1,720,964 research outputs found
A comparative analysis of the environmental impact of selected low-income housing developments in the Eastern Cape Province
Full text linkSouth Africa has a shortage of affordable housing for its poor. In order to overcome the shortage, a large number of houses need to be built. The bulk building of these houses has an effect on the environment and it is important to note whether or not this impact will be a lasting positive one or not. Governmental policies have recognised the need to create positive, sustainable settlement environments. The degree to which settlements are sustainable and reflect a positive environment is, however, a point of concern. This dissertation analyses and compares four low-income housing developments in the Eastern Cape in order to make proposals on how future low-income developments can impact more positively on their settlement environments, reduce their impact on non-renewable resources and better implement the ideals of the Development Facilitation Act. This was done in order to meet the expectations put in place by Government policies and to correct the historical shortcomings of South Africa’s low-income settlement provision. The method used was to determine, through literature study, a set of factors that most prominently impacted on low-income settlement environments. These were then compiled into a model, which was then used to analyse and compare existing settlements. This elicited a set of conclusions based on the findings and provided strategies for future settlements to follow to meet the research’s stated ideals. The literature study revealed a myriad of important principles that fell into six main categories that impacted on settlement environments. Furthermore, it was discovered that each of these principles should be assessed in the context of their human and natural environments as well as their effect at the scale of the unit, the settlement and the city. The analysis and comparison of the settlements revealed that all six of the model’s categories performed poorly in at least two of the four settlements analysed, a strong indication that the implementation of the model’s principles was not being successfully achieved in low-income settlements. It further revealed specific areas requiring attention in future developments. The analysis also revealed positive areas of implementation from each settlement that can be used in future settlements to meet the stated ideals of creating a positive impact on their settlement environments, reducing their impact on non-renewable resources and better implementing the ideals of the Development Facilitation Act. The study recommends that future settlements avoid the negative practices identified in these settlements and implement the positive strategies proposed for the benefit of future settlement environment
Globalisation as a business strategy for South African architectural practices
Full text linkGlobalisation has become a common topic of discussion and research. This treatise focuses on its role as part of the business of Architectural practice. It investigates the reasons why selected South African Architectural practices decided to globalise, how this decision was reached, implemented and how successful the decisions were. Based on the findings of a literature study it uses the case study methodology to confirm the findings that the strategic position of South African Architectural practices is one where practical and historical reasons exist for the profession to embark on a globalisation strategy. The studies confirm that a globalisation strategy presents a suitable, feasible and acceptable strategy for South African Architectural practices. However, a disconcerting element of the findings was the fact that there are strong indications that South African Architectural practices do not realise the potential benefits inherent in regular strategic planning. Thus it recommends that such a strategy should be based on specialist knowledge or experience, that opening an office in the area to which firms wish to expand will greatly enhance the chances of success, that formal strategic planning processes should be used to ensure that such a strategy is an appropriate one and to identify the countries to which the firm plans to expand its services. Furthermore, it recommends that Government should recognise that firms expanding in this manner hold specific advantages for the national economy and introduce steps to support the profession so that it may build the capacity and skills required therefore. In addition it recommends that the relevant professional bodies should ensure that their members have the business and managerial skills required to ensure the achievement of these objectives
Towards local identity in South African architecture
Full text linkIn 1965, Paul Ricoeur (2007:42), referring to globalisation, highlighted the following paradox: ‘The encroachment of universal civilization, while improving some qualities of life, erodes those that are most vital and creative – one’s attachment to and knowledge of self in relation to place’. Ricoeur (2007:52) believes that ‘we have to go back to our own origins’ in order to deal with the expanding universal culture. He states that in order to confront a foreign culture, one must first have a culture and identity of one’s own. Part of this need is for an architecture that will express local identity. Since then globalisation as a phenomenon has established itself as a dominant economic and cultural reality. This has greatly increased the need for groups and countries to express their distinct cultural identities in the face of the threat of universalisation. South Africa is no different as far as this is concerned and the changes that have taken place since 1994 have dramatically increased the need the country has in this regard
Early sustainable architecture in hanging skyscrapers – A comparison of two financial office buildings
Full text linkReuse, or the ability to continue using an item or building beyond the initial function, is a key concept in the literature on sustainability. This implies that a building should be designed in a way that will allow it to be repurposed when changing circumstances require changes in its layout or function; being energy efficient and environmentally sensitive is not enough. The building also needs to be financially viable and the people whose lives are impacted by it should wish to have it retained. As far as flexibility of high-rise or skyscraper buildings is concerned, the structural system and layout are some, but not the only aspects that are of particular importance in this regard. Upside-down or ‘hanging’ buildings, because of the reduced use of columns, can potentially provide advantages when viewed from such a widened understanding of sustainability. Two such buildings are the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) headquarters building in Hong Kong and the Standard Bank Centre (SBC) in Johannes-burg. The SBC stands virtually unused and in disrepair, while the HSBC remains fully operational and revered by the population of Hong Kong. This article compares the design and construction processes of the two buildings to determine why these two buildings ended up in such divergent situations. The aim is to make recommendations regarding structural systems and other factors that could assist in ensuring that future skyscrapers will be more sustainable, in addition to being energy and resource conserving. Furthermore, this comparison sheds some light on the historical development of the understanding of sustainability and the difference between green design and sustainable design
Extreme apartheid: the South African system of migrant labour and its hostels
No full textThe migrant labour system was an historical system used to reconcile the conflicting need for cheap labour in the mines and cities, with the apartheid ideology that workers should not reside there on a permanent basis. Labourers were housed in a unique accommodation type that developed from the Kimberley Closed Compound into the Witwatersrand Mine Compound and ultimately the migrant labour hostel. During the late colonial and apartheid periods, the mining compounds and the migrant labour hostels, which formed a key element of this system, were designed (and functioned) as tools of control and repression. In time they became synonymous with violence, overcrowding and squalor. As with so many other political and social systems, dismantling the migrant labour apparatus, and undoing the harm it caused, often requires even more tenacious efforts over a period of time
A comparison of three public projects that included community participation to determine the total value add
Full text linkSome of the most pressing and challenging problems facing South Africa are unemployment, poverty, urban redress, infrastructural decay, under-education, and the transformation of the landscape left by apartheid. In an effort to address these problems, the successive democratic governments embarked on a number of initiatives that were aimed at providing relief through building and construction projects, which require the participation by, and employment of local community members. To facilitate the desired redress, various programmes were launched and a number of projects undertaken. Some of these projects were flagship projects that were lauded by the architectural profession and attracted wide publicity. The socio-economic benefits to the community and local area, the extent of skills transfer to the community participants, and the long-term benefits they brought to the community participants are less obvious. This article revisits three such projects as case studies, with the aim of determining the extent to which they helped address the aforementioned problems and the extent of the benefits they brought to their physical and social contexts. This is done through a literature review supported by semi-structured interviews of relevant role players and an observational visit to each, in order to make recommendations suggesting how future projects could be configured to maximise the long-term benefit they could bring to their physical and social environments while addressing the national challenges. It is recommended that infrastructural development programmes such as the Extended Public Works Programme must prioritise the socio-economic upliftment and sustainable empowerment of people and configure projects with this as their main aim
Designerly and entrepreneurial thinking in architectural practice: A case study of Al Stratford
Full text linkTo remain resilient amid technological disruption and economic volatility, the architectural field must adopt entrepreneurial mindsets and methods. Design Thinking and Designerly Thinking have been the subject of comparison and analysis in the academic literature. However, their application in architectural practice and architectural entrepreneurship is vague. This article applies case-study research methodology to gain insight into how architects might apply their skills in new fields. This research adopts a qualitative approach, combining a comprehensive literature review with primary data collection through a semi-structured interview. The case study focuses on Al Stratford – an award-winning figure in architecture, product, and furniture design – who has successfully transitioned into entrepreneurship and industrial design. Thematic analysis was used to interpret both the literature and the interview transcript. The analysis considers what the thinking and design processes applied by Al Stratford in architectural design, product design, and business design are, how they differ, how they differ from the theoretical standard, and what the causes for any differences might be. The study suggests that architectural Designerly Thinking processes are often distinct and context specific, differing from broader notions of Designerly Thinking, while occasionally incorporating elements of Design Thinking. The key findings indicate that, for designers, the entrepreneurial process can align closely with Designerly Thinking, making the latter more suitable than Design Thinking in architectural contexts. Importantly, architects and designers are encouraged to identify entrepreneurial opportunities that emerge organically within the designerly process itself. In doing so, they should emulate Stratford’s commitment to addressing concrete, context-specific needs with appropriate and innovative solutions. This integration of creativity, contextual responsiveness, and problem-solving within the design process can serve as a foundation for entrepreneurial innovation in architecture
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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