ARPL3012: November 2009

Nasrec precinct planning exam 2009-11-02

Urban planning requires a great understanding of scale and all development must consider its socio economic impact. The environment cannot be ignored and it is disappointing that none of the students considered the environment impact and no one challenged the spatial development framework. Only one student mentioned the JDA? It is important to take cognizance of the existing an under construction developments in any developing area.

The identity of a precinct is vital for its survival and this didn’t come through too much, the students were a bit fearful of the site. Yes it’s a national stadium but more importantly it’s a catalyst in a developing precinct. More care to detail and research is required.
Transport plays an important role, so does sustainable development, critical mass and commercial development. It’s good that the debate has begun but this needs to be further interrogated. Planning is most important for any developing country.

Why do we need precincts? What’s a precinct? Where are the gateways?.... I would have liked to have seen the precinct placed in greater JHB and positioned as a ??’ precinct in relation to Newtown, Jeppe, Ellis Park etc….

The brief as I understood it was ‘beyond 2010’, I wonder then why no reference to the infrastructure and connectivity that will be left for legacy is made by the students. Remember the world has just been exposed to this site, yet everyone proposed housing that shuts itself off to the world. ….it becomes another suburb…..pity that.

A ABED a city after soccer city...
Abdul had a lot of energy and enthusiasm about his project. I question his focus as he focused on the housing structures and not the urban planning process itself. He doesn’t understand the planning completely and makes no reference to the guiding principles and land use typologies required in planning. Where is the city? His project is not coherent. He talks about city patterns then jumps to a wildlife park then housing inspired by the Ndebele patterns???? His focus area is completely contained. No relation to surrounding or existing patterns …

M HAWKINS ‘inclusionary’ housing at the golf course…
Mitchell makes a good attempt at putting together an urban framework document, the problem is that this is too generic and is not site specific. He needs to actually engage with and understand his site and context. It is a very harsh environment and he just followed the steps of a typical framework document. I found it difficult to find a project in his presentation. I question his planning of housing on what looks like a very lush green environment, with no thought as to what environmental impact it has and what it takes to maintain that in an environment surrounded by mine dumps. Then he goes into detail and it is in act parking on asphalt and paving in front of the units and not the green gardens…?? The integration into the landscape is not mentioned or discussed…where is it inclusionary? Displacing the golf course maybe but not inclusionary housing …

G KGABE stadium as lekgotla...
Gontse completely disregards the context and focuses on his perception of what the stadium represents. No research into the design or thought process from which he makes the assumption of a ‘kgotla’. Nevertheless he makes no attempt ant integration and informed urban planning. It’s just a t-shirt diagram. No reference to the ‘kgotla’ he uses as his premise no thought at threshold, relation between edges and patterns of use. The mono rail?? Are u kidding? A mono rail works on a single rail, the amount of infrastructure on a boulevard is just not feasible….a totally misguided attempt.

O MAKHU the ripple effect…
Here is a student who is genuinely trying to find solutions and in his struggles one can see some great ideas emerging. Ofentse makes a noble attempt at drawing inspiration from his context and using his own patterns to emulate the existing precinct. It’s unfortunate he didn’t develop his ideas further but his ideas at [re] thinking the green city and adding places of rest and respite, -although in its infancy- is quite excitable. A good attempt.

M MSINGAPHANTSI the urban sports precinct…
Mawabo shows great clarity and has a mature and simple approach to his project. He uses precedent to dictate sometimes too literally- his parameters. Because it worked in another r city doesn’t mean it’ll work at Nasrec. The climate is completely different. Functionality vs. symbolism? I was hoping he would unpack the impact of both further but he settles for density and a precinct full of ingredients for a recipe undercooked. It’s easy to identify what activity goes into a sports precinct but to make it work is a process that requires interaction and acute understanding of your context. The scheme shows promise but with the environmental impact and nature of our sporting culture the proposal is naïve. Competent body of work.

E NDABA housing by the river…
Eugene makes the bold move of relocating the Expo centre but doesn’t propose anything to rival the return the expo centre makes. One needs to make sure that if you are going to replace what exists it must be to better the place and add value. It seems scale is a bit of a challenge here as is evident is the choice and location of his focus area, the furthest most remote place from the stadium. Remember what draws people to the precinct are the iconic symbols. A missed opportunity with this project.

S PHAKATHI ‘imbizo’
An exciting project that has a great sensibility to scale and use. The potential in creating another destination other than the stadium. One can imagine this venue and precinct as part of a tour from Sandton to Soweto. She makes a clever move by consolidating the expo centre and making it a tall centre, it opens a new way of thinking about exhibition. The concept is underdeveloped but is encouraging. However rich the project Siphiwe still needs to understand scale and not be afraid of drawing big. Some thought to the details use of the spaces is required. It’s a pity the celebration of the ‘imbizo’ culminates in a shopping centre, but it still generates energy and promotes economic activity. It becomes a mediator between opposing anchors (stadium and the expo centre) in the precinct. The stadium and the expo centre. This project is a bit of a teaser…more time must be given to projects of this scale Siphiwe!

P PHASHA city grid…tabula rasa
There has to be purpose to design and some kind of informed concept and ideology to better impact a community. Pots is misguided and resort d to a grid over the entire site. No understanding of place and its impact in the city development use is demonstrated. As a designer you have to set parameters and guidelines to enable development. To allow a place to exist. The project subjects its occupants to a total array off monotony…more conceited effort is required from Posts if he intends to be a designer and make a difference. There is no rationale behind his proposal.

J WINK bicycle and pedestrian node…
The pedestrian promenade is an exciting idea through the precinct. It should have continued into the surrounding areas. The idea of the bicycle in the city works and in a community large enough. I think if this and the promenade where the primary ideas I don’t see why these could not have been the focus. Yes the housing component but bring in the bicycle and promenade to the housing idea. In the presentation you could see that Jarred was passionate about the promenade and bike concepts but stopped short and almost as an after thought went into the housing. The two seemed disjointed. The row housing idea seemed monotonous and no real thought to its occupancy was given. It would have been nice to have seen how the housing impacts the existing fabric. I think a missed opportunity in types of housing here. Why row housing? This site has more to offer than just housing, yet more land is given to it. It would have perhaps been interesting to have seen a profile of a typical resident. ‘A day in the life’.