None of the work has previously been submitted for a degree or examination at any other university. A dialectical method will determine the discourse of the research, which consists of three components.
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH 77
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 104
RESEARCH BACKGROUND .1 INTRODUCTION
- MOTIVATION / JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
5 : Typical nature-inspired material demonstrating the general decorative aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement. Sudjic (2008) notes that William Morris was an influential promoter of the Arts and Crafts movement and designed nature-inspired materials and designs, which were a response to the machine, a form of resistance to the inhuman nature of application by a machine (Refer to Fig_1.4 & 1.5).
DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES .1 DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM
- OBJECTIVES
A critical analysis will be made by researching the evolution of machine-made and hand-made architecture. Study the fundamentals of machine-built architecture, explore the global effects of the machine and the implications for the South African context.
SETTING OUT THE SCOPE
- DELIMITATION OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
- STATING THE ASSUMPTIONS
- HYPOTHESIS
- KEY QUESTIONS
- MAIN QUESTIONS
- SECONDARY QUESTIONS
How the advent of machines and industrialization affected the experience of the built environment. How the processes of craft, the craftsman and the making of crafts can be reflected in the built environment within what Ricoeur (1961) calls "universal civilization".
THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
- CRITICAL REGIONALISM
- PHENOMENOLOGY
- NON – PLACE
- DIALECTICAL METHOD
- SUMMARY
As defined in the definition of the terms, this dissertation will use a dialectical method to formulate an argument for the collaboration of machine-built architecture and artisan/handmade architecture and a proposed synthesis of the two. The aim of this dissertation is to apply these theories to a broad overview of mechanical engineering together with an understanding of the role of craft and the possible reflection of this process in an architectural intervention.
RESEARCH METHODS AND MATERIALS .1 RESEARCH METHODS
- RESEARCH MATERIALS
This will constitute the majority of this thesis and the information will be obtained by examining various media by different authors. Individuals interviewed are mainly the architects of the case studies selected, but they will be questioned about relevant and theories considered in this thesis.
DOCUMENT OUTLINE
The research materials collected are in the form of hard copies and digital copies, including images, photographs and sketches. The research will aim to develop a manifesto of principles that can be considered for the mix of progressive and traditional architecture that only from this position can communicate in the form of a sincere response to a dialectical global and local architecture.
CONCLUSION
- ARCHITECTURE AS MACHINE-BUILT : INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS
- ARCHITECTURE AND THE MACHINE
- ARCHITECTURE AS REPRESENTATION : A CONTEMPORARY CONDITION
- REPRESENTATIVE ARCHITECTURE
- NON-PLACE
- THE GLOBAL AUTHENTIC FAKE : DISNEYWORLD, FLORIDA
- THE IMPACT ON SOUTH AFRICA
- THE LOCAL AUTHENTIC FAKE : SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA
- FLATTENING AND THE WEAKENING OF EXISTENTIAL GROUND
Their place in the city has been completely abstracted by the underground transportation system. Roke (2009), who agrees with Pallasmaa's concept of flattening, cites Thomas Friedman's The world is Flat by referring to the accusations of. In addition to the hypothesis of the tactility of experience as conceived by Benjamin, Pallassma (2009) also demonstrates that the hand is also an object, and it is inextricably linked to the eye, brain and language (2009:33).
Handcraft is celebrated by the 'Thinking Hand' (Pallasmaa, 2009) or "the hand that feels and marks its objects; authentic knowledge of the world is envisioned as a 'grasping grip' of the world” (Leslie, 1998:5). Objects made by hand can be considered unique as they are clearly covered in the characteristics of the maker (Pallasmaa, 2009, Sennett, 2008). Consider design to be incorporated into every aspect of the project; especially in construction, where work that is too repetitive and monotonous "kills ambition, self-esteem, pride and […] the craft itself" (Pallasmaa Refer to Fig_2.2.13 & 14).
URBAN : CONSTITUTIONAL COURT : HILLBROW,
- BACKGROUND
- INTEGRATION OF THE MADE / BUILT FABRIC
- THE ENTRANCE
- THE FOYER
- THE SUNSCREENS
- SUMMARY
The epitome of the schemes' conceptual background is, however, strongly described in the entrance foyer (see fig. 3.6). 8 : The repetition of the columns inside the foyer forces the experience of being within the density of a forest. 14 : Bricks from the prison's existing trial block are used to reinforce the notion of history and meaning.
The building is highly regarded and the design showcases the presence of the various local cultures found in South Africa.
RURAL : DALTON RESERVE : MOOI RIVER, DURBAN : KOOP ARCHITECTS
- BACKGROUND
- PROCESS : THE AUTONOMY OF PARTS
- MATERIALS, METHODOLOGY AND THEIR MEANS
- THE MECHANICAL WORKSHOP
- SUMMARY
This then resulted in the following 5 key architectural principles, maintained and published by Koop, for the development of the city. These principles dictated the tectonics of the project and were essential in the design process by producing a responsive handcrafted architecture to be implemented on site. The architects responded by reintroducing the integrity of materiality found deep in the city's history.
The construction techniques gave rise to the elegance and delicate character of the structures on site.
CONCLUSION
The structure was hand-crafted on site, while the building of the Court is primarily a surface finish or the use of crafts and arts. This may be due to the urban environment and the fact that the artwork is not an integral part of the building. Despite this, the architects still pushed the boundaries of typical construction techniques and derived individual elements of the built fabric that were unique to the court.
The opposite theory of non-place has been used to emphasize modern architecture as a by-product of the machine.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND ANALYSIS
Therefore, the dialectical chapter of this dissertation suggests examples of how to respond critically to the materiality of architecture, through a more qualitative and honest means of processing architecture.
CONCLUSION
In contrast to masking or "drawing veils over the surface of reality" (Frampton, the material is revealed to show its true state. To achieve this, architecture must form a dialogue between modern processes where mass production is used as a means to support economic systems and time assembly can benefit the project in general. However, craft processes must be included in the project as a conscious and considerate existential basis.
It is through the process of making that a strong sense of community, and place, is created.
RESPONSIVE DESIGN GUIDELINES
It can aid in the creation of place, and a connection to an existential ground by involving a significantly more human interface with its users. In other words, light indicates life, and using this as a free material can help in the creation of life-driven architecture. Within an Urban setting, the intervention may be in the form of a skills development facility that provides skills that are not (or scarcely) found in the city.
Combining apprentice-based workshops in the 'post-digital age' (Roke, 2009), the facility will support designers, craftsmen and makers in a live/work society.
LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 ARCHITECTURE AS MACHINE
Source: http://www.you-are-here.com/los_angeles/paul_hastings.html, online (accessed April 2012) Fig_1.10: Machine-built architecture, Durban. Source: http://ni.chol.as/media/geoff-files/sillymaps/large_geographical_map.gif, online (accessed March 2012) Fig_2.1.19: Map of the London Underground. Source: http://news.discovery.com/history/stone-age-tools-africa.html Image_2.2.11: Handmade pottery.
Source: www.floornature.com/projects-commerce/project-jaecha-church-in-urubo-bolivia-4012/, online (accessed April 2012).
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Fig_3.1 : Constitutional Court: Modern International style laced with local craft Source
However, according to Harrison (2012), CAD technology has led to some of the worst designed cities around the world. Although the idea of handmade work is often seen as charming and inexplicably related to the skills of the maker, Roke (2009) notes how some of the more serious artistic fields (including architecture) see craft as falling short of progressive design and realistic design propositions because it contains several signs of human inaccuracies (2009:10). There is a loss of tangibility and imagination within the design process that "can weaken the haptic feeling of the designed entity in the computer-generated drawing" (Pallasmaa, 2009:98).
Although the car has been described as an "unbending iron animal" (Melville located in Gillian, 2003:62), the paradigm shift in the "post-digital age" (Roke, 2009:10) suggests that society has outgrown impulsiveness and calculation. form, which seems detached from reality.
PART TWO
INTRODUCTION 1.1 ABSTRACT
From materials, food, experiences and the built environment, the processes and products of the modern world have negatively affected the user's lived experience of "being-in-the-world" (Heidegger, 1971:147). By promoting global over local, product over process, and quantity over quality, a series of modern by-products have been created, emphasizing the idea of 'placelessness' (Frampton Non-places). This chapter illustrates a hypothetical client with their requirements and brief, options for site selection, selected site analysis and response, in accordance with the theoretical framework discussed in Part One of this thesis.
Therefore, the purpose of Part Two in this dissertation is to act as a design report that uses the aforementioned information to explore an architectural response, in a given location, driven by a client brief.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Creative Exchange is a progressive Durban based company looking to acquire premises for a new business venture. At the Creative Exchange you can purchase quality products, watch an artisan perform their craft, and even participate in designing future projects. By bringing these features together, the Creative Exchange aims to focus on collaboration and responsive commerce, allowing designers to interact with each other as well as with the general public.
Creative Exchange strives to accommodate both large-scale artists, individual groups, and freelancers through rental studio spaces, warm-up rooms, meeting rooms, and performance spaces.
- SITE SELECTION AND ANALYSIS 2.1 INTRODUCTION
- SITE SELECTION CRITERIA
- SITE SELECTION
- CONCLUSION
- SITUATION ANALYSIS .1 Geographic Positioning
- DESIGN AND TECHNICAL RESOLUTION 3.1 CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL ISSUES
- PRECEDENT STUDY
5: The beer hall in the context of Durban's Light Industrial Yard of the CBD. 6 : View of the ruined farmhouse from N3 with the batteries to the north of the site. The area is zoned as a light industrial zone and is often considered the city's industrial yard.
In the 1950s, the Dashanzi factory complex began as a military-industrial collaboration, bridging the gap between the Soviet Union and the newly formed People's Republic of China, as an extension of the "Socialist Unification Plan." By the 1990s, most of the complex ceased production and more than 50% of workers had been retrenched. This gives the building the ability to draw people in from all sides. Because the building floats, no main entrance is needed, hence the nickname 'the city magnet'.
