Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa May/June 2015 | Page 71

SARAH DE VILLIERS UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND Idea Bank Sarah de Villiers’s thesis proposes that people from Alexandra with business ideas can upload their concept onto an Idea ATM. She believes that residents of Alexandra have intellectual capital to offer, and solutions to give against difficult spatial circumstances. The Idea Bank offers a physical and abstract entry into financial capital, by providing a system whereby ideas receive a monetary worth, which offers new currency for growth and upliftment. De Villiers says, “Ideas that would improve life in Alex would be fore-mostly promoted, for example technological proposal for smarter solar-generated geysers, a new type of floor-polish for informal dwellings, or a door-to-door bread service which overcomes street inaccessibilities. These are all examples of real-life inventions that have recently come out of Alexandra, and would be the type of products and services I would imagine would be presented on the idea trading floor. The projects would be crowd-funded by investors from Sandton or elsewhere in Johannesburg, who wish to diversify their portfolios into upcoming local trends.” SIMON HENSTRA UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN Inner-city palimpsest: building the city above the city This dissertation emerged from a fascination with the rich urban and architectural fabric of dense inner-cities, and the layered palimpsest, and strong sense of character as a result of the piecemeal evolution of the city over time. There is a vast amount of airspace above the existing city which is being underutilised and underdeveloped. The strategy proposes that existing buildings are extended upwards and outwards, and by transferring the development rights of the neighbouring erven, unlocks and utilises the existing unused airspace. By utilising the underutilised existing airspace in the city, the project adds residential density to the city and contributes a new public realm and public facilities which is an asset to its surroundings and neighbours. It unlocks a new realm above the ground plane and explores the relationship between verticality and cross-programming. Lastly, its physical resolution represents and contributes to the timeous evolutionary palimpsest that is the city’s urban fabric. Student Awards 71