KIM GELDENHUYS
TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A community food production facility in Alexandra, Gauteng
The dissertation investigates the potential of
architecture to be a device/instrument of know-
ledge and skills transfer. The user is placed at the
centre of the design exploration and becomes
the main design generator and informant of the
architectural investigation.
With its vibrant street life, strong sense of
community and complex informal urban fabric, the
Alexandra Township in Johannesburg faces many
socio-economic challenges and infrastructural
shortcomings. This design investigation addresses
increased concerns of food-security and lack of
communal, open space in Alexandra due to high
population densities and overcrowding.
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The needs of the user informs the creation of
a place for the farming, distribution and consump-
tion of fruits and vegetables. Based on community
involvement, the architectural response aims to
encourage ownership, adaptability and mutual
skills exchange.
The issues to be investigated include:
• addressing the separation between places of food
production and cities
• architecture as a means of knowledge
transfer and education
• principles of responding to the kinetic city
• principles of materials, local skills and construction
methods suited to adaptability
Student Awards