Civic Knot : an urban platform for social engagement at the Pretoria Station

Abstract

Social media, mainstream media and the predominance of visual engagement is contributing to a culture that is increasingly intolerant and lacking in empathy. “The hegemonic eye seeks domination over all fi elds of cultural production, and it seems to weaken our capacity for empathy, compassion and participation with the world.” Juhani Pallasmaa Recent political events and dialogue surrounding issues of identity, politics and culture in the South African media are seen as a testament to this. In response concepts of New Urbanism, Integral Urbanism and defi nitions for Civic Space are employed to create an architecture with spatial principles that encourage urban interaction and promote healthy engagement with one’s community thereby acting as a counterbalance to engagement on digital and visual platforms. The Pretoria Station site is investigated as a platform where a wide spectrum of networks can converge, thereby maximising the potential for dialogue and exchange between cultures, races, classes and with the city and the state. The proposed architectural design takes the form of a public space centred around the ‘Civic Knot”, itself a focal point of the folded landscape topology. The building is inclusive and seeks to balance urban requirements of daily needs, work and recreation by delivering a useful and fertile civic platform.