Browsing by Author "Papanicolaou, Stiliani"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 26
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    A kreol coastal confluence in Mahebourg, Mauritius
    (2024) Auckloo, Rahul Raj; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    The personal interest of the author and Mauritian cultural dissolution concentre in this architectural research – in the cerebration of a Kreol Coastal Confluence. This design inquiry presents an architecture of mediation as key, which focalises the divergent spheres into the same space - artisanal fishing as the vernacular culture and the contemporary ‘development'. The architectural stance manifests as a re-imagination of an existing artisanal fish landing station in Mahebourg [debarcader]. The proposition is to demolish the current building footprint, retaining vertical structural elements where neccessary, crafting a scheme spatially more efficient and tailored for the existing process stages of artisanal fishing. To draw focus and enrichment into the localized fishing sphere and facilitate a contemporary growth of the community, the intersection of design and making spaces aim to extend the reach of practical, embodied skills and knowledge from the local cohort through to the younger generation. This frames a concentrated incentivised condition that has the capacity to rejuvenate the site's praxis and socio-spatial character. Proposed, is an architectural continuation of this [fishingdesign] intersection - the integration of the community's analogue practices of netting, boat building and processing, serve to influence the tectonic language and making of the building - seeking to prompt a sense of belonging between architecture and people. This architectural proposal is a system that operates between land and sea. The author seeks for a threshold, a new line between land and water amplifying the landscape with the ebb and flow of the ocean - inserting program amidst this change. This broadening of the threshold provides those on land with a smooth transition into the fishing waters, and provides those within, a phased and gradual disembarkment to land.
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    Architectural Healing Spaces: How Design Protects, Rehabilitates Survivors of Abuse
    (2024) Isola, Teegan; Papanicolaou, Stiliani; Steenkamp Aletta
    This dissertation delves into an exploration of the profound potential of architectural interventions in facilitating the healing process for survivors of abuse, with a particular focus on women and children. Acknowledging the significance of environments that promote user comfort, personal control, privacy, sensory engagement, and a connection to nature, the study recognises the pivotal role these factors play in psychological well-being, especially for victims of domestic violence. Motivated by a deep understanding of the impact of domestic violence and trauma, this dissertation is dedicated to the creation of healing spaces for women and children. Its primary objective is to investigate how architecture can actively support the mental healing process of individuals. The project centres on the idea that spatial interventions can act as catalysts for creating dignity, healing, and restoration for survivors of abuse. At the heart of this endeavour is the establishment of a sanctuary, designed to provide women with a safe, nurturing, and empowering environment to recover from past traumas and develop essential life skills, ultimately fostering personal growth and self-sufficiency. The sanctuary offers a range of spaces, including areas for counselling, workshops, communal activities, and private reflection, seamlessly harmonising with the natural surroundings. The project combines therapeutic healing practices with practical skills training, empowering women on their journey to recovery. This comprehensive training covers a diverse array of areas, from business and entrepreneurship to agricultural and computer skills, equipping women to take control of their own healing and future. Set against the backdrop of a women-run farm in the Sandveld region of the Western Cape, the design explores the juxtaposition between refuge and reveal, striving to strike a balance between safety and comfort, while fostering a profound connection with the natural world. Through the strategic layering of spaces, materials that signify both solidity and transparency, and a dedication to integrating the built environment with the natural landscape, the project exemplifies the potential of architecture to serve as a catalyst for healing, restoration, and transformation, offering nurturing not only to its inhabitants but also to the landscape.
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    At Limbe, Malawi: Space-placemaking through the integration of street trading practices
    (2024) Mwawa, Major; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    This study addresses the current contestation and attitude towards street traders in the global south. It proposes a paradigm shift in the approaches that seek to exclude and marginalise street trading practices from cities, arguing that these practices should co-exist with what is regarded as formal. It suggests that architects should participate and learn from traders, understand their practices and experiences, and use such dynamics as design opportunities to integrate them into the urban fabric rather than suppressing their community-driven advances. It also suggests the need for city councils to effectively engage with traders and provide infrastructure that speaks to their urban realities and practices. The Limbe CBD, on James Street, in Blantyre, Malawi, is the study area for the project, where I engaged with traders and uncovered their spatial practices, experiences, and needs through the theories of everyday life, space-placemaking, and the kinetic city. Mainly, the traders expressed the need to be involved in all decision-making processes directly affecting them and the need for a platform that facilitates this civic engagement. As such, this design dissertation proposes a community hub with a flexible space that can become a market, and a space for meetings, events, and skills training workshops, either by organisations or among themselves, in so doing, also providing a platform for empowerment. In addition, they expressed the need for water supply, effective waste management, surface runoff and flood control solutions, ablutions, and shedding structures. This study covers some of these issues in a master plan and focuses on the hub as its facilitator to turn the area into a conducive environment for trading activities.
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    Constituting Life Cycles: Circularity as Architectural Design Premise
    (2024) Moodley, Keyur; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    The research elucidates the glaring certainty that the world we inhabit is a finite resource and environmental sustainability needs consideration and pre-thought. There is a clear need for sensitive applications in the future of the architecture, engineering and construction industries. The discourse makes comparisons between normative practices of development and natural quiddity. This comparison surfaces the differing processes of anthropic development and natural systems. Emerging from this is a clear need for future spatial practice to emulate systematic processes seen in our natural environments - a repositioning of architecture from linear metabolisms to circular ones. This is a method of creating architecture that speaks to the ability to adapt to change and achieve strategic circularity. The research discusses the design requirements needed in order to achieve this level of change and impermanence. These principles consider the constituting elements of a building and its lifespan, furthermore, post lifespan adaptation is also regarded with high importance. The design requirements are also considered as flexible and moderately compromisable when encountering the realities of a site. This evolves into a propositional design which aims to establish the exemplification of the established theories. The Artscape Precinct has been chosen for two main reasons. The first being the city's desires to create multifunctional and sustainable spaces in Cape Town's CBD and the second being the test to extend the lifespan of current buildings at a place currently known for its exhibitive qualities. A program of preparation and exhibition are realised through of a place of entertainment and instruction in proximity extending the primary function of the Artscape Theatre. The new aims to serve the program of the existing while clearly showcasing newer ways of composing layers of a building – from the macro scales of a site down to the micro scales of materiality that combines to create spaces. This is justified when aiming for sensitive contextual responsiveness and aiming to create a building that is emergent from its site. Conclusively, the established design requirements reorientate architecture towards sustainable practices of longevity through change.
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    Contextualising the Muizenberg Civic Centre: an investigation into urban and environmental integration
    (2023) Schofield, Amy; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    The Muizenberg Civic Centre currently expels an attitude of inhospitality and abandonment which has resulted in its utter lack of interaction with, and use by, the community. Hence, it acts as both a physical and visual blockade between the bustling Surfer's Corner and the forsaken open air amusement park. This paper aims to utilise the sustainable practice of adaptive reuse to articulate a design that allows the Muizenberg Civic Centre to seamlessly integrate into both its surrounding urban and natural context. This is achieved by first understanding its physical, social and architectural context before analysing the opportunities and challenges that the site and surrounding urban fabric presents. It extracts lessons from Muizenberg Civic Centre replicas, Fish Hoek Beach and the Sea Point Promenade to inform both the urban and site design proposals that are innately driven by the desire for integration and accessibility, whilst taking full advantage of its prime beachfront location.
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    Crafting a Place of Transition: From Refuge to Reconnection
    (2024) Czech, Sasha; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    The feelings evoked by sterile, socially isolating clinical settings are counterproductive in biopsychosocial healthcare environments such as addiction treatment, where the survival of the individual depends not only on the treatment of their medical needs, but also on helping them rebuild their social and psychological health. This dissertation proposes a language for an inpatient addiction treatment centre that disrupts the highly controlled, institutional design cues that have come to characterize so many places of healthcare. Because this kind of facility is inherently a transitional in nature, it needs to accommodate a variety of spaces that cultivate a sense of refuge, a sense of community and ultimately a sense of independence. It needs to be a place that nurtures and holds the body, but also acclimatizes and engages, to prepare people for whatever circumstances they may face when they leave. A phenomenological lens is used to investigate how architecture can allow people to slow down, engage the senses and feel a sense of community and connection. By celebrating the sensory qualities of dynamic sunlight and nature, this architectural response endeavors to create reciprocal encounters between individuals and their immediate environment. To combat the institutional feelings evoked by large-scale dorms and mess halls, this building uses mat building principles and cues from Aldo van Eyck's Amsterdam Orphanage. The communal spaces are broken down into smaller parts and dispersed throughout the facility to create a village-like environment in which each courtyard or ‘street' has its own small-scale residential, therapeutic and recreational components. Each cluster has its own unique character – the scale, sunlighting, nature density and proximity to the centre all determine whether they evoke feelings of hiding or revealing, withdrawing or engaging, protecting or challenging.
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    Crafting endurance: Form, time, space, and memory in the construction of a civic urban artefact for Cape Town s east city
    (2024) De Gouveia, Kelly; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    The speed of technological advancement and increased demands of industrialization have given rise to expedient, rushed, and wasteful trends in urban development. This has ultimately led to the privatization and fragmentation of cities, hindering the potential for civic life to occur. Extending beyond the realm of urban design, rapid urbanization has had implications in the field of architecture, where increased economic pressures have compromised the quality of buildings and the length of their lifespans. Situated within the context of Cape Town's East City, this dissertation aims to counteract this trend in the design proposal of a new civic stitch intervention which employs time, form, space, and memory to pull existing civic life from the City Centre into the scarred urban fabric of District Six. The proposed design intervention aims to reinforce the concept of endurance as a more sustainable approach to architecture and urban development which prioritizes longevity, resilience, and durability. By doing so, architecture becomes more than a product of expediency, but rather a carefully crafted urban artefact which supports the continuity of civic life and imbues the city with meaning and collective memory
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    Designing for health and well-being: Implementing Human Centered Design principles into an existing workplace precinct through adaptive re-use practices
    (2024) Malherbe, Henk; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    This paper aims to investigate the role of architectural interventions in promoting humancentered design principles and creating healthier buildings. With more than half of the global population now residing in urban areas and sedentary lifestyles becoming prevalent, there has been a global surge in chronic diseases and mental well-being decline as a result of lack of movement and stimulus to nature. Through understanding the historical significance of design strategies which played a part in shaping this behavior, this paper will critically analyze existing research to identify comprehensive interventions that can address contemporary health challenges, specifically lack of physical movement and access to nature. To contextualize the research, a historical analysis will explore how environmental design and architecture played a crucial role in restricting our movement patterns, and segregating our communities. The built environment, at its core, holds immense sway over human health and physical activity. It encompasses vital factors such as air quality, natural light, and our general state of well-being.
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    Designing for health and well-being: Implementing Human Centered Design principles into an existing workplace precinct through adaptive re-use practices
    (2024) Malherbe, Henk; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    This paper aims to investigate the role of architectural interventions in promoting humancentered design principles and creating healthier buildings. With more than half of the global population now residing in urban areas and sedentary lifestyles becoming prevalent, there has been a global surge in chronic diseases and mental well-being decline as a result of lack of movement and stimulus to nature. Through understanding the historical significance of design strategies which played a part in shaping this behavior, this paper will critically analyze existing research to identify comprehensive interventions that can address contemporary health challenges, specifically lack of physical movement and access to nature. To contextualize the research, a historical analysis will explore how environmental design and architecture played a crucial role in restricting our movement patterns, and segregating our communities. The built environment, at its core, holds immense sway over human health and physical activity. It encompasses vital factors such as air quality, natural light, and our general state of well-being.
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    Earth materials in urban environments - toward building continuity with the past
    (2023) Thomas, Katherine; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    This dissertation looks at redesigning urban infill to promote a decolonial and environmentally sensitive city that is connected to its history, people, and nature. The inquiry is sparked by experiments in making Compressed Earth Blocks, mud and straw bricks, and shell-crete, and explores the potential of building with locally sourced, earth-based materials in an urban context. Theoretical explorations focus on decoloniality and the relationship between materials and colonisation, natural systems and urban-nature divides, and appropriate technologies and their potential to empower community at the human scale. These theory and technology studies inform the design of an urban infill building in the East City in Cape Town. On the corner of Harrington and Albertus Street, the site is a recently demolished Victorian warehouse building that was destroyed in a fire in 2020. What remains on the site is a 1940's attachment to the original building, a narrow but deep concrete framed sliver of a warehouse. The design uses this structure as an armature to support a set of infill buildings that explore the benefit of narrow typologies in encouraging low rise density in cities. The architecture is made with lightweight timber and steel structures that help support multistorey earth walls. Concrete- and carbon-heavy architecture is questioned and juxtaposed with hybrid tectonics, taking lessons from history to design congruous urban futures.
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    Enabling a Trading Community: A Re-imagination of Trade in Lusaka, Zambia
    (2024) Jackman, Nicole; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    Embedded into Lusaka's urban fabric lies a network of informal traders. The everyday life in the Zambian city is tightly woven with permanent and impermanent trading practices. Traders experience challenges such as long-distance daily commutes, seasonal flash flooding and city cleanups which disrupt their livelihoods. These experiences and related research shape the dissertation's intention to explore ways architecture enables trading and living in a city of trade. The existing vibrant life within the informal setting is self-built, showcasing a strong sense of making. Borrowing from the manner of making in the context inspires the exploration of adaptable architecture that ignites social resilience in a trading context. The strategic implementation of adaptable architecture enables the user's sense of agency and aims to support the present and future everyday life of Kamwala. The intention is for the user to tactically assemble their spaces to their needs. -initiating agency which is better fitted to the context than contemporary architecture that is precisive and permanent.
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    From Neglect to Opportunity: Revitalizing a neglected coastline through adaptive reuse architecture that unites and celebrates
    (2024) Herbert, Rachel; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    This dissertation explore s the notion and larger benefits of adaptive reuse architecture in becoming a catalyst for revitalisation and integration , through bringing public activity to an underutilised portion of coastline . By designing with the principles of purpose and connection, architects can create spaces that embrace the natural elements and factors such as the inevitability of weathering. This thesis explore s conscious design methods associated derived from adaptive reuse principles ; innovative waste management and preserving significant features associated with the existing, enhancing the site's cultural and social connections to related communities . The project centre s around the present day and future transformation s of a dilapidated Crayfish Factory and it's unknown landscape , into a thriving coastal edge of opportunity. The intention of the project is to promote adaptive reuse as a means of revitalising and unifying both structure and context in the eyes of the surrounding communities. This thesis aims to unpack the challenges and opportunities that arise when working with rugged conditions, existing structures and complex neighbourhood interrelations. The greater intention of this work is to expand upon adaptive reuse as an architectural methodology. For it to not only be seen as a means to promoting sustainable construction within the built environment but also to capitalise on the opportunity of enhancing the existing fabric and spatial relations by embracing the character of the existing with personalised intervention that merges past, present and future use. On a technical level this is understood by observing both natural weathering and designed material degradation to explore means of architecture embracing its own evolution . This is done in the pursuit of creating ‘ whole' architecture . Fabricating divers e spaces and functionings to excite the everyday, all the while planting the seed of versatility for the future, allowing the structure to grow and adapt with each new generation of use. The common theme of conscious design is achieved by maintaining the narrative that buildings should not be considered as isolated objects, but rather as malleable components within a larger constantly evolving ecosystem. With this in mind, the intention of the project can also be seen in its material nature; promoting both environmental and social integration.
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    Healing Through Restoration: The adaptation of Cape Dutch Revival Architecture in George into a place for healing
    (2024) Moss, Luke; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    Healing Through Restoration: The adaptation of Cape Dutch Revival Architecture in George into a place for healing
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    In between homeplace + public: a relationship between home, landscape and civic infrastructure in the transformation of everyday life with a focus on sport and recreation in Mamelodi
    (2024) Masha, Palesa; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    Homeplace & the Public aims to showcase the possibilities of infrastructure development and/or redevelopment in the context of township spaces, namely, Mamelodi in Pretoria. A focus being specifically on civic infrastructure like parks, pools, fields, libraries, and halls all to further highlight the duties and responsibilities of the local municipality to the community. Highlighting role players and what goes in the production of space and how power plays itself in the production of said spaces. This, then to elaborate on the perception of the community to understand what makes the community to look after said space. The current state of the civic infrastructure, which I will explore as an extension of the homeplace should offer the same sense of warmth, welcoming and comfort and act as a place of restoration or refuge. Introducing the notion of a safe “homely” spaces outside of the home that can be found in what the government or local municipality offers its people, and not mere walls. A focus will be on public amenities as provided by the municipality. The conditions these infrastructures – dilapidated, underutilised and not well-maintained – call for a transformation to keep up with the interests of the community, and most importantly the youth. A transformation in the regards of how people engage and see said spaces in order to be able to take full advantage of the resources afforded to them and in turn transforming community. The research aims to investigate how the prevalence of good public spaces can aid in the alteration of the social interactions of a community in the ways of social behaviours, institutions, or social relations to one another in turn, transforming cultural and social spaces. The research will have a focus on youth development investigating the interests of the adolescent and young adults in the area. Empirical data research will be undertaken in order to discover the site for what it is and has to offer on the daily. Looking at the role of place-making in projects undertaken or provided by the municipality. Questions on how public space in the form of civic buildings can be designed in a way that is an extension of home to the community, so that the community takes better care of the spaces, at the same time exposing the youth opportunities. With a focus on youth development and empowerment, adequate and proper infrastructure is most prevalent. Looking at what was provided initially with sports fields and schools with ample spaces of play. In seeking ways of relieving oneself, the research will look into current recreational activities that the youth partake in that can be ancillary to sports and recreation as the formidable outlet, the research will aim to unpack the idea of sports bringing people together, both the young and old, to celebrate and take space together at the same time exposing one to various spaces. Youth empowerment and development can lead to social change and transformation. The environment we inhabit has an impact on us.
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    Moving mindsets: A multidimensional inquiry into urban justice through the lens of urban mobility and the evolution of public space
    (2024) Davis, Saliegh; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    Moving Mindsets: A Multidimensional Inquiry into Urban Justice through the Lens of Urban Mobility and the Evolution of Public Space Inspired by my own experiences and driven by the transformative potential of transport systems, the focus of the dissertation is the revitalisation of the Pentech Metrorail Station, envisaging an integrated transport node that incorporates a vocational education centre and community information and resource centre. Emphasising the Cape Peninsula University of Technology's (CPUT) role and public realm vitality, the goal is to make the station a key node in the Belhar community, thereby nurturing vibrant and accessible public spaces that heighten the quality of life for all residents and users. The major routes linking the train station and the urban fabric are critically assessed and reconfigured to cater not only to the station but also to thoughtfully integrate public spaces and accommodate the evolving needs of the local populace with the ambition of enabling the residents to explore their city through improved movement routes. The public spaces are designed as platforms to promote social cohesion, community identity and facilitate academic interaction. The theoretical investigation of the project delves into the profound influence of architectural and urban design on social behaviour particularly in respect to how users interact in public spaces. These relationships are investigated in order to create an architectural design that responds effectively to present conditions and simultaneously emerges as an important landmark in Belhar and a template for future developments in the area in alignment with the Metropolitan Spatial Development Framework's (MSDF) proposed North-South link.
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    Re Fuse: Place, material, nature
    (2024) Hoffman, Warren; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    The project ‘Re-Fuse' is about the transformation of a site where the landscape through its history, specifically in the past 60 years of recorded information is a visual and physical spectacle of the environmental damage humankind has caused in the search of virgin materials (Mining) and burying of used materials (Landfill). Essentially the project is about an analysis of a site and its context and through this analysis identifying a position and a response in the potential utilization of architecture as a tool to aid in a positive social and environmental impact on the community and society at large. It's about understanding place in order to determine a future, by engaging with the local materials and the existential soils of the site, past and present to reform a connection to a landscape disconnected from nature. But importantly, remembering its industrial and extractive past that led to its current state, including the influence society had on its morphology through the use of existing and new infrastructure, encouraging social engagement with the land and materials, promoting scientific research and the awareness of the impacts of waste including its potential as a valuable material resource. Thus, the primary focus being that of waste management, with the reuse of an existing abandoned industrial warehouse, refurbished through the utilization of existing and implementation of new spatial interventions to form a material recovery and transformation centre that's sole focus is to limit landfill use by seeing waste as a raw material via the creation of new products, increasing a materials lifespan through reuse, upcycling or downcycling, with the intention to keep the materials within our production systems, limiting the use of new mined resources.
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    Re-animating the fringes and fissures of Richmond as a Rural Habitus
    (2023) Wahid, Humairaa; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    In order to achieve sustainable occupation on the terrain it is imperative that one is inserted within a favourable locale relative to the social societal system of organization as well as within the proximal bounds of the built infrastructure that support this system.
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    [re] Build. [re] Fabrication of District Six: Weaving Heritage Narratives with Future Development
    (2024) Michaels, Leah; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    The history and design process of Architecture has always been an interest of mine due to my family's rich heritage in District Six. All my life I have been told stories of what seemed like a magical, utopian dream space. A place that seemed too good to be true, where neighbors were family and loyalty was stronger than money. A Utopia where the sense of Ubuntu, “I am because we are”, was a reality. A quality that the Democratic South Africa still strives towards. It was because of these stories that my curiosity grew. I wanted to know what made this place so special. It was my grandparents who shared the joyful memories and sparked my interest. One day they said, “if only someone like us was on the panel making decisions, maybe things would've been different.” This is when I knew I wanted a seat at the table where Cape Town's design decisions are made. I believe that Architecture is a tool for outreach and change that can disrupt the cycle of injustice and inequality. I have always felt a responsibility to contribute to the built environment my family once watched being torn down. These stories inspired me and molded me into the designer I aspire to be, hence have become the point of entry into revealing the truths of everyday life within District Six and seeing its cultural significance. My family kept photographs of District Six which acted as the stage which these stories were acted upon. These photos inspired me to dive deeper into images and sources. As a point of entry, a photo of the Avalon Bioscope was not just that, it was the story of my great grandmother attending her weekly movie. A photo of Russel Street showed home.
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    Seeds of the future in the Present: Exploring the Intersections of [placemaking] through the Anatomic-Tectonic and Nature Reconnection Practices
    (2024) Bester, Saajidah; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    This dissertation emerges from a deep-seated personal attachment to the Bo-Kaap, not only as a site of historical and cultural significance, but as a dynamic learning landscape that instilled within me a profound appreciation, connection, and love for the natural environment. Focused on the St Monica's precinct of Bo-Kaap, this research explores the concept of placemaking, uncovering the critical role of nature in fostering a sense of self through embodied pedagogical practices. The research emphasizes the significance of place memory and identifies the mountain as a powerful mnemonic, central to the understanding of the locality. The design aims to address these aspects through both architectural and landscape interventions, transforming vacant spaces within a dormant vicinity into thriving communal areas. This is translated into a design that seeks to be a gateway to nature, a vibrant learning landscape, and a hub for support facilities. The design intervention recognizes the need to restructure the social order of the Bo-Kaap, a historically rich neighbourhood currently facing socio-cultural challenges. By prioritizing the essence of place, (nature) and by developing the St Monica's Precinct as a [special place] and link to the mountain, to reconnect individuals with their environment and to foster a renewed sense of belonging and cultural identity
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    Seeing, surfacing, patterning: A socially inclusive architecture for the blind
    (2024) De Bok, Saskia; Papanicolaou, Stiliani
    Architectural design possesses the dual capacity to either inflict or transverse spatial barriers in our built environments, which prevent people from accessing and interacting with the built environment, and in turn imparts consequences on the social order of our cities. This dissertation inquires into the manners in which the spatial configurations of our cities often adversely affect the social mobility of blind and visually impaired communities, leading to their exclusion from public social practices. Instead, this dissertation intends to uncover architectural design strategies that would contribute to the social integration of persons with sight impairments in correspondence with the prominent Western Cape non-profit organisation The League of Friends of the Blind. Further, the concern is not merely with how buildings could be designed to better accommodate this community, but also shifts focus to how the ‘urban surface' (Wall, 1999) within which these buildings are situated could do the same; extending the concept of enabling design beyond the confines of interior spaces into the public urban network.