Unshackling a White Elephant : Disassembling a redundant, monofunctional artefact and reassembling it as a series of regenerative urban green infrastructure interventions that creates resilient multifunctional civil infrastructure

Abstract

The loss of green space and the degradation of ecosystems is a challenge that we face globally. A shift in paradigm is needed if we are to meet the growing requirements of housing, food, and energy without further degrading our natural ecosystems. This dissertation explores ways in which Urban Green Infrastructure and Regenerative architecture can be utilized to create civil infrastructure in Mabopane, Pretoria, South- Africa. The dissertation further explores how wetland systems can be utilized in supplementing stormwater infrastructure and provide water storage strategies. Finally, the dissertation proposes that the façade of the building form part of an ecologically restorative system that regenerates the ecologies and species found on site.