Urban Observatory : re-introducing observation and measurement to reveal the invisible city

Abstract

The City of Gold originated in and can be defined by the interaction between what is below, what is on its surface, and what is above. (Nuttall & Mbembe, 2008) Johannesburg came into being through a multiplicity of tangible and intangible elements and narratives. In this dissertation the complex layers of the city as an archipelago of fragments, each inscribed with a specific characteristic, are investigated. The Johannesburg Observatory is currently unused, as the starry night sky has long been obscured by the city’s artificial radiance and pollution. The site is investigated with the aim of re-interpreting its inherent character, and a strategic intervention is proposed that will not only pay homage to its historic value, but also contribute to the urban environment. The historic character inherent in the Johannesburg Observatory is revealed as the acts of Observation and Measurement, with these becoming the guiding themes throughout the dissertation. The notions of looking, relooking, and analysing are translated into a toolkit to interpret the perceived views of space and place within architectural discourse and within the city, rendering the traces and narratives of society visible in the urban landscape. Therefore the architecture of the proposed intervention aims to read the existing layers of the site, which become a representation of the cross-section of the city. The proposed programme of an Urban Observatory becomes a device for Observation and Measurement, which is envisioned to firstly read and then accentuate the historical significance and ecological value of the site, as well as its association with the city. This aims to rekindle a relationship between the city-dweller and the city that could stimulate active participation and engagement, in order to improve the social, cultural and urban environments.

Die Stad van Goud het onstaan uit en kan beskryf word as die interaksie tussen wat onder is, wat op die oppervlak is, en wat daarbo is. Johannesburg het tot stand gekom in ‘n verweefde veelvoud van tasbare en ontasbare elemente en verhale. In die verhandeling word die komplekse lae van die stad as argipel van fragmente bestudeer, elk ingeskrewe met ‘n eiesoortige karakter. Die Johannesburgse Sterrewag is tans in onbruik as gevolg van lugbesoedeling en die kunsmatige glans van die stad se liggies. Die terrein word bestudeer met die doel om die inherente karakter daarvan te ontleed en ‘n strategiese ingryping voor te stel wat nie alleenlik eer betoon aan die historiese waarde daarvan nie, maar ook bydra tot die stedelike omgewing. Die inherente historiese karakter van die Johannesburgse Sterrewag kan uitgedruk word as Waarneming en Meting, en laasgenoemde word die deurlopende temas in die verhandeling. Om te kyk, te her-kyk, en te ontleed dien as instrumente om die waargenome siening van ruimte en plek binne die argitektoniese diskoers en binne die stad te interpreteer; hierdie idee maak die merke en verhale van die gemeenskap sigbaar binne die stedelike landskap. Dus probeer die argitektuur om die bestaande lae van die terrein te lees, en hierdie lae word ‘n voorstelling van ‘n snit deur die stad. Die Stedelike Waarnemingsplatform, as program, word ‘n toestel vir Waarneming en Meting, gevisualiseer om die historiese beduidenis, die ekologiese waarde, en die assosiasie met die stad eerstens te lees en dan te beklemtoon. Die doel is om ‘n verhouding tussen die stadsbewoner en die stad te hervestig, wat aktiewe deelname en betrokkenheid kan stimuleer om uiteindelik die kulturele, sosiale en stedelike omgewings te verbeter.