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At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature
An interest in abandoned and derelict landscapes as environmentally appropriate spaces for architectural interventions led my dissertation research to the theoretical concept of terrain vague. The terrain vague sites found within the City of Cape Town revealed that it is the edge condition which dif...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613251497361408 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Botha, Vivian May |
| author2 | Coetzer, Nic |
| author_browse | Botha, Vivian May Coetzer, Nic |
| author_facet | Coetzer, Nic Botha, Vivian May |
| author_sort | Botha, Vivian May |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | An interest in abandoned and derelict landscapes as environmentally appropriate spaces for architectural interventions led my dissertation research to the theoretical concept of terrain vague. The terrain vague sites found within the City of Cape Town revealed that it is the edge condition which differentiates these spaces as being outside the realm of the normative city. The unravelling of the edge from a state of order to disorder took my research to the historical fortifications of Table Bay and specifically, the Settlement's eastern boundary demarcated by the French Lines. A combination of redoubts and connecting rampant walls which marked the boundary between the order of the European settlement and the wilderness beyond. The Central Redoubt is the only remnant of these structures and is located on Trafalgar Park in the suburb of Woodstock. Trafalgar Park is surrounded and fragmented by a variety of boundary conditions and controlled access which results in the Park being severely underutilised. The dissertation design project looks at re-activating Trafalgar Park through the manipulation of its various edge conditions. The transformation of boundaries into pedestrian routes and public space around points of interest aims to improve accessibility and encourage connections between the Park and surrounding context. The Swimming Pool Precinct was chosen as the site for the architectural intervention as it is an impacted site that offers the opportunity to increase activity and improve the connection between the north and south of the Park. The interrogation of the boundary condition between architecture and nature through the design of edges and thresholds is the driving concept behind the architectural design. The dissertation design project aims to demonstrate that appropriate architectural interventions are able to increase activity in public areas within the City of Cape Town without the need for fences and controlled access. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22792 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:10.259Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics |
| publisherStr | School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22792 At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature Botha, Vivian May Coetzer, Nic Fellingham, Kevin Crowder, Albertrum Architecure and Planning An interest in abandoned and derelict landscapes as environmentally appropriate spaces for architectural interventions led my dissertation research to the theoretical concept of terrain vague. The terrain vague sites found within the City of Cape Town revealed that it is the edge condition which differentiates these spaces as being outside the realm of the normative city. The unravelling of the edge from a state of order to disorder took my research to the historical fortifications of Table Bay and specifically, the Settlement's eastern boundary demarcated by the French Lines. A combination of redoubts and connecting rampant walls which marked the boundary between the order of the European settlement and the wilderness beyond. The Central Redoubt is the only remnant of these structures and is located on Trafalgar Park in the suburb of Woodstock. Trafalgar Park is surrounded and fragmented by a variety of boundary conditions and controlled access which results in the Park being severely underutilised. The dissertation design project looks at re-activating Trafalgar Park through the manipulation of its various edge conditions. The transformation of boundaries into pedestrian routes and public space around points of interest aims to improve accessibility and encourage connections between the Park and surrounding context. The Swimming Pool Precinct was chosen as the site for the architectural intervention as it is an impacted site that offers the opportunity to increase activity and improve the connection between the north and south of the Park. The interrogation of the boundary condition between architecture and nature through the design of edges and thresholds is the driving concept behind the architectural design. The dissertation design project aims to demonstrate that appropriate architectural interventions are able to increase activity in public areas within the City of Cape Town without the need for fences and controlled access. 2017-01-18T13:09:06Z 2017-01-18T13:09:06Z 2016 Master Thesis Masters MArch (Prof) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22792 eng application/pdf School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Architecure and Planning Botha, Vivian May At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature |
| title_full | At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature |
| title_fullStr | At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature |
| title_full_unstemmed | At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature |
| title_short | At the edge: An exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature |
| title_sort | at the edge an exploration of the boundary condition between architecture and nature |
| topic | Architecure and Planning |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22792 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bothavivianmay attheedgeanexplorationoftheboundaryconditionbetweenarchitectureandnature |