A critical analysis of the potential impact of higher education on South African emerging building technologies

Abstract

On a once vacant site in Arcadia next to the heart of the Pretoria CBD now lies a series of buildings that integrate the public realm of the city with an intricate system of a distinctive discipline - architecture. This project is an architectural hub that accommodates CPD conventions hosted by the Pretoria Institute of Architects, as a permanent location for workshops and lectures. The primary aim will be to introduce professionals to emerging building technologies (EBTs) in the industry with events that result in the practical application of new knowledge gained by designers. Presenting EBTs will address the issue caused by conventional building technologies to the environment and add the opportunity for architects to engage in CPD conventions that result in a physical structure.

The Apies River that runs through the site presents a key opportunity to expand this project along the route of the river, creating a promenade of projects that were created and tested on site. The effects of the CPD conventions will echo along the river in the form of various installations that benefit existing programmes along the river that are currently disconnected from the natural space.

The buildings on site is the epicentre and the CPD convention projects that are created on site and installed at various locations along the river will be connected to the project as the branches of the system. The community is not only meant to benefit from these installations along the route that will enhance current programmes, but from the site itself as it will accommodate the public by creating walkways, ablutions and resting spaces, which will be interwoven with the workspaces to break the barrier between the architecture profession and the larger community.

The emphasis will be placed on creating visual and physical accessibility by dispersing the buildings across the site with approachable interfaces. The built form is meant to read as a palimpsest of legible, yet intriguing, layers that are a blend of both emerging and conventional building technologies.