Abstract:
The site for this dissertation is Pretoria Works, an
industrial site in Pretoria West managed by Arcelor-
Mittal. The competition amongst international steel
manufacturers, as well as the move to end protectionist
trade policies forced Pretoria Works to improve its
efficiency. The efforts to improve efficiency were also
necessitated because of the relatively high production
cost to produce steel in South Africa in 1994, which
led to thousands of people losing their jobs.
This surplus treated industrial waste water, together
with the availability of rain water falling on the terrain,
a natural stream from the top of the ridge and
water from the nine boreholes on-site present an opportunity
to promote a more sustainable use of water.
The industrial waste water at Pretoria Works has the
latent potential to be treated through phytoremediation
for a regenerative system. This system, together
with the provision of leisure activities through a proposed
natural public swimming pool, has the potential
to be popular. This intervention could open up
various opportunities for job creation, tourism and
improving the natural conditions of the area and,
therefore, positively impact the well-being of the
community. In order to get a better understanding of the value of
water as a resource, people need to become emotionally
attached by experience water before they will care
for it. To become emotionally attached, individuals
need to have a phenomenological perspective of water.
When the conceptual approach for the design was
considered, the phenomenology of water as a resource
was found to be a substantial influence. Water
is spatially characterised as one of four aspects in
architecture: a point, a line, a pool and an edge. The
spatial experience that has been created through the
integration of these grouped spaces was decided upon
after observing and analysing natural water spaces
and exploring aquatic cultures during snorkelling activities
at two KwaZulu Natal beaches, namely Cape
Vidal and Ballito.
