. Available at: http://harritravels.com/johannesburg-a-success-story-of-urbanregeneration/ [Accessed 2 May 2016]. • Mason, H. (2015). My Maboneng Story. [Blog] 2Summers. Available at: http://2summers. net/2015/05/03/my-maboneng-story/ [Accessed 8 May 2016]. Email • Nair, S. (2016). 20160406 Maboneng Census Updated. [email] Interviews Not all interviewees were cited in the dissertation • Anonymous, A. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 14 April. • Alesha, A. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 14 April. • Dube, B. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 14 April. • Govender, T. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 30 May. • Mai Mai Market Official. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 14 April. • Nair, S. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 30 May.

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Videos

List of Figures

• Janssen, B. (2014). Place of Light - Maboneng Precinct. [Video] Available at: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=WrLZ1_TMhzw [Accessed 8 April 2016]. • Maboneng Precinct. (2012). Maboneng Precinct - Place of Light. [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndv9xIEYzlo/ [Accessed 8 April 2016]. • Smart Monkey TV.com. (2012). Hayleigh Evans on Johannesburg’s urban regeneration project Maboneng. [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V291PXXCCE [Accessed 8 April 2016].

• • • •

•

• • •

•

• •

• • •

Fig.1. - Author Fig.2. - Author Fig.3. - Author Fig.4. - Constable, H. (2015). Johannesburg: A Success Story Of Urban Regeneration. [image] Available at: http://harritravels.com/johannesburg-a-success-story-of-urbanregeneration/ [Accessed 2 May 2016]. Fig.5. - Constable, H. (2015). Johannesburg: A Success Story Of Urban Regeneration. [image] Available at: http://harritravels.com/johannesburg-a-success-story-of-urbanregeneration/ [Accessed 2 May 2016]. Fig.6. – Frith, A. The Maboneng Precinct: Dynamiting Urban Renovation In Johannesburg. [image] Available at: http://adrianfrith.com/) [Accessed 26 April 2016]. Fig.7. – Nair, S. (2016). 20160406 Maboneng Census Updated. [email] Fig.8. - Daffonchio and Associates Architects,. The Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg CBD. [image] Available at: http://www.daffonchio.co.za/the-maboneng-precinct-johannesburg/ [Accessed 26 April 2016]. Fig.9. - Daffonchio and Associates Architects,. The Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg CBD. [image] Available at: http://www.daffonchio.co.za/the-maboneng-precinct-johannesburg/ [Accessed 26 April 2016]. Fig.10. – Author Fig. 11. - Seekings J. (2010). Class, race, and inequality in South Africa. 1st ed. [pdf] Centre for Social Science Research,. Available at: https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/22646/ Seekings_Race_classinequality_2010.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 20 July 2016]. Fig.12. - Mason, H. (2015). My Maboneng Story. [image] Available at: http://2summers. net/2015/05/03/my-maboneng-story/ [Accessed 8 May 2016]. Fig.13. – Google Maps Image Fig.14. - Author

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5/27/2016

Business Plan

Entrepreneurship Assignment: Part A & Part B University of Johannesburg Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture Masters of architecture 1 MAPP19X: Architectural Professional Practice C.Vosloo

201227320 Natache Sylvia Iilonga 27 May 2016

Natache S. Iilonga Pr. Arch (SA); M. Arch UJ; BAS UKZN Partner Principal Architect

Bakari L. Kilumbilo Pr. Arch (SA); M. Arch UKZN; BAS UKZN Partner Principal Architect

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Part A: Question 1 Vision Statement: “Where do I see my firm going?” This statement is future-based, and is meant to clearly and concisely define the core ideals that give the firm shape and direction, as well as communicate your firm’s overall goals. Serving as a tool for strategic decision-making across the firm’s members. Mission Statement: “Why does my firm exist?” This statement is present-based, and meant to clearly convey the purpose of the firm’s existence, to both members of the firm and the external community. It ought to hold the objectives to help guide the firm’s strategies and actions, helping in guiding internal decision-making, whilst communicating the firms mission to its clients. In addition, this statement will keep your firm on track, however, it is subject to change and updating as the firm evolves.

Question 2 Goals: “What does the firm want to do?” These determine where the firm intends to go and will indicate when the firm has gotten there. These are typical a list of aspirations that are placed as annual targets and may be revised as the firm sees fit. Objectives: “How will the firm do/achieve it?” These indicate to the firm, the exact steps needed to be taken, in order for the firm to reach its established goals. Breaking down exactly what needs to be done and when over period leading to the set goals. And the more defined the firm’s goals are, the simpler the objectives.

Part B: Business Plan

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Contact Information:

VISION

Iilonga Design Studio Ms. Natache S. Iilonga, Pr. Arch (SA); M. Arch UJ; BAS UKZN Partner Principal Architect Cell: +27 72 63 79 256 Email: natache@ids.co.za

Iilonga Design Studio aspires to be leaders in the design of creative yet contextually relevant architecture, which remains sustainable in a constantly changing urban environment. Incorporating research, social sustainability and innovation, we aim to constantly challenge design norms not only in South Africa but across the African continent at large.

Document: Business Plan for Iilonga Design Studio

GOALS

Purpose: Business Promotion, Strategy & Development

Influence design norms Set new creative standards Expand further into other African Countries

MISSION STATEMENT To create contextually integrated architecture. Defined spaces that harmoniously combine sustainable urban-socio design and economics. And identify Iilonga Design Studio as a firm that challenges the set norms, in achieving sustainable innovative architectural solutions in and beyond the architecture sector.

OBJECTIVES Continuous market information management Rigorously monitored financial management Prioritise skills development and open communication teamwork Push creative design boundaries & set precedent

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Contents

Executive Summary

Contextual Background

Business Model

Marketing

Competition

Operating Procedures

Accommodation Requirements

Personnel

Business Insurance

Capital Equipment

The built environment can be defined as a fabric of infrastructure in which human life manifests its everyday livelihoods. Either directly user defined but almost always economically influenced, it is dictated by a complex integration of architecture, economics, sociology, technology and the environment. With each aspect in itself, even more complex, making their sustainability even more so uncertain in a constantly changing context. In addition, this context includes infrastructure such as cultures, shelter, basic services and economics to transportation, which clearly underline the challenge faced in trying to strive for a coexisting yet sustainable urban community. With reference to architecture, the field’s major impact is in that of the built infrastructure sector of any environment. The discipline strives to meet the (community), the economics and urban technology at mutuality. Infact, the role of the architect is to always take into consideration the relationship between the user, the environment, infrastructure needs and economic impact. Thus, despite the complex nature of these factors, architecture holds an important role in maintaining coexistence in whatever context. And UBS intends to further embrace this notion for coexistence of these factors in ensuring that the architecture we create: • • • •

Is socially conscious/ considerate Is economically viable Encourages innovative infrastructural design and urban fabric development Is sustainable both socially and environmentally

Values A commitment to Creative Exploration. Sustainable innovation; the box doesn’t exist. A commitment to Social consideration. Consider the life, in and beyond the architecture. A commitment to Integrity. Be accountable to our clients, communities and the environment. A commitment to Professionalism. High standard, great skill and passion.

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Contextual background

Business Model

In South Africa, small businesses contribute around 40% of countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gross domestic profit and employ more than half of the private sector workforce. This indicates the vital role played by small businesses in contributing the overall future growth of the South African economy. And highlights the need to further encourage entrepreneurship and small business start-ups where possible in order to continue growing the economic viability of the country. In relation to architecture as business, architecture is an applied arts and thus the primary objective of any architectural firm is to meet the architectural needs of the client at a profit. And this can be experienced in both rural and urban contexts.

Iilonga Design Studio is a passion driven firm of high-performing standards, where challenges are mental stimulants that help push innovative design. With constant inspiration to innovatively create, Iilonga Design Studio enforces Model aBusiness mission of objectives that make our designs highly sought after due to the hybrid nature of our work. In producing creative solutions, high standard services andStudio products. We driven are fascinated by the notion of challenging the Iilonga Design is a passion firm of high-performing standards, where challenges arenorms mental in an architectural expanding architecture as a design art form from not stimulants that help pushfirm; innovative design. With constant inspiration to innovatively create, Iilonga Designbuildings, Studio enforces mission of objectives oururban designsspace. highly sought after due to the only but abeyond into designthat of make public We want to create hybrid nature of our work.designs In producing solutions, high standard services Weand are socially interactive thatcreative not only benefit our clients butand theproducts. context fascinated by the notion of challenging the norms in an architectural firm; expanding architecture as a environment for which our work is tailor designed. In addition, our expertise also design art form from not only buildings, but beyond into design of public urban space. We want to create enables us to take on complicated projects (corporate; government) for service socially interactive designs that not only benefit our clients but the context and environment for which our driven clients that may requireournot only architectural management work is tailor designed. In addition, expertise also enables ussolutions to take on but complicated projects of projects as well. (corporate; government) for service driven clients that may require not only architectural solutions but

Description of Business Iilonga Design Studio is a Johannesburg based architectural design firm located in the central business district area of the city, and led by a team of sociallyconscious-creative minds. We focus fundamentally on undertaking complex design assignments that push for a creative edge, allowing us to constantly challenge design norms in the built industry. We are experienced based and have the expertise to undertake a variety of project types but with main focus on corporate and government clients, until expansion funds are acquired. As we are a proudly African firm, we take great pride in creating contextually sustainable designs that are in coherence with the environment for which they are tailored. Style of practice Iilonga Design Studio is run as a small partnership started between Ms Natache Iilonga and Mr Bakari Kilumbilo. Both partners sit as professionally qualified principal architects within the firm and actively partake in the operations of the firm from a design point. Iilonga Design Studio began when we identified a niche in the market, where we realised the need for architecture to be more interactive in its urban context. Regardless of building type, we believe that architecture has a great social responsibility, first, to the environment in which it allows for life to manifest.

management of projects as well.

The business model of Iilonga Design Studio, is very experience based with a The business model of Iilonga Design Studio, is very experience based with a strong service stance. strong service stance. Below is a brief summary of our business model type: Below is a brief summary of our business model type:

Firm type Type of projects Key strength

Experience based/ strong service firm Non-routine and complex projects. Creative experience and reliability. Ability to organise and deliver significant and complex projects. Leadership and management Charismatic leadership who can maintain good relations Communicative, interactive & creative style Principal architects focus on architectural design, while Structure office manager takes on managerial aspect of projects and the firm. Well organised with clear channels for communication Balanced and even mix of staffing levels Staffing Ability to perform challenging projects efficiently Critical success factors High perceived value at relatively high efficiency levels Competitive strategy Profitability and satisfaction level Dependant on well managed projects and skilful use of qualified team. Delegating down of functions for team involvement. Persons requiring comprehensive, efficient service and Client type high levels of personal involvement

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The core services the firm focuses on include:

Marketing

Full Architectural services

Marketing is a very crucial aspect of any firm to ensure its survival in a constantly competitive architectural industry, however marketing of architectural services differs from marketing in general business. At Iilonga Design Studio, we believe that marketing begins with the client. A well-developed marketing strategy can ensure that the firm remains in the public eye, which in turn can result in an inflow of projects and maintained profit gains. The firm will identify the most efficient and effective way to use a company’s financial and human resources to achieve success in the market and add value to the brand. The firm is determined to build itself as a brand by creating architecture that offers its clients more benefits than just features; making design a lifestyle choice, an investment for clients and the environment.

• • • •

Architectural Design Urban Design Repurposing old buildings The core services the firm focuses on include: Master Site Planning Full Architectural services

Interior Design 

Architectural Design  Urban Design  Repurposing old buildings planning  Master Site Planning

• Spatial • Corporate & Design Retail Interiors Interior 

Spatial planning

 Corporate & Retail Interiors Project Management

Iilonga Design Studio intends to approach marketing in the following forms:



Project Management • Project Development 

Architectural Services

Clients

• Through networking not only amongst associated clients but by establishing relationships with representatives within the building industry and beyond. • Due to our creative expertise, we can safely allow work done for clients to showcase itself. • Understanding and delivering on the client’s needs, too, is infact marketing based on an establishment of trust in the designer’s skills. • Also, the public image portrayed by the firm and its representatives through different media platforms to word of mouth, is a highly valued.

Project Development

Interior Design

Project Management

Clients The firm will provide many levels of service to cater to large and small corporations, along with making our services affordable for lower, middle and upper socioeconomic classes. Clients will include:

The firm will provide many levels of service to cater to large and small  Governments corporations, along with making our services affordable for lower, middle and  Private Clients upper socioeconomic classes. Clients  Commercial Property Owners will include: • • • • • •

 Property Developers  Community groups Governments  Corporate Companies

Private Clients Commercial Property Owners Property Developers Community groups Corporate Companies

1 0

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Competition

Operating Procedures

It is known that only 25% of start-up architectural firms survive the first 3 years of operation, with the others failing merely due to lack of distinctive edge in a highly competitive architectural market. The firms currently dominating the market are primary market leaders who remain constantly in view of any prospective clients, thus creating a battlefield for projects for smaller shadowed firms. It is therefore pivotal that a firm either be masterful at a skill/ expertise, seek to diversify the through a multi-disciplinary approach or identify unchartered opportunities in the market for exploitation.

The business of architecture remains highly competitive for attaining projects; the sustenance of any architectural firm. Despite the availability and demand for infrastructure in the country, the trick lies in how one attracts the desired projects. Thus, it is vital that a firm not rely on its laurels but rather stay updated in terms of tactical approaches to operating in the business realm of architecture. Our approach at Iilonga Design Studio operates under the governance of all prescribed SACAP and SAIA directives, however, we also accommodate the need to adapt to today’s economy of conducting business. Therefore, we have opted to define our services as articulately as possible to avoid over committing and to better manage project costs.

Iilonga Design Studio is unique in that we dare to push the creative boundaries of every one of our projects and dare to challenge what is mainstream. Our clients are attracted to our ability to perform challenging projects efficiently in producing quality sustainable design; and thus, this allows us to maintain a relatively demanding client base that the majority of firms do not cater for. In addition, our prices and salaries offered remain market competitive and allow for adjustments according to the client/project needs and skill levels. Furthermore, Iilonga Design Studio holds as a multidisciplinary architectural firm that offers service in related fields of urban design, interior design and project management. Thus, offering full service in one place. We strive for quality and aspire to become leading pioneers in creative sustainable design solutions that cater for a changing urban African environment. In addition, our goal is to further branch out and establish sister firms in several other African countries, as finances allow

Architectural Services It is mandatory that a client seeking to undertake any architectural work, appoint a professional and understand the statutory requirements applicable to the performance of architectural work; before agreeing to/proceeding to engage with such work. To ensure quality throughout, it is highly recommended that the Professional is engaged for the FULL Scope of services (Stages 1 – 6): The Standard Services to be provided by the Architect are subdivided into six stages, these are as follows, with the essential functions of each stage identified: Stage 1 Inception 1.1 Receive, Appraise and Report on the Client’s Requirements with regard to: • • • • • • • •

the Client’s Initial Brief the Site and Rights and Constraints Budgetary Constraints the need for Consultants the Architect’s Service required the Architect’s Professional Fees for the service the time frame for the project methods of contracting

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Stage 2 Concept & Viability 2.1 Prepare an Initial Design and advise on: • • • • •

The intended space provisions and planning relationships Proposed materials and intended building services The technical and functional characteristics of the design The anticipated costs for the project The project programme

2.2 Check for conformity of the concept with the rights to the use of the land 2.3 Review the project programme Stage 3 Design Development 3.1 Confirm the Scope and Complexity and: • • • •

Review the design and consult with Local and Statutory Authorities Finalize the Design, Construction System, Materials and Components Incorporate all Services and the work of Consultants Review the Design, Costing and Programme with the Consultants (where appointed)

Stage 4 Documentation & Procurement 4.1 Prepare Construction Documentation and: • Co-ordinate technical documentation with the Consultants and complete Primary Co-ordination • Prepare Specifications for the Works • Review the Costing and Programme with the Consultants • Obtain the Client’s Authority and Submit Documents for Approval • Obtain the Client’s Authority to prepare Documents to Procure Offers for the execution of the Works • Obtain offers for the Execution of the Works • Evaluate and recommend of the Award of the Building Contract • Prepare the Contract Documentation (and arrange the signing of the contract)

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Stage 5 Construction • Issue Construction Documentation • Initiate and / or check sub-contract design and documentation as appropriate. • Inspect the works for conformity to the contact documentation • Administer and perform the Duties and Obligations assigned to the Principal Agent in the JBCC Building Agreements, or fulfil the obligations provided for in other forms of contract • Issue the Certificate of Practical Completion. • Assist the client to obtain the Occupation Certificate. Stage 6 Close Out Fulfil and complete the project close-out including the preparation of the necessary documentation to facilitate the effective completion, handover and operation of the project.

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SWOT Analysis

Objectives

A SWOT analysis helps analyse whether the firm can build a sustainable competitive advantage in the market and how the firm will differentiate itself Awith SWOTthe analysis helpsitanalyse whether the firm can build a sustainable competitive advantage in the product proposes:

In light of the country’s poor employment records over the years, it is safe to assume that unemployment indeed, is a hurdle that not only government has the burden of tackling but inclusive of the entire business sector as well. But it can only be eradicated by combined efforts. Thus, re-emphasising the vital role of small business development. This is the inevitable context in which we at Iilonga Design Studio operate.

IILONGA DESIGN STUDIO

Therefore, with this context in mind, Iilonga Design Studio as a young firm that focuses on quality rather than quantity, will indeed make its contribution in terms of creating employment opportunities. We intend to operate on a five year phased plan, which will ensure efficient financial development and team growth of the firm. In addition, we will professionally develop our core operations by sufficiently equipping our team with market relevant skills to not only better the firm but empower the individual in the long run.

SWOT Analysis

market and how the firm will differentiate itself with the product it proposes

Strengths     

Creative, experienced and committed staff Professionalism Project management and development skills Efficient resource and financial management Specialized knowledge on social and sustainable architectural & urban design

Opportunities

Weaknesses 

Software upgrades



Operational Funding



Inconsistent Cash flow



Skills development among staff



Hardware

Year 5 – 13 Employees

Threats

Niche market for explorative sustainable design



Unavailability of funding for projects & operations



Continental need for more contextualised professional services



Project delays & cost overruns



Delayed payments from clients

Increased spending on/ and demand for infrastructure development in Africa

Year 1 - 6 employees Year 3 – 10 Employees



Employment growth Plan



This is the forecasted growth plan for Iilonga Design Studio, which intends to be managed by the Partnered Principal Architects with the aim to streamline the firm’s services, professionalism and operations; but in line with vigilant financial management. In year 1, the Principal Architects will administer all operations and administration running of the firm. In year 3, with the growth in acquired projects, the business operations of the firm will be subdivided into 2 parts of creative and administration. With each of these divisions will have a manager in charge whom reports to the Principal Architects.

Lack of skills with external contractors

Successively, in year 5, it is expected that the firm will have promisingly familiarised itself in the built environment as well as have attainment of a full a functioning team of administrative and creative professionals.

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Financial Management

Accommodation Requirements

In order for any architectural firm to get off the ground and run efficiently, it requires rigorous management of all finances (mismanagement causes the downfall of many firms). Thus, as a financial management objective, Iilonga Design Studio will incorporate annual budget restrictions and allowances, to allow for regular monitoring and reflection of operational and project financing. With projected annual profit margins of 10%, ratios to be used, subject to accountant advice, in order to evaluate financial performance include the following:

When setting up operations, an architectural firm should always ensure to set up in area most convenient in relation to its target market/clients. This helps maintain and attract further clients. Thus, due to the corporate, government and repurposing based nature of Iilonga Design Studio services, the firm will be located I the Johannesburg CBD, as the area is populated government departments, corporate clients as well as a popular site for developers seeking urban regenerative investments. Also, the CBD is well fuelled in terms of accessibility with easily affordable public transport for both clients and staff members (further in line with the firms stance on sustainability) to take advantage of.

• Liquidity – Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities • Debt Capital Ratio = Debt Capital/ Total Capital • Net Profit Margin = Net Profit/ Net Income x 100/1 • Breakeven Analysis = Breakeven Revenue = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs Furthermore, architectural fees charged must be based on estimated cost plus profit. Thus in order to ensure a streamlined inflow of income from clients, we look to allow for fees to be paid at regular intervals to ease cash flow. We will allow for weekly follow ups to ensure that fee invoices are issued promptly and that overhead costs are managed. For our first 5 years, the firm’s aim is to establish a system of efficient financial and operational management which will allow us to build up substantial financial reserves. Regarding fee structures, Iilonga Design Studio will proceed with billing its clients based on modifiable fee structures. These fee structures vary widely, depending on the complexity of the project, geographical location and a host of other factors. Some of the ways architectural firms charge for their services include: • Fixed fee (or flat fee) – Where the designer identifies a specific sum to cover costs, exclusive of reimbursement for expenses. One total fee applies to the complete range of services, from conceptual development through layouts, specifications and final installation. • Hourly fee - Some designers charge based on the actual time spent on a project or specific service, with fees based on the required detail and other professionals who may need to be consulted. • Percentage fee - Compensation is computed as a percentage of construction/ project costs.

Furthermore, rentals for commercial space in the area are rather reasonable with ranges from R 5 000-R20 000 for spaces ranging from 50m²- 250m² in easily accessible places. Personnel First and foremost, in order for any architectural firm to run efficiently, it needs to have a well-functioning team, as teamwork is what produces work. As a design firm, we realize that a highly skilled and motivated workforce is crucial to achieving success and thus, there is nothing more important to a design firm’s health than its team. Therefore, in keeping with the firm’s creative and innovative mission, provisions will also be made for various staff training programs to further develop skills, as it is of utmost important. Staffing Plan The firm will start off being run by the Partner Principal Architects in the following team setup: • • • • • • •

Partner Principal Architects Office Manager Receptionist/ Office administrator Project Manager Architectural Assistants Architectural technologists Interior Designers

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At Iilonga Design Studio, we take on a very participative management style where teamwork and project teams are vital for keeping high the morale of the team. All personnel are subject to monthly constructive performance feedback, from which each member can take and further challenge themselves. We believe in a stimulating environment cultivating creativity amongst team members interacting in an architectural space thus we maintain high levels of communication between the Principal Architects down to the managers and technologists. This is an objective we aim to exploit daily as the firm grows. Projected Growth Of Team: Regarding the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth, below is our projected growth of team, in line with our 5 year goal plan: Year 1 2 Partner Principal Architects Receptionist/ Office Administrator 2 Architectural Technologists 1 Interior Designer Year 3 2 Partner Principal Architects Office Manager 1 Architectural Assistant 3 Architectural Technologists 2 Interior Designers Receptionist /Office Administrator Year 5 2 Partner Principal Architects Office Manager Receptionist /Office Administrator Project Manager 2 Architectural Assistants 4 Architectural Technologists 2 Interior Designers

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Business Insurance Insurance for any business offering service to the public, is vital as this allows cover for any unforeseen events that may require large amount of financial remuneration at one time, in the building industry. Professional Indemnity Insurance: This is insurance required by all practicing architects and architectural firms. It is cover for any discrepancy that may happen when an architectural firm takes on a project. This may range from claims, to damages, but it is mandatory that cover for each project is taken out and kept in place for at least 5 years after final completion. However, very specifically, it does not provide cover for any work undertaken by the architect for which architects are not specialists. Asset Insurance: Insurance cover for the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operational assets such as the office premises, company vehicles, all equipment and furniture against any form of damage or theft. So the firm is able to replace what can be replaced with no delay and resume operations. Public Indemnity: This insurance shall be taken out for our large, public obstructing projects, where the safety of the ordinary public may be threatened as a result of a constructional intervention by the firm.

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Capital Equipment Required

The operating will include:

Capital Equipment Required

• Marketing and web site maintenance and design • CPD courses

Projected start up expenditure: Projected start up expenditure:

• Gross wages, including anticipated overtime & taxes

Costs

• Payroll taxes and benefits, paid sick leave, health insurance & unemployment

Principal Architects x2 @R45 000

R90 000

• Insurance including fire, liability, workers’ compensation, etc.

Receptionist/Office Administrator

R18 000

Architectural Technologists x3 @R15 000

R15 000

Item Salaries

Subtotal R144 000 Office Office Rent (JHB CBD)

R13 000

Software (Licences x2)

R120 000

Equipment (laptops, printers, phones)

R68 010

Office Stationery & Paper Rolls

R3 000

IT (telephone, email, system back up, software subscription

R6 528

Subtotal R210 538 Miscellaneous Liabilities (Loan repayments)

R0 000

Office Furniture

R9 000

Office travelling (meetings, municipal)

R5 600 Subtotal R14 600

Marketing Brand Development (Once Off)

R18 051 Subtotal R18 051

Total R387 189

insurance • Rent • Subcontracting and outside services (including the cost of labour and materials) • Daily operation expenditure • Travel, car and fuel (mileage) allowance • Professional services such fees paid to accountants, consultants, etc. • Telephones, fax, Internet Service Provider, Software • Utilities such as water, heat, electricity • Miscellaneous

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185

5/27/2016

Business Plan

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University of Johannesburg GSA Alternative Practice Essay Final Natache Iilonga -201227320 15 September 2016 CHALLENGING PRACTICE_FINAL_IILONGA ‘In an age of mass production when everything must be planned and designed, design has become the most powerful tool with which man shapes his tools and environments (and, by extension, society and himself). This demands high social and moral responsibility from the designer.’ - Victor Papanek

Having grown up in a space were social agency, and not architects, built and designed required spaces, I never recognised the need for the architect. Being in the profession today, however, I am once again witnessing the slow death of the profession, to informal agency; and quite frankly, to other building professions. So why am I still studying architecture?...Certainly not to sit in an office designing fancy buildings, that is a given.

ALTERNATIVE PRACTICE Essay

We as architects, pride ourselves on being innovative thinkers (theoretically) and out-of-the-box designers (theoretically) with voices that command leadership within the built environment (theoretically). Gathering around in conferences to listen to each other brag about the buildings that we so efficiently designed. Buildings that, in reality, only the financially able would ever get to experience. Then we turn the coin and take up a more ethical or socially conscious character when arguing against the engineer for the sake of the ‘user-spatial experience’ of the building to parading the completion their most recent pro bono project. Yet, despite our many abilities (apart from the starchitects), we don’t earn much. Surely, there is more to the norm? Personally, my studies in architecture have equipped me with the tools on how to manipulate spaces and the users of that space. Mind control, if you will. But most importantly, an almost gifted eye in understanding people and space. However, because the profession is political, economically, it remains second to the agency that designed and built the informal settlement. So, does my profession then only stand to serve the rich? And in an increasingly informal becoming of urban Africa as a context, can my profession actually adapt to this change? Must ethical design always be worth the little to no pay? Do we fix ‘problems’ or respond? And according to whom is a ‘problem’ a problem in an urban environment?

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These questions, for me, were tested during our ASF workshop, where our abilities to think non-architecturally were pushed in terms of providing feasible responses to scenarios that dug into the social politics of the built fabric; that we as architects, both directly and indirectly, impact by merely being part of the building design team. In fact, during our first day debate, a comment was put on the table, that architects should â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;stay in their laneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I strongly disagree, because although spatial planning is what we do, every space comes with its social constructs and inevitably, we are trained to understand a context along with its social structure. Perhaps yes, we are not social scientists, but the social aspect of our work still remains. In closing, I stand for the need for architecture to adapt itself to the constantly changing African context. Where what is today, may not be tomorrow. An opportunity for an alternative form of practice, actually. Reinvent the wheel, in allowing a flexibility of the norm, we are too statically comfortable to change. Also, we need to understand that the urban built environment is not only made up of rich clients who use us, but equally important poor clients who are the catalysts of urban change by making their own environments. An opportunity to avoid extinction of the profession, in exchange to being more practical with our skills sharing with the people on the ground; from whom we would essentially learn from and ultimately change the practice of architecture as we know it.

Challenging Practice group work

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European Conference on African Studies 2017 PANEL DISCUSSION: C57 ENGINEERING THE MIDDLE CLASSES: STATE INSTITUTIONS, WEALTH, AND ASPIRATIONS OF CITIZENSHIP Masters of Illusion? Developers and the Regeneration of Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg Natache Sylvia Iilonga Graduate School of Architecture University of Johannesburg

MASTERS OF ILLUSION?

Developers and the Regeneration Precinct in Johannesburg

Maboneng

It was a Sunday morning when I found myself for the first time in the Maboneng Precinct located in the east of Johannesburg’s Central Business District. Maboneng is a Sotho word which translates as place of light and is a destination praised both locally and internationally as a ‘flagship model for the urban regeneration of decaying city spaces not only in Johannesburg, but in other South African cities as well’ (Evans,2012). I got off of the Rea Vaya bus and landed on a makeshift pavement flanking Albertina Sisulu Road, which my bus driver had indicated as the Maboneng ‘stop’. I stood on the side of the road, in the relatively impoverished area known as Jeppestown, waiting for the speeding traffic to allow me a space to cross. The littered street, the poorly maintained factory-building facades and a breeze carrying the aroma of urine characterises the area. That, and black people, of course. Some were hurrying; old women gripping bibles and dressed in their ‘Sunday best’, while others, in their youth and sporting brightly coloured, unbranded fashion wear, sat along the edge of the pavement on the other side engulfed in drunken laughter - bottles in brown bags littering the ground. My chance to cross the road finally came, and I made my way to Commissioner Street, the last barrier to my destination in Fox Street. To my left, on the pavement, lay a homeless, black man. He was the source of a lingering smell of the hunga drug (a street-drug mix of marijuana and antiretroviral medication), and a sight often associated with the Johannesburg inner-city. Within minutes, he was harassed out of the ‘Place of Light’ by a security guard, hurling what I assumed were insults in vernacular, and hurling insults rather than a wellaimed kick, presumably because he would rather not touch the man. The use of words to define spaces of inclusion and exclusion is a topic to which I will return shortly. The same security guard responsible for his removal greeted me with both enthusiasm and respect. He was tasked with guarding the nearby Museum of African Design (MOAD) – a Maboneng Precinct development.

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The security guard was a black man proudly commanding the space in his bright red uniform. I watched as the homeless man stumbled and grumbled, disappearing around the corner into Jeppestown territory. Weighed down by a sense of guilt, I crossed the street and took in the upmarket-main artery of the Maboneng Precinct. Here I felt ‘safer’, since Fox Street looked more like SoHo in New York than innercity Johannesburg. The buildings were retouched, and the street was free of litter and lined with high-end fashion boutiques and restaurants that made my wallet cry. Even the air was fresher, due to the trees which line the pedestrian-friendly, paved street. Well-to-do people dressed as if for a fashion show, paraded up and down the market and street space comfortably. Black and white visitors, artsy and touristy alike. I breathed in the ‘rejuvenated’ place with relief, greeting a passing security guard. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice the strong hints of exclusion of those who, just along the periphery, did not fit in. The space clearly catered for a higher social class but in such a way that it appeared gated: yet there were no gates in sight. How was the separation maintained? This essay critiques urban regeneration in Johannesburg using the Maboneng Precinct as a case study. Maboneng is a gentrified urban space conceived of by a single private developer rather than a gradual, market-driven renewal or renewal by state intervention. The developer thus has state-like power in this area. But according to its developers, Propertuity, the development aims to create an inclusive space (Nair,2016). The Maboneng Precinct established itself a mandate to regenerate a decaying innercity area where even government preferred not to intervene. Today, Maboneng’s clean streets, and pavements unspoilt by urine and lined by green, leafy trees, signify this renewal. It also signifies the arrival and settling of a new class of people who previously wouldn’t dare to set foot there. The precinct is class exclusive, separating the ‘gentry’ community of the Maboneng ‘neighbourhood’ from the poorer community of neighbouring Jeppestown. Contemporary literature on urban regeneration suggests that regeneration initiatives have been dominated by private rather than public interests; with more models being initiated by the profit-driven private sector (Roberts, Sykes and Granger,2016). Such initiatives focus on decaying urban areas, but disregard the needs of poor communities in those spaces. Using existing literature, interviews, and ethnographic research, this paper seeks to investigate Maboneng’s claim at being an inclusive space.

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But inclusive of whom, and how? It argues that developers are masters of illusion, spinning a language of inclusion that does not exist, and creating a city of smoke and mirrors with visual cues of a city elsewhere . . . maybe Soho New York? Anywhere but Jeppestown. But why should we care? Because, I would argue, its replication will simply lead to more developer-led illusions. Cities of illusions, rather than real and inclusive cities.

Keeping up with the Jeppes. What will the neighbours think? I start with the words of an official of the kwaMai-Mai ‘muthi’ market, a South African traditional medicine market, located in Johannesburg’s inner city, less than five hundred metres from Maboneng. ‘Maboneng, is a new name they came with. It was called Jeppestown. We are the community of Jeppestown. They didn’t even tell us what they were doing here in our neighbourhood. How low is it lowincome accommodation? Because asking R3 500 (about U$270) for rent from people here who can only afford R500 (about U$40) for rent? That is not low income. It is low for them, not for us. We’re not against the development of the city or the area, because they have brought us light and even more tourists . . . which for us is good for business. But if it happens in this kind of way that excludes other people, that is the problem.’ (Kwa Mai Mai Muthi Market Official, 2016) During my interviews, many business owners and residents from Jeppestown; Doornfontein and the kwaMai-Mai ‘muthi’ market district expressed disapproval about the way Maboneng intruded into the existing neighbourhood. Having gentrified a part of their neighbourhood under the guise of ‘inclusive’ urban regeneration (and then alienating itself), it avoids any form of integration with the existing poor community of Jeppestown. Though image makers and brand managers at Propertuity claim to create inclusive neighbourhoods through their offering of high- and low-income accommodation and affordable business space, the reality is that not everyone agrees on what words like ‘low-income’ actually even mean. The Maboneng model embodies a dual function. Firstly, it is a physically defined form in the city and secondly, it is a brand, or image created with the power of ‘words as representation’. This displacement of lower income communities in favour of the middle and upper-classes is the definition of gentrification. But the romanticism of the language with which this ‘regeneration’ is described by developers, hides this.

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Maboneng’s founders exploit the language of inclusivity but, undermine it with a contrasting reality. I argue that urban regeneration in Maboneng has been driven by private interests, and that the model is aimed at creating the impression of an economically-thriving urban public space, but which is in fact in service only of the private developer and its profit motive. In Taming the Disorderly City: The Spatial Landscape of Johannesburg after Apartheid, Martin Murray argues that the city’s aspiration to become a ‘world class’ (global) city, is materialising at the expense of the city’s poor people. With state efforts to increase the market values of derelict urban spaces being hampered by bureaucracy, the city looks to market forces capitalised by the private sector. These forces however, in turn commandeer prime urban sites overlooking community regeneration for reinvestment potential. The owner of a backpackers business located within Maboneng explains: ‘This type of regeneration is about bringing the money back into the city. Unfortunately, poor people lost out in this, but it’s good for the overall economy of the country. It is an exclusive space, but I mean, that’s the only way to deal with these kinds of spaces. Listen that disparity [poor vs. rich] or that contrast exists throughout South Africa. I mean if you look at Sandton/Alexandra Township or go to Cape Town, you’ll be shocked as well. It takes more than just one company to be able to merge that. At the end of the day, actually, government is supposed to deal with the social aspects. The developers did their part.’ (Dube, 2016) And then there was light Street lights begin where Jeppestown ends. The light, which defines Maboneng both metaphorically and materially ends, literally, beneath the M2 highway, which defines the northern end of the development. One side of the road is light, yet foreign and across, in the darkness, is local. While it claims to be a ‘mixeduse and integrated urban neighbourhood’ (SMTV, 2012), Maboneng is rather an example of ‘an island of renewal, in a sea of decay’ (Wyly and Hammel, 1999). It maintains its isolated position through a variety of mechanisms, some subtle, some less so. Entry is restricted firstly, and most visibly, with security guards which surround the precinct’s borders. Their job not only concerns the safety of the Maboneng community and its assets, but also the control of the movements of people deemed unfit to ‘integrate’ into the precinct. And secondly, entry is restricted by the subtler means of the stark contrast, in material terms, between the precinct and the surrounding Jeppestown and Doornfontein neighbourhoods which are occupied by low-income communities.

195

An anonymous interviewee in the precinct described it as follows: ‘It’s in the materials, the people, class . . . there’s security guards on each end. . . [I]t’s now an area of wealth . . .’ (Anonymous interviewee A, 2016). The change in material quality and absence or presence of light announces the boundaries to the precinct subconsciously, allowing it a visual power that communicates social exclusion and gentrification as normal and okay. In addition to the light and materials, the boundaries of this place is maintained by the language with which the project is branded and explained. An interviewee on site summarised this when he said: ‘So, obviously the area we now know as Maboneng is not a barricaded area you know, or even a registered area, it’s more of a philosophy.’ (Dube, 2016) In interviews with key members of Propertuity - the property development company that owns Maboneng - the language used to describe the ‘run-down’ neighbourhood which preceded the regeneration development seems often to be focused to emphasise that no one lived on the site at that time. Hayleigh Evans, Propertuity’s Brand Manager, in a 2012 interview with SmartMonkey.tv, stated that ‘on the whole, most buildings were empty’ and calls the area a ‘blank landscape’. Even a cursory glance at adjacent neighbourhoods, which are densely populated, reveals that this could not have been true. Inadvertently, Shruthi Nair, Propertuity’s Key Projects Manager, admits this as she argues (delicately) that ‘there are only two buildings we actually bought where there was a residential portfolio’. But the phrase ‘residential portfolio’ refers to those who were legally and formally housed in Maboneng. A large number of squatter families were nobodies, ‘not there, a blank landscape’. This language of erasure of households in the city has been an essential part of Maboneng’s success.

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197

Smoke and Mirrors

References:

Beyond the moral issues, the Maboneng precinct is a simulation – like a conjurer, the developers play with words and image to create a city that does not exist in the local, but in a far away land. It is part of the reason why it serves as a model for other cities - why it can be reproduced and replicated - is precisely its detachment from its real context. The fact that the precinct has no supermarket, for example, only occasional artisanal produce markets, positions it outside of the concerns of everyday citizens of the city. It is instead set in the world of ideas informed almost entirely by the surface aesthetics of urban centres elsewhere - most notably SoHo in New York, mentioned often in the developer’s brochures and marketing campaigns. Its visual attractiveness is little more than a representation of an outdated ideal of the city which exists at the limits of the middle-class imagination. The clean streets and leafy-green trees, as well as the community of Maboneng and the language it uses, are barriers which maintain the operation of the space as class exclusive.

Books • Jacobs, J. (1961) The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage Books Edition. • Murray, M. (2008). Taming the Disorderly City: The Spatial Landscape of Johannesburg after Apartheid. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp.1-236. • Polèse, M. & Stren, R. (2013) The Social Sustainability of Cities, Diversity, and the Management of Change. (Eds) Toronto: University of Toronto Press

Maboneng’s top-down design is what opens it up to such critiques. I argue that it has missed an opportunity to critically investigate alternative forms of living in the city, adapted from and appropriate to the context of Johannesburg. This is all the more of concern since, though it is in service of probably myopic private interests, it is serving as a model for other cities within the framework of what the developers call a ‘city to city growth strategy’ (Propertuity, 2016). The first such outpost is already underway in the Rivertown Precinct in the city of Durban. The spread of this model would be lamentable, since, in its attempts to produce something to aspire to – ‘a bit of Europe in Africa’ (an extremely insulting and underhanded ‘compliment’ indeed), Maboneng, and its creators have, instead produced a viscerally tangible monument to alienation and separation.

Chapters • Jager, M. “Class Definition and the Esthetics of Gentrification: Victoriana in Melbourne”. In: Smith, N. & Williams, P, ed., (1986) Gentrification of the city. Boston: Harper Collins Publishers. In: Lees, L., Slater, T. and Wyly, E, eds., The Gentrification Reader. London: Routledge, Chapter 14, pp. 153-159. • Wyly, E. & Hammel, D. (1999). “Islands of Decay in Seas of Renewal: Housing Policy and the Resurgence of Gentrification”. Housing Policy Debate, 10(4), pp. 711-771. In: Lees, L., Slater, T. and Wyly, E, eds., The Gentrification Reader. London: Routledge, Chapter 34, pp. 455-461. PDF • Granger, R. (2010). What now for urban regeneration?. 1st ed. [pdf]. Publisher: Institution of Civil Engineers. Available at: https://eprints.mdx. ac.uk/10726/2/what%20now%20for%20urban%20regeneration_ udap1631-9-16.pdf [Accessed 15 July 2016]. • Rees, M. (2013). Maboneng Precint: ‘I am an island’. [online] Available at: http://mg.co.za/article/2013-03-08-maboneng-i-am-an-island [Accessed 26 April 2016]. Interviews • Anonymous, A. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 14 April. • Dube, B. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 14 April. • Govender, T. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 30 May. • Mai Mai Market Official. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 14 April. • Nair, S. (2016) Interviewed by Ilsa Archillies, Aisha Balde and Natache Iilonga, 30 May.

198 | Annexure D | Natache Sylvia Iilonga | M2

Video • SMTV: Smart Monkey TV.com. (2012). Hayleigh Evans on Johannesburg’s urban regeneration project Maboneng. [Video] Available at: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=V29-1PXXCCE [Accessed 8 April 2016].

199

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Volume 3 The Weighting Aisle

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The Weighting Aisle

THE

Dismantelling structures of power in the check-out aisle

WEIGHTING

AISLE DISMANTELING STRUCTURES OF POWER IN 14 THE CHECK-OUT AISLE

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In the piece, ‘Is it fake? Black Women’s Hair as Spectacle and Spectacular’ (1995), author Deborah Grayson states, ‘Hairstyle has become a battleground where issues related to the politics of personal appearance and beauty are being fought out.’ Further elaborating that, ‘due to mixed breeds, when skin colour fails to racially define, the characteristic that does not fail, is hair texture and colour’. This even relates to the 15th century slavery times where, according to Cheryl Thompson in ‘Black Women and Identity: What does hair have to do with it?’, there was a clear association of functionality between hair and the space that black slaves occupied. Where the house nigger had to dress their hair similarly to their slave owner, different from the field nigger. My study’s overarching aim is about inverting power associated to image, and in particular, hair’s contribution to image based standards. Aiming to render the powerful, powerless to the point of empathy; and the powerless, powerful to a point of freedom. A trade space. Embodying five main spatial experiences that would engage the trading of reactions as a commodity. The project sought to speculate a space of perceived normality around black hair, in which power is taken by those with black hair through the use of key spatial experiences manifesting on the site of the check - out aisle.

205

STRAIGHT - MALL (public space) the whiter, the better

AFRO - HOME (private space) away and out of sight

+ NATURAL UNKEPT - OFFICE (semi-public space) thin line between professional and unprofessional

Black women’s hair is political. I don’t intend to make a political statement based on the way I wear my hair, but I do. The shear act of walking into a room with my hair in its natural kinky state, becomes an invitation for people to make immediate assumptions. I can get fired, denied rights or put in detention because of my hair. My hair is a ‘discrimination issue’; a racial issue, a societal issue, a historical issue, a beauty issue, a black woman issue.

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A Trade Reaction: The Weighting Aisle In the piece, ‘Is it fake? Black Women’s Hair as Spectacle and Spectacular’ (1995), author Deborah Grayson states, ‘Hairstyle has become a battleground where issues related to the politics of personal appearance and beauty are being fought out.’ Further elaborating that, ‘due to mixed breeds, when skin colour fails to racially define, the characteristic that does not fail, is hair texture and colour’. This even relates to the 15th century slavery times where, according to Cheryl Thompson in ‘Black Women and Identity: What does hair have to do with it?’, there was a clear association of functionality between hair and the space that black slaves occupied. Where the house nigger had to dress their hair similarly to their slave owner, different from the field nigger. Today, there are 3 structural dimensions, I identified to explore, of social systems that construct and upload our social norms. Namely: • Signification: signs, symbols and words • Domination: political and economic institutions • Legitimation: regulation and legal institutions Regarding points 2 and 3, I find that when it is harder to trace racial prejudice on legal, political and economic terms, due to civil rights progression, it falls onto the tracking of its covert forms through point 1, signification. And so, I have structured my enquiry into 3: 1. Firstly, my subjective enquiry, where the deal I identified, is in the trading in of my identity for access or acceptance in my daily spaces. Explored as the journey of my hair through space, documented using tweets and concluded with my expressive understanding of the day. 2. Secondly, I explored a spatial enquiry of a typical ‘black hair space’ at Salon City in Noord Street. Where, along with conducting hair questionnaires, analysing hairpiece prices to hairdressing time and subjective street experience, I realised a conflict in the sharing of my personal bubble and ‘other people’ public bubbles. 3. And thirdly, leading to the societal enquiry of racial biasedness of black hair. Using the ladies in my age group of 18-30, also known as provisional adults, according to Gail Sheehy, my study investigates where the pressure of upholding our racially biased standards of beauty, come from. And so, using SABC Media House as an image standards production house to track this demographic, it was established that most of them exist within the LSM 1-6 category, according to SABC data. As students and working professionals with controlled access to internet and still reliant on TV as a source of visual stimulation.

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As a first iteration, I mapped a day’s worth of viewing SABC TV channels, indicating the volume of varying types of hair that was seen, in the following categories: advertisements, soapies, news and primetime slot. I mapped in this way in order to establish a bases for its comparative physical space. For instance, advertisements or digital space of consumerism. I then compared to a mall or a physical space of consumerism. The exploration then led to a narrowing down of a space of interest to, in this case, a consumerist space with a high percentage of my focus demographic. So the physical mapping of the print media, led to a focus on the check-out of a store; as a space with image on constant display, through its array of magazine walls. Check-out aisles intrigue for a number of reasons. It is a compulsory space. It is a space that literally allows the consumer to check-out and consumptive decisions are less deliberate and driven by emotion. Also, located in the context of a mall, it is a vital, enterprise capital trade space And thus, aiming to explore this impulsive, emotive and intense means of cohersing, I looked at manipulating 3 architectural components of the aisle: • The floor – as an expression of comfort and status • The wall – as a guide to where you go, wait and what you look at. • The ceiling – as the controller. The element that exists without question, like our image standards. Now, my study’s overarching aim is about inverting power associated to image, and in particular, hair’s contribution to image based standards. Aiming to render the powerful, powerless to the point of empathy; and the powerless, powerful to a point of freedom. A trade space. Thus, this first attempt of spatializing, is called ‘The Weighting Aisle’, with a 3-fold meaning: 1. The weight of image standards 2. In the aisle, our image is weighed against the manipulated new standards. 3. People are in waiting This scene has 5 characters: The Provoker –Me. A grim reaper like character who holds decisive authority over the space. The Enrager – The black girl disrespecting white hair by stepping on it. The humour – The white woman in the white hair quarantine container, obliviously assuming nothing strange of the changed space. The Vulnerable – The white woman with dreadlocks crying, as a way in which vulnerability acts out. The Threat – The white woman hanging from the ceiling, in the background, as an act of defiance to the space. Finally, taking from this, my negotiation looked to curate a check out aisle, that puts you on display and under scrutiny, but is made compulsory for the purpose of access. Embodying five main spatial experiences that would engage the trading of reactions as a commodity. A theatrical unpacking of the unconscious image weighted and dictating aisle where white women go through main spaces that exaggerate the experience of waiting in an aisle, with the constant in-between threat of overarching helplessness. A discriminatory spatial experience based on hair.

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40% At Home

10%

dressing Salons

Corporate Workplace

ENTRY 1 Private Space = no conflict

15%

Private Space = no conflict

Subjectivity Firstly, my subjective enquiry, where the deal I identified, is in the trading in of my identity for access or acceptance in my daily spaces. Explored as the journey of my hair through space, documented using tweets and concluded with my expressive understanding of the day. 35%

Private Space

Rosebank Mall

6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

Private Space

Shared/Public Space = conflict

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211

Rea Vaya Busstation SABC Media Park 15:35

Rea Vaya Busstation Parkstation

Noord Street

13:01

Rea Vaya Busstation Parkstation

15:57 Auckland Park, Johannesburg

Parkstation

14:38

Salon City

Parkstation

12:50 13:17 15:55

Rea Vaya Busstation SABC Media Park

University of Johannesburg APB Campus

12:43

15:39

University of Johannesburg APB Campus Auckland Park, Johannesburg Key:

Train Transport Bus Transport Street Walking Destination Walking Area location Interaction

13:09

Auckland Park, Johannesburg

CBD, Johannesburg

My Hairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journey Through Space

CBD, Johannesburg

Auckland Park, Johannesburg

CBD, Johannesburg

6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

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213

Rea Vaya Busstation Parkstation

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hair, in its common everydayness, is easy to ignore. Hair is seen as fashion, as frivolous and indulgent. However, deep within the common lies the personal spaces that hair alludes to.â&#x20AC;? - Kira Kemper

Parkstation

CBD, Johannesburg

6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

Artistic Expression

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215

Gautrain Parkstation

Rea Vaya Busstation SABC Media Park Rosebank Mall 16:38

Gautrain Rosebank

Auckland Park, Johannesburg

CBD, Johannesburg

Gautrain Rosebank

14:21 14:38

University of Johannesburg APB Campus

Rosebank, Johannesburg

Gautrain Parkstation

16:31

Auckland Park, Johannesburg

14:18 Rosebank, Johannesburg

Rosebank, Johannesburg

Rosebank Mall Sorbet Dry Bar

14:52

Rea Vaya Busstation SABC Media Park

Rosebank Mall Mos Definite Hair Salon

Rosebank Mall Information Desk

15:57

15:20 13:58 15:29

Auckland Park, Johannesburg

CBD, Johannesburg Key:

Train Transport Bus Transport Street Walking Destination Walking Area location Interaction

University of Johannesburg APB Campus

My Hairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Journey Through Space

Rosebank, Johannesburg

Rosebank Mall Carlton Hair Rosebank, Johannesburg

6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

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217

Gautrain Parkstation

16:38 CBD, Johannesburg

urg

l Hair

Rosebank, Johannesburg

Rosebank Mall Sorbet Dry Bar

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your hair is a statement of style, an affirmation of beauty, and an expression of self loveâ&#x20AC;? - Ademola Mandella

15:57

Rosebank Mall Carlton Hair Rosebank, Johannesburg

6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

Artistic Expression

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WHICH HAIR IS BETTER FOR WHERE? Global Hair Product Industry SURVEY INTERVIEWS 3 x Hair Salons 24 interviews

PERCEIVED PLACE & POWER OF PRIVATE/PUBLIC HAIR SPACES

100 Corporate Workplace “It’s just unprofessional and not neat. That is why there is an option to put in a weave or relax it. Or even just straighten it,.”

Spatial Pre-assumptions

Interview Perceived Social Value of Hair Types to Space

Hair Weave & Extensions Industry

Weave-in Afro

Aim: Caucasian Loose hair

ENTRY 2

Psychological

Power of Natural Black Hair Natural Straightened

Hair Wholesalers Natural unkept

City/ Urban racial/gender demographic indicator

Black Hair Salon

Social Power & Pressure

Natural Protective Styling - Twist out

Incubator of beauty perceptions

Brazilian Weave-in

Hierarchy of spatial power influence on perception of natural hair

Interview #21 Natural Stretched Afro

In relation to the city Hair Values & Categorisation in Space

Rosebank Mall “ Yes, because you put in effort to make sure your hair looks presentable and nice.”

Interview #2

Brazilian Weave-in Mind Map of Spatial Exploration of Hair

Natural Protective Styling - Bantu

Natural Protective Styling - Twaists

public space

Hairdressing Salons

“ Good hair is healthy hair. So all hair is

Secondly, I explored a spatial enquiry ofhere for business but good hair. We are we can do all types of hair.” a typical ‘black hair space’ at Salon City in Interview #9 Noord Street. Where, along with conducting Chemically Relaxed Chemical Hair relaxing Natural Hair hair questionnaires, analysing hairpiece prices to hairdressing time and subjective street experience, I realised a conflict in the sharing of my personal bubble and“Because ‘other nobody can see you, it doesn’t matter how you look.” people’ public bubbles.

semi-private space

At Home

Interview #4

Natural Protective Styling - Locs

0 MIND Map of Spatial Exploration of Hair

semi-public space

private space

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WHICH HAIR IS BETTER FOR WHERE? SURVEY INTERVIEWS 3 x Hair Salons 24 interviews

PERCEIVED PLACE & POWER OF PRIVATE/PUBLIC HAIR SPACES

100 Corporate Workplace

40%

“It’s just unprofessional and not neat. That is why there is an option to put in a weave or relax it. Or even just straighten it,.”

tions

At Home

10%

Natural unkept

Brazilian Weave-in

Chemical Hair relaxing

Aim: Caucasian Loose hair

Brazilian Weave-in

Chemically Relaxed Natural Hair

Interview Perceived Social Value of Hair Types to Space

Natural Straightened

Weave-in Afro

Hierarchy of spatial power influence on perception of natural hair

Interview #21 Natural Stretched Afro

Corporate Workplace

Hairdressing Salons

semi-public space

Rosebank Mall “ Yes, because you put in effort to make sure your hair looks presentable and nice.”

15%

Interview #2 public space

Hairdressing Salons “ Good hair is healthy hair. So all hair is good hair. We are here for business but we can do all types of hair.”

35%

Interview #9 semi-private space

At Home

Rosebank Mall

“Because nobody can see you, it doesn’t matter how you look.”

Natural Protective Styling - Twist out

Natural Protective Styling - Bantu

Natural Protective Styling - Twaists

Interview #4

Natural Protective Styling - Locs

0 Hair Values & Categorisation in Space

Hair Values & Categorisation in Space

private space

My Hair in Public Space

6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

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On street hair advertisers

Short

R2000

Long

Very

R1500 Sibu’s Street Salon

R1000

Beauty Hairstyles Bonding Weave-in

R500 X

R100

Uncle Yaya’s Salon

Salon City

PRICE - R

R90

Sew-in

R80

R70

R60Noord R50

X StreetX Salon City Hair Salon Analysis X

R40

R30 Braiding R20 R10

X 0

Street Salon City Hair Salon Analysis

Economic Analysis

120

150

TIME TO HAIRDRESS- minutes

180

210

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225

Short

R2000

Long

Very Long

R1500

City Hotel

R1000 Bonding Weave-in

Pavement Noord Street

R500

Pavement Salon City first floor

R100

Salon City ground floor

PRICE - R

R90

Sew-in

R80

R70

R60

R50

R40

Section

Plan Hairpiece Section

Hairdressing Section e

t En

R30 X

Braiding R20 R10

X 0

Economic Analysis

X 90

120

150

TIME TO HAIRDRESS- minutes

Economic Analysis

180

210

Storage

240+ 6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

Spatial Analysis

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Campus Square (Space of Consumption) - Advertisments (Consumerist Landscape) SITE South African Broadcasting Station (Production House of Image Trade and Beauty Standards) - Professional Landscape

ENTRY 3 Spaces of power and the image production house Thirdly, leading to the societal enquiry of racial biasedness of black hair. Using the ladies in my age group of 18-30, also known as provisional adults, according to Gail Sheehy, my study investigates where the pressure of upholding our racially biased standards of beauty, come from.

UJ APB Campus (Space of Education) -

Campus Square (Space of Accommodation) - Soapies (Social Landscape)

WITS Campus (Space of Education) -

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IR SYMBOLISMS’ TRADE ROUTE

Hair Symbolisms’ Trade Route

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Andre Walker Hair Typing System

231

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233

Mediaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hair Landscape (Digital Media) Braid SewIn

PRIMETIME HOURS

Locs

Andre Walker Hair Typing

3b 3a 2c 2b 2a Weave Relaxed

No Appearance

1c 1b 1a Radius

00:00

01:00

02:00

03:00

04:00

05:00

06:00

07:00

08:00

09:00

10:00

11:00

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

16:00

17:00

18:00

19:00

20:00

21:00

22:00

23:00

Frequent Appearance 6.TWO.GROUNDING Natache Iilonga

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Map of hair shown only on Advertisements (Consumerist Landscape) Braid SewIn

PRIMETIME HOURS

Locs

4c 3b