MATTHEW MILLS
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
Transurbance: a walk about the river
Matthew Mills believes the cities in which we live
are designed to be technically enhanced but consist of
functionally isolated systems that bear no relevance
to the living environment.
Paarden Eiland is an area that exemplifies a
disconnected and disjointed environment. The focus
of his project is on a portion of Salt River, which
runs through Paarden Eiland and reaches its mouth
surrounded by industrial factories. The solution that
emerged consists of a long linear path that moves
over and under transport barriers such as highways
and railway lines, utilising the often dead residual
spaces to provide a pedestrian connection to the
Student Awards
shore. The continuous path creates moments in
which observation, interaction, play and discovery
can take place. It forms a weir in the river, bringing
floating debris to a recycling centre, where it can be
re-purposed into usable components that restore
the river.
The architecture attempts to merge landscape,
building and infrastructure into one, creating a design
that can rehabilitate the environment.
It is Mills belief that the design will be able to
shift its users’ understanding of the environment, to
one where technology and nature can exist not only
harmoniously and symbiotically.
85