Abstract:
Pretoria is a city that was founded upon the abundant
availability of fresh water. The source of this water
can be found in a valley just south of the city centre,
today known as Fountains Valley. Here the water
surfaces from the depths at two separate spring eyes,
forming the origins of the Apies River. Ultimately the
Fountains Valley can be viewed as the origin of the
city itself – the reason that made it possible for it to
exist by providing fresh water of exceptional quality as
it still does to the present day.
In addition to the natural features, the Valley
contains several sites of great historical and cultural
significance. Despite their importance they now only
serve as markers in the landscape, unknown to many,
and bears silent testimony to the events that help shape
the city, its identity as a place and the identity of those
who reside in it.
This dissertation will explore the potential of
architecture to act as an agent in reviving the forgotten
identity of the Fountains Valley, by redefining those
lost elements and in order to truly understand and
appreciate the significance of place and place identity
and its ability to shape the identity of the individual.
