Stitch_ an architecture of connection

• Main Author: Struwig, Dewald De Villiers
• Other Authors: Mr R van Rensburg
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Scientists; Agronomists; Agricultural research; Biotechnology; Urban agriculture; Community gardening; Micro-gardens; Transgenic plants; Hydroponics; Urban farmers; Greenhouse; Laboratories; Education; UCTD
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/30268; Struwig, DD 2009, Stitch_ an architecture of connection , MArch(Prof) dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://hdl.handle.net/2263/30268 >; http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-12092009-023605/

The chosen project originated as a response to humanity’s need to eat, and the agricultural processes necessary to feed the global population. The proposed solution will investigate the connection of physically and meta-physically dissociated elements, in order to create responsive architecture. The aim is to steer away from a mono-functional building and design typologies and to strive towards creating architecture that will address the needs of the public. The chosen project investigates future and current solutions for the production of food in urban environments. The scales of investigation range from microscopic research to the implementation and monitoring of skills transferred into the community. The proposed facility is thus composed out of various different programs, each with its own specific requirements. The composition can broadly be divided into scientific research facilities, a greenhouse complex and a public exhibition centre. It is unnecessary for the pragmatic and complex nature of the building to undermine the spatial expression. In the proposed facility, pragmatic limitations informed the design process, but did not govern the outcome. Instead, the limitations fuelled alternative problem solving, which in turn produced creative solutions. Thus, the building accepts that it is pragmatic in program, and compensates accordingly in order to create inviting spaces for people using the facility on an everyday basis. Copyright === Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. === Architecture === unrestricted