Re-inventing Public Space

A Nature-based Solution to Urban Problems

Aarifah Hassim

BArch Hons 2021

Supervisors:
Unit Leader: Dr Finzi Saidi
Unit Leader: Jabu Makhubu
Unit Tutor: Dickson Adu-Agyei
Unit Tutor: Mathebe Aphane
Unit Assistant: Nomalanga Mahlangu

UNIT 15X^︎︎︎
Toxic [Urban] Landscapes

My MDP explores the harms that mining landscape have on surrounding public spaces and water bodies. My site is Pioneers’ Park, a public space that consists of a water body called the Wemmer Pan. Wemmer Pan was originally a brick field quarry owned by Sam Wemmer. The pan was subjected to mining rights and water was drawn from the pan; the pan also held run-off from surrounding slime dams. Pioneers’ Park is situated in Turfontein which is in the south of Johannesburg. Pioneers’ Park is situated on the southern edge of the mining belt and is surrounded by a number of mine dumps. My design project explores the relationship between humans, water, and nature. My projects aim to create fluid, evolving and sustainable landscapes.

My design intervention tells a story of the site’s history. This is done through draining some of the water from the quarry. Exposing the stone quarry allows transparency of the history of the pan and allows one to track its changes in the landscape over time. The removal of some water allows the explorations of creating spaces inside the quarry. I refer to the literature by Martin Prominski (2005) Designing Landscapes as Evolutionary Systems.

Keywords:
Evolving, Sustainable, Nature, Public Space

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