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
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