Catalyc nexus : architecture as an interconnected resilience hub towards independence and self-efficiency in a complex socio-ecological landscape

Abstract

Since independence in 1994, informal settlements in urban areas became a regular phenomenon with an exponential growth pattern and a lack of effective, proactive town planning. This phenomenon is described as an Urban Crisis. Informal settlements in South Africa are the result of spatial injustice and an imbalanced political atmosphere and are therefore described as complex landscapes. Informal settlements exist most of the time on vacant land, inadequate for development such as abandoned post-industrial landscapes, wetlands, floodplains, and near rivers which are high-risk areas and contain environmental disadvantages which is the case with the Melusi informal settlement consisting of three post-industrial quarry holes.

Complex landscapes such as informal settlements ask for a shift in the mainstream architectural practices and due to the rapid urbanization, post-industrial abandoned landscapes have the potential of being rehabilitated and functioning as healthy public spaces especially in informal conditions.

The mini dissertation aims to develop a framework when working in informal conditions with layered complexities of socio and ecological nature. Through understanding the application of co-design and participative workshops this dissertation aims to apply architecture to find a (nexus) or mediation between the socio and ecological landscapes towards independent and self-functioning communities of growth, this dissertation aims to apply architecture to function as the backbone of the community and by using didactic methods will empower the community towards self-improvement. Due to the current alienation of the natural quarry hole the architecture aims to transform the quarry from object to resource in a vulnerable community towards independent from external resources.