Abstract
Plate 4.1: Plate 4.1: Apartheid Architectural Style Flat in Durban With Panoramic Views
4.2 The Case Studies
4.2.1 Defining Lost and wasted Space
Space is separated into two main categories, positive space and negative space. Positive spaces are all the areas which are used on a daily basis; this includes space which people are able to interact with and in. Negative space is the space that is left over when creating positive space. For example, when architects design and create a multistory building, the building is considered to be the positive space and the leftover unstructured area at the base is regarded as the negative space. To take the concept of positive and negative space further, a figure ground diagram of the Durban Esplanade was drawn up to diagrammatically explain this concept (refer to Figure Ground Study p:20 or Appendix C).
Trancik explains that this separation of space into negative and positive can be used to locate the negative spaces present in a city. He defines these negative spaces as “lost space”. Trancik defines lost space as areas which have no human activity or proper human interaction. He explains that there are various levels of lost spaces and provides the following examples:
• Leftover unstructured landscape at the base of all buildings.
• Unused sunken plazas away from the flow of pedestrian activity in the city.
• Surface parking lots which ring the urban core.
• No-man’s land at the edge of freeways.
• Abandoned waterfronts, train yards, vacated military sites, and industrial complexes.
• Vacant blight clearance sites - remnants of urban renewal.
• Residential areas between districts.
• Loosely composed commercial strips.
• Deteriorated parks.
• Marginal public housing projects.
• Undesirable urban areas that are in need of redesign.
• Ill-defined spaces, without measurable boundaries.
Trancik explains that there are five major causes of lost space:
(1) Increased dependence on the automobile.
(2) The attitude of architects of the modern movement towards open space.
(3) Zoning and land use policies.
(4) Unwillingness on the part of contemporary institutions (public and private) to assume responsibility for the public urban environment.
(5) Abandonment of industrial, military or transportation sites in the inner core of the city.
Although Trancik is discussing lost spaces in America, these concepts fully apply to the city of Durban. This research study will use these concepts in order to understand the lost spaces present in the city, more specifically in the case study of the Durban Esplanade.
Taking into account Trancik’s ideas of lost spaces as a base or starting platform, this research study takes his ideas and concepts a step further by looking for “wasted spaces”.
The contribution of this research study to the body of knowledge, with regards to lost spaces, is to take this idea further and find lost spaces within even the positive spaces (or what Trancik refers to as “found space”); these spaces have been referred to as wasted spaces. Wasted spaces refer to spaces or surfaces on buildings (blank facades and flat roofs), bridges and other components of the built environment that have a designated use;
however, they also present opportunities for improvement or mixed use. The concept of wasted space has also been influenced by the concepts of ecocity design and it builds on these various concepts to arrive at a realistic and achievable way of alleviating lost and wasted spaces within the cityscape.
In order to suggest a solution to the problem of lost and wasted spaces in the city, three specific studies of lost and wasted space were carried out. The knowledge gained from the literature review and the theoretical framework will support the retro fit out, techniques and approaches which have been suggested in these specific areas or buildings. Of the three areas of interest, two fall within the study area (the Durban Esplanade) while the third falls
just outside (The Point) the study area (refer to Figures 4.1.1 and 4.1.2). The three cases are:
(1) Existing multistory buildings which can be retrofitted in order to make the building green (The Gables).
(2) Existing green spaces which can be used for recreation and urban agriculture (Albert Park).
(3) Abandoned buildings within the city’s urban core.
The concept of wasted spaces as an opportunity to add to the existing infrastructure and design elements of buildings will also be examined. From a planning point of view, vertical farms and roof gardens, which are both social and economic components of planning, will be explored. Urban agriculture will feature as a general solution to the alleviation of what are perceived as lost or wasted spaces.
4.2.2 Site Selection
Durban has many areas in which lost and wasted spaces are a problem. However, the criteria for site selection for this study were: the case study had to be of significance to the central business district (CBD); the study area had to include a large recreational green space (Albert Park); and it had to have a variety of typologies of buildings, of which size, densities and variances in building use was important. The Durban Esplanade is also an excellent site as it is the showcase for the city of Durban due to it being in the foreground of the city’s skyline. Visitors to Durban's shores will frequent this area as it is directly in front of the entrance to the port and the Yacht Club. The area also serves as a link to the various light industrial and recreational areas present in the city. Finally the Durban Esplanade is experiencing a number of problems which can be turned into opportunities, such as pedestrianising the area, spaces for urban agriculture and buildings with uninterrupted facades, which can be used to generate electricity through the use of solar panels. It is the intention of this study to demonstrate how problem areas can be turned into areas of opportunities.
Abandoned Building
N Figure 4.1.2: Map of The Point Area Indicating Places of Interest
Source: Google Earth
Figure 4.1.1 : Part Map of Study area Indicating Places of Interest
N The Gables
Albert Park
Source: Google Earth
4.2.3 Places of Interest