Introduction
9
Peasant Research
11
Installation
24
Research Development
29
Term 2 Tasks
59
Design Proposals & Development
72
Conclusion
98
Thanks
100
In 2016, the Landscapes of the Cape studio at the University of Cape Town embarked on an exploration of the ideas expressed by Patrick Geddes’ Valley section and the situation of each of the demographic groups along it. The studio was divided into groups and each were assigned a specific demographic. We were tasked to locate ourselves along a section line that was drawn from the summit of Devil’s Peak, down its slopes and through the Cape Town Yacht Club at the harbour. Once we had located ourselves along the section line in relation to our assigned valley Section group, we set out to unpack the essence of the site in relation to our given group through thorough historical investigation. The group consisting of Yaseen Noon, Ebrahim Mullajee and myself (Wesley Mitchell) found ourselves to be located on the historically rich District Six, an area currently known as Zonnebloem. We set out first by researching what it meant to be a peasant, and using this knowledge associated ourselves with various cultural groups that inhabited the area over the known history of the Cape. Our initial cutlural group we identified was the Khoi San, after which the investigation lead us to the exploration of the development of the site into District Six, and lastly an investigation into the present day sites where the only inhabitants is a small group of people living within the ground in a sort of troglodyte fashion. The research conducted as a group, along with additonal research done by Yaseen and myself as a new group and my personal research has lead to the development of a new proposed intervention into the site which takes the various aspects of the research into consideration and deals with them in ways deemed most appropriate. As a result the design intervention responds to the necessities of the site, both in terms of its physicalities but also the social, historical and cultural informants that have been development over time.
Peasant, n. and adj. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French paisant, paĂŻsant.
a. A person who lives in the country and works on the land, esp. as a smallholder or a labourer; (chiefly Sociol.) a member of an agricultural class dependent on subsistence farming.
Throughout history, peasants were people who had strong ties to their natural environment. They lived off the land and had a good understanding of how to use it in a way that benefits themselves. They were often employed to work the farms and had a better understanding of the crops than what the owner of the farm generally had. Unfortunately, they did not have the financial means to own the land and often exchanged their work services for food and boarding on the farm. Any peasant who was fortunate enough to own a piece of land generally wasn’t able to afford the best land there was, usually taken up by the farmers, and would therefore live off less favourable land which would often be a struggle to produce sufficient yield.
During pre-colonial South Africa, the Cape was inhabited by various ethnic groups that lived freely off the land. The San were amongst these groups. They were an egalitarian community where everyone was treated equally and given a voice. They were a relatively primitive, nomadic group of people and set up a kraal for short periods of time across the area they roamed. As foragers, their diet consisted of various plants as well as herbal remedies. They did not own cattle but were excellent trackers, being able to stalk their prey for days until it finally died from the poison they had shot it with.
The mid-1600’s saw an increasing number of colonial occupation in South Africa, most notably in the Cape. The colonialists brought in laws and structure to society that was completely foreign to the San Poeple. It was a sort of land invasion that saw the San people being removed from their native land and forced into the outskirts of their general habitat. Having strong emotional and mental ties to their home, many of them came back and offered themselves as labourers to the new land owners (or so the records say...)
Post-Colonial occupation of South Africa to a large extent carried the memory of the preceding occupants. In 1867, the current area of our site was Named District Six, being the sixth district of the Cape Town Metropiltan Area. It had an array of inhabitants with a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Distric Six was considered a close knit community filled with vibrancy and life. There was a constant energy in the streets and the architecture accomodated this In 1966, a legislation was passed, declaring District Six a Whites-Only Area, which lead to the start of the largest recorded forced removals in South African history.
1878
1929
1944
1968
1992
2013
2016
Following the research into the presence of the peasant on our site, we were tasked to create an installation that embodied the essence of our findings. Being of quite a humble nature, yet having gone through such traumatic transitions throughout history the idea of the peasant along the slopes of District Six can result in an array of possiblities. We created a humble brick, made from the soil of District Six. An important component in construction, the earth brick, or D6 Brick can be a key element in the rebuilding of District Six. It is a way of using the soil of District Six to rebuild itself. In creating this brink, we underwent labour intensive activities that required us all to engage in the project on all levels, embodying the life of the peasant in the creation of the installation itself.
Upon completion of the Peasant Installation Project, Yaseen and I continued to conduct research together in order to accumulate more relevant information. We continued with the mindset of the peasant as someone being closely linked to the land and as such, we carried out investigations into various ways of using the earth to our advantage that is relevant to architecture. Our research lead us into two basic streams, one relating to methods of construction that used the earth and landscape. The other stream of reearch focused on using the earth as a source of food through agriculture. Both directions focus on basic human needs, namely shelter and food. It’s architectural implications have been explored in our individual projects
We then began quanitifying necessary data. We first calculated the volume of a brick in cubic metres. Secondly, we took three cuts along the slopes of the site, measuring 10m x 10m and calculated the volume of earth for each cut.
The volume of each cut was divided by the volume of the brick in order to quantify the amount of bricks each cut would be able to produce.
The amount of bricks produced by each cut was then translated into the length of a 2.1m high 230mm cavity wall. Thi information was further translated into the amount of RDP houses that could then be produced by each cut (without any duds). Using the three cuts, a total of 49,6 RDP houses could be produced from the three cuts.
1 minute
10 minutes
30 minutes
60% Sand
25% Clay
1 Day
20% Silt
7 Days
We then conducted a makeshift soil test using a jar, soil from site and some water. The jar was shaken in order for the context to be thoroughly mixed and left to settle. This separated the content of the soil sample into three components: Sand, Clay and Silt.
We continued to experiment with bricks and produced variations using different methods and resources.
We also produced a cinva press which allowed for a more accurate, efficient construction.
Subsistence Farming A form of farmng where the farmer produces enough food to feed themsleves as well as their family. Any suprlus that gets harvested is generally stored to last them until the next harvest as opposed to selling it. Subsistence farming generally occurs in rural areas, where communities become self-sufficient, eliminating the need to drive into the cities for produce, instead they produce it themselves at a much lower cost. Sorghum Grown mostly for subsistence farming in RSA and traded locally between small-scale farms. Well adapted to poor, droughty and infertile soils. However, in the Western Cape the most commonly grown crop is wheat.
A feasability study done in order to test the possibility of subsistence farming on the site. Things investigated are, the possible vegetables that could be farmed as well as the costs involved
Currently, residents of the site collect water from surrounding households for drinking and cooking. If leftover vegetable peels and table scraps (excluding meat, poultry and fish) are collected along with water, then three bags of Vermiculture Soil can be bought at R20 each. R14.27 + R19.27 + R60 + R10 + R10 = R113.54 28.85% of initial projections. An approximate total of R94 for seeds per season. If compost is bought, it would cost approximately R2380 per season. If sufficient table scraps are used, it would cost apporximately R420 per season to buy vermiculite soil. Total seasonal cost can therefore be as low as R514 for the entire system If everyone on site gets involved in the planting of at least one type of fresh produce, there’s the possibility of trade between the residences. They would therefore not require large tracts of land, and if additional land is used, additional produce can be sold to neighbouring houses.
Nyanga
1. Asanda Community Garden
2. Better Life
3. Love & Faith Gardening Project
Non- Profit Organisation where township residents are encouraged & supported to grow their own organic their families and
Khayelitsha
4. Bambanani at Sivuyizeni Primary School
5. Esam Esakho
“We feel strong because we eat our own vegetables every day�
vegetables to feed their families. In some cases residences are able to produce more than enough to sustain begin selling to others
6. Mr Ndanashe
Feasability mapping to locate hardware stores and possible vegetable selling points within walking distance along with the walking routes to the nearest point, water sources as well as possible agricultural sites.
Cultural
Climate
Topography
Division of Topography
Built Form
Exceptional Silhouette
Once we understood possible methods of dealing with the sloping site, we did further research and analysed Italian Hill Towns to understand how traditional urban development took place on steep sites. These studies were broken down in order to understand their underlying principles
The second term introduced a series of tasks that were to aid in the conceptalisation of the project. The presentation for these tasks were handled differently at each time, through a machine, through a model, through film and through a narrative essay. Each task added to the richness of the project and aided in the development and strengthening of the overall program.
program as...
...machine a machine throughwhich the process of making and use is to inform the program of the future building.
program as...
...material (in film) an exploration into the space of the building as a material, expressed through the use of pre-existing images
program as...
...as informed by theory key phrases that surfaced in brick installation crit that informed the way forward for the project.
program as...
...as informed by mapping mapping conducted to understand the necessary approach to the project, starting with the topography, then identifying land most suitable for farming and in response that; land suitable for construction, introducing the existing infrastracture and water bodies as design informants and then localising this to the site, lastly overlaying the old street grid of District Six and using this to inform the farming grid.
Site Visit...
The Naval Cemetary in Simon’s Town designed by Roelof Uytenbogaard displays a strong understanding of the slope of the site in the way each tomb stone has been terraced down the site in an almost urban fashion. The sloping ground plane and terracing techniques used illustrates the importnce of the topography. Ascending the pathway, there’s a strong visual connection to the mountainous backdrop while the decent expresses a strong connection to the sea.
Site Visit...
We also visited the award winnning House J, designed by Kevin Fellingham. The compisition of boxes ascends the mountain side in a manner that reduces the overall scale of the building while providing ample living space. The splitting up of the boxes, and consequently the levels, means each floor has spectacular views out to the ocean. The split levels also allows light to enter each floor to maximum effect.
The initial proposals resembled the work of a developer more than that of an architect. It involved a lot of excavation and flattening of areas along the slope, therefore disregarding the topography. Upon completion of these schemes, I took a step back and re-evaluated my design approach. Following this, the design started first by looking at the topography and using that as an informant for te development of the settlement. The design work developed naturally from this, as it would in reality.
These sketches and vignettes, illustrate the development of the buildings to be placed on site, using typical brick construction techniques.
Brick construction techniques...
Nubian Vault
Vaulted Arcade
Low Vaulted Arcade
An investigation into various brick construction typologies.
Arched Walkway
“Viaduct”
Low Arched “Viaduct”
Arched Opening
Low Arched Opening Wide Arched Opening
Dome
Dome
Rotunda
Double Barrel Vault
Brick construction techniques...
First, start with the construction of earth bricks.
A structural wall needs to be built to support the vault.
An investigation into the nubian vault typology.
Buttressing walls are built that will also support the vault.
A template of the vault is drawn ot on shutter board, to be traced onto the structural wall
Plaster is laid around the template.
The first brick is set in the corners, shaped at an angle.
Bricks are laid at an angle so that the compressive force is exerted on the strutural wall and buttresses.
Continual laying of each course results in the cosntruction of a Nubian Vault.
A series of these can create quite a strong architectural language.
Site construction technique...
The Nubian Vault typology applied on-site.
Relation of building to site...
The undestanding of the Nubian Vault construction lead to the development of a new building typology on the site. Through exploration these buildings are now able to terrace down the landscape in a manner that informs the spectator of the underlying topography of the site. The buildings themselves become a form of reading the site.
Lighting Studies...
The buildings were modelled in Revit with the correct geo-location and orientation. Various facade treatments were investigated and using revit’s lighting and rendering tools, a lighting study was conducted. The various facades introduce dappled light through a variation of openings, reminiscent of that of the dweelings currently on site.
Facade render of the final design proposal of the single units.
Interior renders of the final design proposal
Facade render of the final design proposal of the double units.
Interior renders of the final design proposal
Water Reticulation
Privacy
Gradients
Views
As a new urban settlement, the design works on traditional settlement growth patterns. This is done through a process that involves looking at the landscape, mainly in terms of its topography and using this to identify zones across the site that could be used as the starting point for the growth of the settlement. Agriculture was one of the driving forces for the formation of new towns, and in fact lead to the formation of Cape Town as a settlement. The areas first identified were areas suitable for agriculture and in response to those were areas considered for construction, which do not interfere with the agricultural land. The introduction of agriculture becomes a way of transforming the land from a barren piece of ground to a more productive landscape. Any landscape intervention takes existing factors into consideration such as the historical significance of the site, infrastructural limitations and other informants as well as proposals for future development. Additional landscaping is done through the introduction of the indigenous flora of Devil’s Peak. This turns the site into a sort of green belt that brings the planting of the conservation area across De Waal drive and down into the urban environment. The areas between the landscaping, will be set up for the construction of dwellings. The excavated material from the construction of the berm and wetland/dam, which consists mainly of rubble, will be used to construct a series of gabions, terracing the landscape. These Gabions are both retaining walls as well as foundations for the dwellings. These dwellings are constructed using the earth from site. Using the methods we have experimented with throughout the research process. The rubble used for the gabions may have a longer lifespan than the earth brick, so in this way, if anything is to happen to the dwellings, there is structure in place to accommodate the construction of a new dwelling. The strict use of brick means that the structure needs to be carefully considered into the design of the dwellings. Brick cannot span long distances therefore the roofs cape will be made out of a series of vaults and domes.
Design Research Book completed and submitted to printers on 2016-06-06. Final Presentation on 2016-06-10 Hence the incomplete final Panel Layout. To be updaed upon completeion of final presentation
The work presented in this book was done under continuous supervision and support from the studio staff, fellow classmates as well as friends and family. I would therefore like to extend my gratitude to the following people: Studio Masters: Assoc. Professor Nic Coetzer and Kevin Fellingham Fellow Classmates: Ebrahim Mullajee as being part of opening group project and Yaseen Noon for being part of the continuous research process. The support and encouragement from other classmates are also greatly appreciated. Friends and Family: To my parents and my sister for continously encouraging and supporting me throughout the demanding research process. My housemates and other friends who had to indirectly experience the hard work that has gone into the production of this book and the work produced throughout the semester.