Doornkloof

Abstract

This dissertation grew from an investigation of the farm Doornkloof in Irene, Pretoria. The farm was home to General Jan Smuts and it is here that he wrote his seminal philosophical work “Holism and Evolution” and found his own grass specie Digitaria Smutsii. The theoretical investigation is rooted in the interpretation of Holism, as an architectural theory, which informs the proposed design intervention. This study is informed by an analysis of the area of Irene, its origins and its future growth lead to the development of a holistic framework. This study proposes to inform the future socio-economic and historical importance of the farm as open public space for the citizens of Tshwane and Irene. The research intervention proposes a new architectural programmatic typology that will celebrate the importance of the Bankenveld landscape. The systematic rehabilitation of the grassland landscape will be achieved by introducing small scale interventions. The series of design interventions will rehabilitate the existing historical layers of the site, create new interest in the farm, improve the economic position of the Jan Smuts Foundation (the owners of the farm) and protect the landscape for the future generation users.