KENNETH MAIN
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
Urban Acupuncture: Architecture as a catalyst for environmental and water
conservation in the context of the Kilimanjaro Informal Settlement
In his thesis, Kenneth Main attempts to establish
an approach to dealing with the issue of waste
contamination and water conservation in the natural
and urban landscapes of the riverbed, its edges and
man-made peripheries. The research locates itself at
the northern boundary of the city of Windhoek along a
stretch of polluted riverbed in the Kilimanjaro Informal
Settlement (KIS).
In the creation of an architectural approach ‘urban
acupuncture’ is explored to create architecture
that has the potential to influence areas beyond its
physical boundaries. In addition, it can re-establish
and re-imagine the value of the river for its unseen
influence in shaping Windhoek as rapid urbanisation
is taking place. Aspects of environmental degradation,
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water conservation and lack of basic infrastructure
form a basis of inquiry to which an urban framework
is proposed. Most simply, this framework acts
to establish an alternative and more efficient
system which collects, stores, filters and reuses
wastewater for both drinking and irrigation purposes
through a series of four contextually assigned
architectural devices.
Utilising the ‘bi-products’ of this urban framework
(Reedbed filtered water & potable water), the KIS
Agricultural Learning Centre is proposed. The centre
provides a point of exchange for both in-situ filtered
drinking water and fresh produce that is grown at the
centre establishing a link between this infrastructural
insertion and its public and social constructs.
Student Awards