abstract.
This project addresses a pressing urban issue in Woodlane Village, an informal settlement in Pretoria, South Africa, primarily inhabited by undocumented migrants. These migrants will be evicted and deported in the coming years as the site has been sold to be developed. The developers’ proposal places the new headquarters of the African Union on the current site of Woodlane Village. The projects’ overarching aim is to challenge the role that architects play in accepting the design brief and not critically reflecting on the impact that their profession has on society. The project aims to address the dignity of the people in Woodlane Village through dignified living spaces and memorialising their current living situation. The principles followed in this project incorporate the principles of Public Interest Design, specifically architecture as political activism. Key design informants include the current placemaking in Woodlane Village, the water tanks that play a vital role in the community and memorialisation through palimpsest. The project explores a new master plan that merges the needs of the African Union with the needs of the undocumented migrants of Woodlane Village. The master plan lays out eight nodes with different focuses. The architectural project will focus on one of these eight nodes in the new proposed development as an example and explores the node facilitating the political, art and cultural needs of the community.
This link contains the theoretical research done for the Master’s Design project as part of my MProf Architecture at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. https://landman-architecture.kuhrmann.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Explanation-of-Masters-Design-project.pdf
final exhibition posters.