Wednesday, November 18, 2015

field trip

to pretoria + surrounds will be on thursday 19 november
we meet at the planetarium at 8.47
bring cameras + wear comfortable shoes
chances of rain are expected kusasa

the concept is to understand the city of tshwane from the koppie

First inhabitants

The Southern Transvaal Ndebele occupied the river valley, which was to become the location of the city of Pretoria, by around 1600. During the difaqane in Natal, another band of refugees arrived in this area under the leadership of Mzilikazi. However, they were forced to abandon their villages in their flight from a regiment of Zulu raiders in 1832.
The first "Boer" homestead in the Pretoria area was probably the home of J.G.S. Bronkhorst, who settled in the Fountains Valley in 1840. More Boer families put down roots around the nearby Elandspoort settlement. In 1854, two years after the Sand River Convention conferred formal independence on the territory north of the Vaal River, the residents of Elandspoort had the village proclaimed the 'kerkplaas' for central Transvaal. This made it the focal point for communions, baptisms and weddings.

The Founding of Pretoria

Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. Andries Pretorius also negotiated the Sand River Convention (1852), in which Britain acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal. Pretoria, at it’s founding year, consisted of about 80 houses and 300 residents.
Pretoria became the capital of the South African Republic (ZAR) on 1 May 1860. The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be seen as marking the end of the Boers' settlement movements of the Great Trek.

http://www.pretoria.co.za/city-info/history 

Monday, November 16, 2015

oral schedule



name
time

gxamza
08.30 – 08.47

ngoma
08.50 – 09.07

guya
09.10 – 09.27

mandyanda
09.30 – 09.47

maphumulo
09.50 – 10.07

mfusi
10.10 – 10.27

ncame
10.30 – 10.47
morning tea/coffee break
10.50 – 11.13

selepe
11.15 – 11.32

baloyi
11.35 – 11.52

mutugi
11.55 – 12.12

mazibuko
12.15 – 12.32
examiners lunch (catered)
12.35 – 13.32

zuma
13.35 – 13.52

thantsha
13.55 – 14.12

godsell
14.15 – 14.32
examiners’ meeting: moderation of final marks
14.35 – 15.00

arpl3012 exam + logistics

oral exams will be held on mon 23 november
venue: old seminar room
presenters to be 15 minutes before their presentation
schedule to follow

there will be a class trip on thursday 19 november
leaving at wits at 9 am back at 16pm

soft copy of Task_5 to be given to tracy or abi on wednesday pm 18 nov
soft copy of images to be given to tracy or abi on wednesday pm 18 nov

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Task_5 handin venue

1st floor seminar room
noon

Monday, November 9, 2015

arpl3012 images

dear all
please give tracy 10 - 25 images per person which you used in Task_3 - 5
make sure they are referenced correctly with author's name + caption
thank you

Saturday, November 7, 2015

task_5 final handin date

given the requests for consultations 
in the folowing week
it might help to shift the hand in date
to monday 16 nov 12 noon
projects may be handed in 
before the above date
note that projects 
not submitted by noon of the 16th nov 2015
will simply be not accepted
keep drawing + thinking

Friday, November 6, 2015

task_5 hand in

after seeing some projects on thursday
i believe it prudent to extend the hand in to thurs 12 nov
so use the time to compile your document
use task 3.4, 4 + 5 to frame the udf narrative
print on wed pm or thurs am
hand in thurs 12 nov at noon
you may hand in before if you wish
but no later than thurs 12 nov noon
any late hand ins will be subject to penalties
the format is:
1 hardcopy + 1 soft copy
good luck

Monday, November 2, 2015

task_4 comments

the promotion of cultural diversity + inter-cultural dialogue – cover page could explicitly relate to food + fashion.  for example, see cover page + page 1 of “what is a city if not the people?”  as a guide or photography and text symbiosis.  that being said, project displays a concise contents page which is easy to navigate and exhibits crisp document structure.  got stuck on point 4 of the 04. concept plan.  what is “internam arrangement” ?  amplify on this point so three is no confusion.  credit graphics on p’s 4, 5, 6, 8, 14, 15, 17 – 23.  02. status quo, the three layers – 1: land use, 2: institutional, 3: mobility, need their own separate pages to engage with the material.  03. precedent study – the 3 areas would benefit from plans of maboneng, pompidou and Portobello so we see the relationship between solid + void.  abstract concept can be enhanced with text on the graphic – things like east-west axis, north-south spine, green park space, rail and whatever the orange is.  strong p14.  work on beefing up the plan on p20, reclaiming public spaces graphic, with material colour, so its explicit what is road reserve, cycle lane, recycler lane etc.  explanatory text on the graphic on  the right hand side of p21.  are those layers, sections, ?  articulate this in a more structured way.  as a lead into the final task, perhaps you may write about a real lived experienced where culture clashed, based on something.  see me on tuesday to explain what I mean.  otherwise the work is simply sublime.               excellent work

the reclamation game: widening the board and introducing new players – correct the word withing on p1.  very good intro followed by a very comprehensive project.  to tie it all together, in the final task, I suggest the following: a plethora of godsell illustrations plus vignettes like on p12 and p18 + sections to take the project from a 2d to a 3d presentation and also to address the blocks edge condition.  excellent work

combating unemployment in joubert park through the reconfiguration of space – interesting cover page which lacks author’s details.  on the intro page p1, there is a credit to madjana, who is that?  overall the project exhibits maturity and is attempting, in a constructive manner, to grapple with complex inner city issues.  it requires better structure and better formatting.  it cannot, for example, have different fonts and font sizes.  unpack, graphically, the opportunities for employment theme p8 and make it relevant to your study area..  demonstrate what the ingredients [note spelling] for democratic street are to the study area.  shouldn’t this be ingredients for a democratic street instead? the conclusion needs more work and it has to be specific to Johannesburg.  the beginnings of good work.

fluid itineraries: reconfiguring border conditions – excellent cover image followed by an excellent intro which sets up the project perfectly.  define border.  google images are difficult to access.  are they meant to be demonstrating the green or lack of it?  perhaps a graphic might be more appropriate.  like the one at the top of the page.  the concept p7 sets up a wonderful and convincing narrative yet fails to deliver on what stiches the focus area together. this should be the udf, yet it is not. the spatial narrative gets lots from here onwards as the project drops down in scale and focus, rather thinly and unconvincingly on the joubert precinct.  there is so much potential excellent material here that unfortunately is not realised in he overall udf.  lets speak on Tuesday so we can identify the shortcomings of the project – for example, what is the overall arching theme that ties the concept together.  the reconfiguration on twist street needs to be bolder, where does the northbound bus stop?  the beginnings of acceptable work.

dealing with discomfort of downtown – clear cover + contents page which constructs the argument well, especially the intro page.  understanding publicness is concise.  keep reusing the three streams | strands of publicness: ownership; access + use.  bring in the strand of ownership  belonging.  use the publication I introduce you too.  the project next phase should comprise of the graphic expression of what the project asks in understanding publicness – what should a public space provide?  excellent work.

what is a city if not the people – sublime work.  next phase should be the graphic articulation of the principles, which are identified in the intro, which frame the project: porosity; safety; activity, connectivity + passive surveillance.  a photographic spatial plan of p4 + 5, of where the images are from would enhance the project.  why isn’t the route of wolmarans st on p14 not identified on p7.  what happened to page 6?  excellent work.

promoting safety through movement and activity – concluding page?  buffered bike corridor can have a much more complex network and traverse much more of the city’s fabric.  this is also true for the trolley puller’s lane.  very good concept on p1 which could be made into a realistic urban project.  push this concept.  this should be then expressed in the proceeding pages, which, in the current project, fails to do so.  why?  concept is rendered on p1 and never seen again, except for a tentative stab on p5.  pity.  poor work.

towards enrich public life in transitional spaces of urban setting: end street park – shouldn’t the tile read towards enriching . . ? note spelling of catalytic on the contents page.  the initial reading, by the assessor, of the project was rather shallow.  a regrettable mishap.  but, after a revisit, the project displays discerning maturity far above the expected level and it is articulated in a refreshing manner.  the concept page is a gem, which compels viewing and reviewing and re-reviewing and re- . . .  simply sublime work.

rejuvenating the edge condition(s) – after the kurt elling lyrics the project takes an uncomfortable nosedive.   concept needs to be stronger.  the project displays a search for something.  we just have to find that something together.  bring some butcher paper to tomorrows class, lets sit and find that something.  together.

enhancing the relationship between schools, parks and transport interchange – contents page and project is missing a conclusion.  strong concept where the graphics can all be mixed into one, making it pink, maroon + black.  mix the graphics on the left hand side of the page with the ones on the right hand side, then place the explanatory text towards the right hand side of the page.  do more with the graphic on the metro scale page.  the map can display much more.  make what the project extracts from the precedent study more pronounced and explicit.  design principle graphics can display more colour, as in green for the greenery, orange for trade stalls.  differentiate the levels in the built volume and materials of the surfaces in the plan.  movement slide is poor.  why isn’t the train articulated?  explain in greater detail p14, improving edge conditions.  get this project tighter.  frustrating work.

urban landscapes [through the lens] – an excellent prequel to the next task.  we wait with bated breath and whispering humbleness.  chose a project in a scheme and articulate it.  the decking on noord street in bringing in the linear link for example.  in the project , you then have to display horizontal, vertival diversity + inside-outside connections; how the pedestrianised street begins or ends on noord, and how the precedent decking will compliment the public realm and bring in or reinforce the concept of cityness.  all this then should be supported, graphically, by all that is named on p10.  excellent work.

task 4 – edge condition – what is the overall theme?  not quite certain what this project is.


task_4 an_alphabet – what is the overall theme?  fantastic cover page which would have been enhanced with a project title.  a confusing project which relies heavily on work done in the group phase and very thin individual work.  it is very difficult to engage with a project of this nature at this level of an academic process.  poor work.