Embracing Urban Decay
I explore the transformative power of decay within a central part of Johannesburg’s inner city and study its material and technical dimensions. I have focused on decay as a transient and ephemeral condition and examine how it can be harnessed for positive urban change rather than working against it.
Through my research, I have sought to theorise decay, with its inherent transience and impermanence, as a reminder of the cyclical nature of life, where progress gives way to deterioration and creation leads to destruction. Its materiality and form symbolise the radical change in social and economic urban processes.
In Johannesburg’s inner city near Beyers Naude Square, I found that life coexists with pockets of decay in dilapidated structures and abandoned spaces. Architectural notation became important in understanding how to read and understand the area, so I studied elements like street surfaces, façades, landmarks, and interconnected movement systems.
My design intervention draws on the contested nature of this provincial capital site, and aims to create a new urban typology that provides accessibility to governmental functions and services, utilising the idea of decay as a driving factor for the overall development. It seeks to house softer community engagement functions within the ever-evolving shell of the design, ultimately redefining and rejuvenating the urban fabric while addressing accessibility to services and other facilities within the Government Precinct.
