Browsing by Author "Klitzner, Tarna"

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    Changing Tides: sculpting heterogeneity through exposing and submerging form in tidal pool design
    (2020) de Villiers, Roché; Klitzner, Tarna
    This project highlights the dynamic processes, systems and ecological interactions of the intertidal landscape. The tidal pool sits at this intersection of land and water, known as the intertidal zone. They are site specific social spaces where people can interact with marine life and they are valuable public places that can connect people to nature. As such it's in the unique position to raise awareness about the dynamism of natural systems and ecological processes which can be particularly well observed in tidal flux. In the context of climate change and associated sea level rise this awareness of change and flux will be particularly important in fostering adaptation capabilities. Although tidal pool design respond to site in their engineering and are mostly built on rocky substrates, I have noticed that not much form inspiration is drawn from the unique geologies of tidal pool sites. As a result the natural heterogeneity and delight inherent in rock pools is lost and somewhat mono-functional human-centered spaces result. As a design strategy, I considered the core importance of specificity to site as a strategy to build in this rather unusual landscape. The intent is to find and establish a new set of criteria for tidal pool design within the Table Mountain Sandstone geology. In this thesis I'm exploring whether the process of designing with intimate attention to the host rocks can provide better opportunities and a more sensitive approach for creating heterogeneity in tidal pool design that make vibrant space for both social and ecological functions. Sculpting heterogeneity in the rocky intertidal zone of St. James' rocky outcrop will enhance the cohabitation of human and marine life and hold the opportunity to celebrate the ecological value of this rich and sensitive environment through environmental education through experience.
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    Llefa Lame: [Re]imaging Soshanguve Landfill
    (2023) Molubi, Lefentse; Hindes, Clinton; Klitzner, Tarna
    Twenty-seven (27) years of democracy in South Africa, communities in townships formed by the apartheid government, live in dire conditions brought by the legacy of apartheid. The lack of economic opportunities and resources make South African citizens creative and innovative, communities from Pretoria north townships gather daily at municipal landfills to collect, sort valuable and recyclable waste in exchange for cash. This study focuses on informal waste re-claimers working conditions at Soshanguve landfill and Soshanguve township communities residing in the vicinity of an active landfill that is situated within an environment that is rich in history and heritage. The aim of this study is to investigate the daily activities of the informal waste re-claimers; and hopes to inform innovative and functional ways to create a tolerable working environment during the operational phases of the landfill with the intention of transforming it to a sustainable public open space upon decommission. The study approach considers a pragmatic research using both qualitative and quantitative study methods to collect data through In-depth interviews, statistical observations and theoretical investigation.
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    Saldanha Bay as a living space: negotiating (re)source dynamics in a water scarce Bay
    (2021) Malan, Hayden Barratt; Klitzner, Tarna
    Saldanha Bay, South Africa's second busiest port, exists as a complex set of living systems, poised at the interchange between land and water. Because of its role as a port city, it is a place where water systems, transport routes, and industrial activity meet and intermingle. This thesis focuses on the threat that is posed to the ecosystems of the bay through repeatedly introducing copious amounts of ballast water from the holds of international cargo ships (Duncan, 2014; Marangoni, Pienaar, & Sym, 2001). Paradoxically, it is the entangled routes and systems that led to the disastrous degradation of marine life that suggest Saldanha Bay's potential for sustaining a more symbiotic water system. The main design objective is to mitigate the degradation of the marine environment by filtering ballast water to rid it of invasive non-indigenous species (NIS). The central design proposes to filter ballast water through onshore abalone farming and concurrently generate onshore seaweed feed and farming. Such filtration would rely on the environment created by naturally occurring seaweeds, Ecklonia maxima and Gracilaria, which have great potential to further support ecological functioning. The site of this project is an abandoned iron ore factory, which is well-situated to be repurposed for water filtration. It is not only the saline water system that will benefit from such an intervention: to repurpose the factory site in a way that rejuvenates both the health of the bay's waters and the economy, would be to fulfil the promise of job security that the community was led to expect when the factory was originally constructed. Furthermore, if the ballast water were desalinated and reintroduced as a source of much-needed fresh water, it would support other living systems in the town and surrounding community. The interdependent industries of ballast water maintenance, fresh water sourcing, and mariculture would work together to make each more resilient and provide opportunities for people to be grounded in their environment.
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    The revelatory landscape: Archiving memory through indigenous narrative and cosmology
    (2018) Maponya, Mapula Jessica; Klitzner, Tarna
    The Khoi-Khoi's indigenous astronomical beliefs are associated with themes of time, religion and belonging. These values were manifested structurally and spiritually on the topographic landscape of Cape Town nearly 1000 years ago. Today - this landscape is merely longed for as it exclusively celebrates Colonial historical accounts. Through societal perception, nomenclature and function - this one-sided narrative is repeatedly retold while the indigenous narrative is buried and unfamiliar to many. To reveal this neglected story - this dissertation studies the physiological and historical landscape where these two societies and their varying methods of interacting with landscape through astronomy, and ideals as societies collided and subsequently birthed divide and conquer in South Africa. By unearthing and possibly memorialising overlooked indigenous heritage through excavation and archaeological design intervention - this project studies the role of Cape Town's topographic landscape in defining cultural identity. It juxtaposes these two cultures' relationships with this landscape and highlights the value and necessity of reclaiming cultural landscapes in urban contexts where indigenous narratives have been completely ignored/eradicated and reduced to myth. The site used as the tool to exhume and eventually archive this indigenous history is located on a golf course south-west of the confluence of the Black and Liesbeek river in Observatory, Cape Town. This confluence was a significant route used by the Khoi-Khoi tribe pre-colonization as a migratory route and periodic settlement zone. Both the dissertation subject and site selection were heavily informed by navigational routes used by the Dutch, British and Indigenous Societies to interact with land and additionally the vulnerability of the site in question. It is currently under development threat which one could deem as unsuitable considering that the site is an ecologically sensitive piece of land that is home to unique fauna and flora - including an endangered bird community. Of equal importance is the sites divisive political history which has permanently impacted economic and social equality post the Khoi and Dutch War(s) as well as the segregational systems that followed that moment. Could addressing the same site that established socio-political divide in South Africa be utilized to negotiate identity, memory and cultural productivity?