Abstract:
This dissertation will investigate Marabastad's resilience and how its loose urban fabric
and informality has enabled it to survive despite the continuous strain placed on it by
physical, social, economic and cultural change. Its autocratic domination by transport
and retail networks has resulted in its transitory nature. Marabastad's connection
between Tshwane city and its surrounding informal settlements has been the reason
for its existence and success as a transport node and retail hub.
The increased growth and establishment of informal settlements has resulted in the
development of mini economic, social and cultural nodes on the outskirts of the city
and this decrease in economic reliance on Marabastad as a transport node has
placed strain on its economic viability.
The dissertation will investigate how architecture can be used as a tool in generating
catalysts within Marabastad -reducing its transitory nature and encouraging its
permanence. Through the spatial and functional observation and investigation of
existing networks and the potential of these, architecture can provide variety and
permanence within Marabastad, strengthening its urban fabric and enabling it to
sustain itself and be resilient in the future.
Marabastad, rather than being a place of temporality, should be a destination and an
anchor point, ensuring its relevance and necessity by identifying and activating new
opportunities and in doing so strengthening existing networks. Independent from that
of the CBD and the surrounding informal settlements
