IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section A
Abstract
The 2023 third-year BAS Architectural Design Studio, framed under the theme “Living Landscapes,” aimed to transcend conventional distinctions between “landscape” and “architecture” in urban spatial planning and question current contextual narratives of Cape Town. The year-long design studio engaged architectural students in contextual and ecologically sensitive design thinking to address Cape Town’s intricate histories and current and future spatial needs. The first studio, “Landscapes of Connection,” focused on reimagining the Trafalgar Park swimming pool in District Six. Informed by the narratives of the community that remained post-forced removals and Apartheid’s legacy on the city, students aimed to create an integrated meeting place emphasizing relaxation, healing, fitness, and social interaction. The second studio, “Landscapes of Memory,” delved into tangible and intangible colonial histories, exploring the Khoi’s role and Van Riebeek’s Hedge in shaping Cape Town. Sites included Rhodes Memorial, the South African National Observatory, and Van Riebeeck’s Hedge to design Decolonial Museums unearthing hidden histories, forgotten stories, and under-represented narratives of Cape Town. The third studio, “Landscapes of Need,” addressed housing, urbanism, and inner-city food security. Focused on Cape Town’s historically segregated areas, students proposed innovative solutions for affordable housing with an emphasis on food security through urban agriculture and sustainable water management. This architectural research and design studio underscores the potential of spatial solutions in addressing diverse issues and historic spatial legacies of Cape Town. The paper will introduce and expand on the design studio’s pedagogy and share select student projects from each of the three themes as theoretical case studies.
Heidi Boulanger is an architect based in Cape Town, South Africa. Her work focuses on regenerative practice and architecture as sustainable systemic design. Her praxis and pedagogy try to merge architecture, landscape and ecology, and explores themes of decolonisation and decarbonisation, critical regionalism, new vernacular architecture, circular design, ecological urbanism and water sensitivity. Heidi is a lecturer in the architecture programme at the APG and a member of the Future Water Institute at UCT.
Dr Hermie Delport is from the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics at the University of Cape Town. She has been practicing in architectural education for 20 plus years. Her doctoral degree focused on alternative learning and teaching practices for the architectural studio, specifically on design-build as a collaborative design and learning space. Her educational approach focuses on the transformation of content, teaching, and learning to purposefully include and address socially relevant, contextual, and sustainable issues.
Chisomo Phiri is a PhD Candidate and part-time lecturer at UCT. His research revolves around issues of water scarcity and social inclusivity. His work recognises a need for a pivot in the building industry in response to these issues. Chisomo is deeply interested in the shift needed to enable water sensitivity and sustainable practice in Africa. Chisomo’s research aims to determine the capacity of water sensitive design (WSD) within an inclusive design approach. By engaging in participatory methods, Chisomo aims to uncover what WSD might look like informed by stakeholder input and the role it can play in developing an inclusive architectural future.
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Monday 15th July, 2024