5.3 Case Study: The Traditional Herb and Medicine Market of Warwick Junction,
5.3.2 Intervention
Although the presence of this insurgent urbanism was along the before mentioned streets of Russell and Leopold Streets respectively, Dobson (2011) points out that there were in fact pockets of traditional medicine traders scattered throughout the Warwick Junction precinct.
These traders could be found on Victoria Street, Brook Street, Grey Street, The Ajmeri Arcade and some Izinyanga could also be found renting rooms within underutilized areas of Grey Street (Dobson 2011). This dispersal of traders was important in conceptualising a formalised traditional medicine market, as the sprawl of this insurgent urbanism would need to be contained within a singular market, and thus a dialogue needed to be engaged in order to provide acceptable facilitation for this group. This dialogue was opened in 1996, and after 2 years of consultation and facilitation, in 1998 the formalised market was commissioned.
This intervention was to be ground breaking, firstly due to the sheer scale of the proposed relocation project. At the time of commission there were approximately 700 tenants documented, however Dobson (2011) believes that there were in fact as many as 1000 informal traders operating within the precinct that needed to be catered for. Due to this unique case of insurgency, and sensitivity of the citizenship that was to be accommodated, there was no precedent that could be followed, either locally or internationally. As such, all proposals and decisions needed to rely on the internal and obscured dynamic presented by this user group, so as to not destroy the “vital energy” (Dobson 2011) that existed. This was to be a significant informal economy intervention, as it stood in defiance of the national, conservative policies that were still firmly exclusionary. This was further proven by the bold investment that this project would bolster, costing an estimated R4.0million. This was an unprecedented informal economy investment.
78 | P a g e In 1996, the Warwick Junction Urban Renewal Project was spearheaded, with one of its primary focuses being on the insurgent urbanisms of Russell and Leopold Streets. Due to the pavements being “oversubscribed” it was agreed that developing the sidewalks was not an appropriate solution. Aligning with Villagomez’s (in Hou 2010) concept of residual space usage, was the identification of the unused infrastructure of the unutilized freeway spurs that crossed the railway lines adjacent to the Berea rail commuter station (Dobson 2011).
Figure 50-Before the intervention, squatter settlements were starting to be established on the unused freeway spurs, posing health and security risks.
These white elephants, standing as unused scars of the apartheid planning policies of past, had become platforms for opportunistic activities such as informal residential structures.
Unsupervised, and under surveyed, these spurs were threatening to become an informal settlement in the heart of the CBD. It was therefore conceptualised that these freeway spurs become host to this proposed market, and thus “the concept embodied its [The Warwck Junction Urban Renewal Project] emerging philosophy of regenerative effort matched with urban management [...] The Market required space and by occupying the unutilized freeway, the Market prevented the opportunistic invasions” (Dobson 2011, p. 3). Having ascertained the urban analysis by the eThekweni Transport Authority, it was concluded that any future
79 | P a g e transport plans would in fact not utilise these spurs, as such a ten year tenure was agreed upon for the implementation of the market.
The architectural services were commissioned by the private sector architects, OMM Design Workshop who had an understanding of the inclusive nature of this project, and thus realised the necessity for more intensive and inclusive stakeholder engagement. This resulted in what Dobson (2011) terms an “area based approach”. The commissioned market consisted of a series of 12 semi formal, enclosed Izinyana kiosks. Two blocks of toilets as well as individually metered water pointes were provided throughout the market, serving an estimated 10 traders each. The open stalls provided 6 square meters of space per trader, whilst smaller 2 meter squared open air stalls were provided alongside the unroofed thoroughfares. In total approximately 700 traders have been accommodated for within the market.
Figure 51-Looking east toward the CBD, with the traditional market in the foreground, the duality of this modern metropolis is expressed. The steel and glass of modernity is juxtaposed by the traditional market
which is a truer representation of the Durban citizenship.
80 | P a g e Figure 52-An aerial view showing the various markets of the Warwick Junction Precinct.
Dobson (2011) notes that a significant design consideration was that of the storm water management, due to the close proximity of the roofs to the high voltage railway lines. The solution therefore was that the roofs were to follow the gradient of the unused freeway on which they were constructed and thus reinforced the fluid lines of the unused spurs. Modest materials of treated timber poles and corrugated roof sheeting were used “producing an architectural expression sympathetic to the products found in the Market” (Dobson 2011, p.
5). A further consideration was the need to connect the Western end of the freeway to the existing pedestrian bridge. The answer lay in the Market Bridge, which was designed by OMM Design Workshop as a connection between these two nodes as a celebration and not merely a piece of infrastructure. This node more recently has earned the nickname, The Music Bridge, due to the loud music that is played by the informal traders that occupy it.
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“This is one of the first South African structures which addresses and celebrates the informal traders who have come to dominate our city centres.
The building, which is not much more than a pedestrian bridge with some shady pergolas, is located at the city’s commercial centre, where hawkers, shacks and shebeens cluster around a busy transport intersection. Lightweight structures with shading devices made of wattle branches announce the entrance to the market. The transient quality expresses the informal trading patterns of the hawkers who ply their wares on the bridge”
-South African Sunday Times in Dobson (2001, p. 5)
Figure 53-The Music Bridge, by OMM Design Workshop leading away from the Traditional Herb and Medicine Market.
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