- Title
- The design of a football academy and community sports centre for Kwazakhele, Port Elizabeth
- Creator
- Fijac, Jason Andrew
- Subject
- Sports facilities -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Designs and plans Urban renewal -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Subject
- City planning -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Date Issued
- 2016
- Date
- 2016
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/18684
- Identifier
- vital:28706
- Description
- Most youth from disadvantaged groups in South Africa’s townships lack adequate social facilities to spend time. This situation also prevails in the Ibhayi townships on the periphery of Port Elizabeth. This treatise emerged out of the author’s interest in the township of Kwazakhele (one of thirteen townships which constitute Ibhayi) and his concern for the poor sense of urban space prevailing in the area. To this end, the research conducted in this treatise investigated the nature of Kwazakhele from a macro scale to a precinct scale in terms of the township’s location, connectivity, spatial organisation, organisation of activities, lateral urban sprawl, built fabric, and socio-economic condition. From this investigation, it was determined that Kwazakhele functions as an enclaved system within the greater system of Ibhayi. The major issues affecting Kwazakhele were identified as fragmentation, disconnection, dispersal of activities, urban sprawl, and a lack of urban legibility. The issue of dispersed activities in Ibhayi had been identified as one of the major contributors to the poor urban environment. Because addressing this issue has been recognised as an effective way of improving the urban environment, the aim of this treatise is to address this issue and provide an architectural and urban response which attempts to reduce the dispersal of activities in Ibhayi in general and particularly in Kwazakhele. Through the interrogation of the nature of dispersed activities in Ibhayi, it was observed that, while activities are mostly dispersed throughout the townships, there are areas where higher concentrations of certain activities have emerged. Therefore, in response to this, a conceptual strategy has been proposed to consolidate the activities in these areas into concentrated centres of activities which are connected via a series of pedestrian movement paths. Kwazakhele had been identified as having a higher (yet inadequate) intensity of sporting facilities and had therefore been proposed as a concentrated centre of sporting and recreational activities. An appropriate site was then selected to be developed as the heart of this centre, based on a number of criteria. The resultant programme was a Football Academy and Community Sports Centre. This result was based on the needs of the community and the aims of the conceptual urban strategy. The role of the facility was then interrogated and it was determined that it should function as a major structuring element in the township. This lead to an investigation into the nature of positive urban space in a township through the interrogation of three precedents. The principles established from this interrogation were used to help structure the nature of the proposed facility in terms of its response to the public realm and its level of urban integration. The resulting building is responsive to its urban environment and sensitive to the needs of the community it serves. It plays a key role in structuring the urban environment of Kwazakhele and therefore it increases the urban legibility, while addressing the predetermined urban and architectural issues.
- Format
- xi, 143 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Arts
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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