As architects, we cannot design happiness, liveliness or friendly neighbours, but we can imagine and envision places that people feel connected to, and wich facilitate interaction and creativity. We can design places that make a difference, places where one feels at home.
In this studio we tackle the challenge of place-making through the concept of Kanalah (helping each other) and buurt maken (creating a neighbourhood), exploring two locations on opposite sides of the world: District Six in Cape Town and Canal North-East in Brussels, using research-by-design, sharing experience, knowledge and visions.
Five projects for District Six by the UHasselt students are presented below as a cross-section of the fine results for Cape Town of this collaborative design studio. On the next page, you can find five projects for Canal North-east by the CPUT students.
The creation of new urban spaces and integration of the architectural features of the former District Six in a contemporary layout/to generate social interaction, make this dense, vertical housing project stand out. The coherence and consistency in all phases of the design journey, from narrative over design, up to visual presentation were much appreciated