studio Cape Town-Brussels

global perspectives         edition 2O23     projects for Cape Town - projects for Brussels          all editions          

        Parallel design studio Hasselt University (BE) – Cape Peninsula University of Technology (SA)

All over the world, people live, work and play in houses, streets, neighbourhoods, villages, and cities ... but what exactly makes their place a home? Is it the dimensions of the houses? The degree of privacy that a house provides, or the interactions amongst neighbours in the street? Is it the layout of the street, or the language of the architecture? Perhaps it is the grocery shop around the corner, or the scent of spring blossoms in the nearby park? Is it the presence of a sports or social club, or walking / cycling to work each morning?

Surely an important part of feeling at home in a place is in the way in which people interact with each other and their environment – that feeling of sharing a place, and the social cohesion that this fosters. This interaction allows us to bond with a place and its people, helping each other (‘kanala’) to feel at home and to make a neighbourhood (‘buurt maken’) together, and in doing so becoming the best version of ourselves.

In this studio we tackle the challenge of place-making, 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.

Three 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 six projects for Canal North-east by the CPUT students.

RECONCILING THE EDGES

Mathias Herbots & Erica Makangara
Reactivating the campus entry with a House of Stories
Creating a series of public and green spaces in the paved city as social opportunities to meet and interact for citizens and visitors of all walks of life
Keywords: reconciliation, furnitecture, informalizing the formal
2023 reconciling the edges.pptx
more about Reconciling the edges
“In District Six we were all one big family”Reconciling the edges aims at reactivating the social fabric of Hanover Street by blending and merging the needs of District Six and the CPUT community in the design of a library as an open house with meeting places, living rooms, porches, and public spaces through House of Stories.House of Stories is strategically located along Hanover Street, originally characterized by a diversity of communities and a colorful mix of local commercial and social activities generating a deep sense of belonging to its residents. With their stoeps, steps and terraces the buildings and houses invited neighbours to sit, chat and interact. House of Stories goes beyond the normal library accompanied by informal, playful, colorful, entertaining features from its facades to the interior with welcoming activities where students and community can meet and bond, listen and learn from each other, relax, and dine together with beautiful top views of the mountain from the terrace. It integrates magnificent architectural components of District Six in its form of arches, seven steps, columns, and materiality, a combination of sandstone, wood, and concrete. The project also incorporates furniture into its architecture, making them part of the building accompanied by spatial hierarchy and transitional zones ranging from public,semi-public, and private intimate spaces for concentration as well as visual continuity between the interior and exterior. It further leads to the creation of outdoor rooms transforming the Rambla into a more inviting space for public realm with interactive activities and extending the street to the upper level forming an elevated street and vertical neighborhood.Rethinking the edges of the campus as places where the connectivity, stories, and identity of District Six come home and can be revived by present generations, students and former residents become the epitome. The House of Stories as a research-by-design project can set an example for the reconciliation of the campus and the community, restoring the social/urban fabric and the sense of belonging, for now and the future.

It are Mathias' and Erica's audacity, enthusiasm and focus to  design a 'House of Stories' for this contentious site that have led to a more than convincing project. The House of Stories is a place where the community of students, professors and  the inhabitants of District Six can start building a positive, common future. 

The project is well-thought and envisioned on all scales: urban lay-out, sequence of spaces, interior atmosphere, programme, architectural appearance, visuals  ... 

SAAMSERAI

Usame Bayraktar & Diçle Karaagac
Celebrating memories
This urban project combines the hospitality of the Muslim community with the typology of the caravanserai to create a contemporary neighbourhood. With its courtyards, shutters, colonnades, and its specific materiality, this is a place to come home to.
Keywords: hospitality, generosity, connection, remembrance, liveliness, tranquility
2023 saamserai.pptx
more about Saamserai
The memory of District Six brings us to a place where people of different colour, religion and culture lived together peacefully. This was a humble but caring and welcoming community/neighbourhood, where streets were a playground, meeting place and shared living room. The Zeenatul Islam Mosque which was built in 1925 played a big role in this welcoming neighbourhood. The mosque’s central location within District Six has, throughout its rich history, made it a beacon of hope, a home and a shining light to the local Capetonians, travelers and those that have made Cape Town their home. The Muslim community did this with their great hospitality and opening their arms to people of all walks of life. We want to celebrate this beautiful memory and build on the great hospitality of the mosque by introducing the Saamserai.The Saamserai promotes District Six’s community life and neighbourhood vibes by providing spaces for everyone to come together and help one another like the Kanalah concept. We do this by using the concept of the  Islamic caravanserai. Because caravanserais were roadside inns along major trade routes, that doubled as a safe haven for the exchange of goods, ideas, and culture. They were lively seedbeds for globalization, resembling the modern city in the variety of people, languages, good and customs. District Six also was a place where people of all walks of life and all regions of the world were welcome. By introducing this typology, we want to recreate a place that embodies those unique District 6 vibes. 
The Saamserai comprises two private caravanserais, one public commercial caravanserai, and connecting courtyards between them. The commercial caravanserai links the mosque and the project, offering public spaces like a tea house and a workshop for women. The private caravanserais address housing needs. The courtyards enable social connections through activities like braais. The project is massive and abstract from the outside in contrast to the inside which is elegant and light. By doing this we enhance the contrast of the busy street life outside and the urban oasis of shade and tranquility or liveliness within. The wooden bay windows, the colourful ceramic tiles, the water feature, the trees … All these details help strengthen the concept of the caravanserai and make the Saamserai a place to meet and relax, to care etc.
We are convinced that by implementing this concept we will recreate the joyfulness and neighbourhood vibes of District Six. People will be able to return to their home and settle step by step. They can rebuild public relations in their neighbourhood and express their creativity. Everyone will celebrate the memories of District Six.

The approprateness of the caravanserai concept and the translation into a contemporary, spatially intriguing architectural intervention let this project stand out. Fine detailing, well-thought materiality, precise dimensioning make it a truly appealing urban intervention

KANALA ROOTS

Tine Depae & Taryn Traest
Remembering the past by creating tangible forms of the spirit that used to be
Creating a multitude of moments of social interaction, ranging from public to private, from square to stoep and threshold, Kanala Roots is a composition of housing units, each with its own front door. The architecture invites its inhabitants to form a neighbourhood, a caring community full of live, work, play and meeting opportunities.
Keywords: inverted stoep, outdoor rooms, community
2023 kanala roots.pptx
more about Kanala Roots
Come play, dance, eat and meet. Be part of our family. A vibrant community that cares for one another, this is ‘Kanala Roots’, a combination of private housing suplemented by commercial spaces.
As an inhabitant you’ll never feel alone by the inverted stoeps inside of the housing blocks. The stoeps and balconies overlook the bigger patios which are connected by alleys. Urban quality is generated by the communal spaces where people can talk to each other, have a braai, chill out,...When stroling down the alleys and the main diagonal, one can feel the kanala vibe that used to be. By implementing traditional architectural elements; such as the stoep, balconies, shutters, plaster and sandstone a place is created where both locals and new visitors feel right at home. The Kanala Roots is all about caring and sharing. Therefore the commercial entitities are operated by the inhabitants and support each other as well. By referring to the iconic seven steps in the way of creating 7 platforms, a real meeting place arises. When taking a step, one may feel entering a new outdoor room, surrounded by diffrent local shops, restaurants, art galleries,...
This is Kanala Roots, remembering the vibes of the original District Six by creating tangible forms of the spirit that used to be.

The creation of a dense, stacked housing project, where every unit has its individual front door and stoep, stimulates social interaction and community life. Combined with the architectural features of the original district Six, Kanala Roots succeeds in recalling the former community vibes.

The coherence of the design, building upon the Kanala concept, in all aspects of the project (urban lay-out, programmatic complementarity, sustainable techniques and climate responsive features,  careful detailing) was much appreciated.

team
studio coordinators Hasselt University: arch. Ludo Schouterden, arch. Peggy Winkels,
coordinator internationalisation Hasselt University:dr. Els Hannes
studio coordinators Cape Peninsula University of Technology (SA)dr.  Rudolf Perold, arch. Jacobus Naude
guest jury: arch. Dolf Wieers, arch. Bart Cuppens (a2o architects), arch. Chioma Obasi (CPUT, SA), interior designer-lecturer Carike Abrahamse (CPUT, SA)
2023 exit booklet.pptx

later edition