An oasis for the urban nomad : public transport interchange as an advocator for publicness

The construct of the urban landscape is made up of different spaces consisting of diverse typologies and various tones from public to private. These spaces, irrespective of their traits, play an important role in the life of a pedestrian, a commuter, the 'man on the street': An urban nomad. Publicness, complemented by ideas of cultural configuration and the concept of third space, forms the core literature for the architectural enquiry. The dissertation looks beyond the notion public and private spaces and rather sees those spaces as a platform that may favour social interactions, often referred to as 'public spaces'. The architectural agenda was to create a soulful space that allows a criss-crossing of an array of different cultural configurations. The site, being a key determinant to the enquiry, helped to crystallise the idea and thus emerged the creation of the Oasis for the Urban Nomad. The Mowbray Public Transport Interchange, being the ideal location for the oasis, led to the formulation of the architectural intervention: A transport hub that transcends the conventional notion of a transport utility. The built form helped to bridge the divide caused by the railway line and thus create a better fusion of the fragmented parts of Mowbray. The Transport hub/Oasis of the Urban Nomad, besides becoming an integral part of the Urban Nomad's daily journey, may be seen as a primer for an incremental [re] development of the area.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Virahsawmy, Kurvin

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Noero, Jo
• Coetzer, Nic
• De Jager, Rob
• Carter, Francis

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7514

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7514