Browsing by Author "Beattie, Jennifer"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    The combine harvester: defining a new food retail typology
    (2014) Kuiper, Sarah; Coetzer, Nic; Silverman, Melinda; Beattie, Jennifer
    The project developed out of a theoretical inquiry into the use of food as a design tool to facilitate urban regeneration. The need for change arises from the loss of public space due to corporate control over food and food retail taking place in privatised environments. This socio- spatial polarisation becomes visible when mapping the change from historic marketplace to supermarket. The two primary concerns which arise from this socio-spatial polarisation are that of food being viewed as a utilitarian commodity, which allows routine shopping to take place in a supermarket rather than a market, and an evacuation of the public realm with the disappearance of food from public marketplaces. Spatial and infrastructure analyses of existing food retail models within the existing food system in Cape Town identify an appropriate supermarket-market hybrid that facilitates the flows of people and produce while regenerating public space.
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    The Contemporary Cape Winery: A Wine Cooperative for Jamestown, Stellenbosch
    (2014) Bernard, Anthonie; Coetzer, Nic; Silverman, Melinda; Beattie, Jennifer
    This dissertation aims to engage critically with the commercial wine estate typology in the Stellenbosch wine region in the Western Cape. The social problems faced by farm workers in the region calls for a re-interpretation of the winery typology to ensure a more socially sustainable future for the viticultural industry in South Africa. In order to achieve this, the general state of the commercial wine estate in the region will be read in relation to aspects such as heritage, social responsibility and spatial relationship to urban areas and farm worker communities. To develop this new typology, a site with agricultural potential and a direct connection to an urban farm workers settlement will be used. The potential of the urban environment will be analysed in relation to the existing facilities in the community to determine a solution for a new typology of winery which will bridge the divide between community and the farm in such a way where it will be beneficial for both and through this create a new social structure for the wine estate. The possibility of an densified wine cooperative will be investigated. The design will consist of a large scale urban framework for the wine cooperative and a detailed design of the winery within the context of the new cooperative.
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    Indigenous re-form: Change and adaptation in a new school in new Xade, Botswana
    (2014) Kgatshe, Mphoentle; Coetzer, Nic; Silverman, Melinda; Beattie, Jennifer
    The objective of this M.Arch dissertation is to study the Ghanzi District, Botswana. Because of the few developments and small population in the area, it might be perceived as a place with little to offer architecturally. I am interested in uncovering the contextual layers (landscape and cultures) in this area that could inform and improve the architecture there. The main objective is to investigate an accommodating architecture that allows the Basarwa (Bushmen in Botswana) to be integrated into the mainstream Batswana, but still allow for them to lead their daily traditional lives and express their id entity in ways consistent with their own values.
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    Provoking Technophilia: The Umfundisi Tech Centre & Portable Fundi Labs
    (2014) Carelse, Brent; Coetzer, Nic; Silverman, Melinda; Beattie, Jennifer
    This thesis stemmed from the idea that we as a society find it harder and harder to understand even the everyday technologies around us. It is argued that despite the seemingly limitless opportunities for self-learning in the ‘information age’, an interest for the technological is still not fostered within our society. This dissertation is inspired by Cedric Price’s proposal that, “[...]every town should have a space at its disposal where the latest discoveries of engineering and science can provoke an environment for pleasure and discovery[...]”. 1 It started with the search for a spatial models through which people could learn about and experience the essence of technology. The initial research looked at different ways people have learned about technology 1 Stanley Matthews, From Agit-Prop to Free Space: The Architecture of Cedric Price (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007), 66. throughout history, focusing particular on examples where education could successfully be combined with leisure or recreational activities. It was important that the model proposed, not only taught people, but also inspired a sense of marvel and wonder through engagement with technology . Based on principles gleaned from the research a project was proposed which would manifest itself in two different, but interrelated architectural explorations. The first is a sort of ‘headquarters’ or ‘mothership’ for a new model of the education of technology. It finds itself in the Woodstock industrial area, and would serve as a resource to the greater Cape Town. The second is a prototype for mobile, rail-based workshops that would be developed and manufactured within the headquarters. These units would act as ‘satellites’, spreading the spirit of this movement across the country to areas where the resources for such education may not exist.