A design by research project involving the community of Slovo Park, Nancefield, Johannesburg.

 

The project proposed the possibility of developing the extant internal economy and the physical spatiality and infrastructure  of the area using the added material potential that moves through the area through a network of recyclers. It is envisioned that recyclers collaborate with artisans and spaza (retail) shop owners to create an internal and external network of production and sale that may facilitate in the physical upgrading of their community. 

 

The project advocates an incremental approach that begins as a simple threshold that demarcates public and private space. The design creates critical guiding anchor points of incremental spatial upgrading to envision the projected development into an actupunctural facility that serves as a creative arts and culture workshop  space for the proposed art, retail and  industrial collaborative networks  within Slovo Park. 

 

The conceptual urban approach illustrates the incremental transformation and upgrading of a township street without services into  a high-street for living, trade and industry, defined by layers  and thresholds of public and private spaces, that used for retail and congregation, as well as scale for the creation of central anchor points This bottom-up approach encourages community participation whereby a strong sense of identity is developed and celebrated.