1.1 Context Background

1.1 CONTEXT BACKGROUND 1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEMS

1.2.1 General issue: Incorporating the old with the new

1.2.2 Urban issue

1.2.3 Architectural opportunity

1.3 INTENTIONS

1.3.1Theoritical approach and objective

1.4 STATEMENTS

1.4.1 Research questions 1.4.2 Sub questions 1.4.3 Site Intentions

1.4.4 Research methodology

1.4.5 Reductionism

The urban fabric of cities and manufacturing industries has been and may continue to become disorganised and isolated in the twenty-first century owing to urban renewal policies and constant economic demand, which result in socially and economically inefficient or derelict spaces. There has been a considerable rise in the number of unoccupied and purposeless areas around the world (Abd El Gawad, Al-Hagla & Nassar, 2019).

Processing plants, theatres, parks and other constructed sites are fundamentally distinct from structures outside of a city or urban fabric in terms of their design, history and interaction over time. These derelict urban spaces contain reminders and memories of past structure, not only the built form but also the function or spirit of the place as a connection to the larger surrounding context, perhaps as a place of economic gain, production, learning, creation and recreation. Neglecting these principles results in lost memories or in functions that may become disconnected.

Looking at these places or spaces from a contemporary perspective, some may perceive them as the “poor” and “impure” of society (Biddau, Marotta & Sanna, 2020).

Fig 0: Abandoned places become disconnected from the active urban fabric. (By author, 2021)

Abandoned places, however, have significance and progressively people are discovering the value of derelict urban spaces. A good example is the 012 Central Precinct, in the centre of Tshwane’s central business district (CBD). This site was formerly abandoned but has since matured into a prominent hosting and practical scene, stimulating further development in reclaiming derelict urban spaces and giving them the same value and importance as current spaces.

This current trend of using abandoned spaces to accommodate activities emphasises the value of derelict spaces and how their re-purposing may benefit the neighbourhoods and communities in which they are located by acting as catalysts for innovation. These areas have become cultural hotspots, where people can congregate, interact and see the city in which they are located through a new lens.

In the twenty-first century, policymakers, urban planners and property developers often disregard derelict spaces and their potential and importance because of economic demands.

Restoration, redevelopment and sometimes demolition of buildings, parks and spaces are at the forefront of economic dominance. Designers, architects and activists have the ability to use other solutions that influence an individual’s values. Regenerating derelict buildings or spaces could transform the narrative of policymakers and others to re-evaluate the role that neglected spaces play in society. The negative impact of derelict buildings or spaces creates a “stigma” as specific areas become associated with crime and social hardship because of the number of derelict buildings and spaces they contain (Anderson & Hamilton, 2019). Transforming neglected spaces thus has the potential to benefit the surrounding context socially and economically.

Architects, landscape planners and developers have spent decades working to save historic structures and spaces. Old places offer a gateway to the past as places where people who came before stayed, breathed and touched. Both locals and tourists experience a sense of belonging to historical places.

Adaptive reuse, among many other architectural solutions, is a process that has been used in the architectural discipline for a while. It could be described as an approach used to re-purpose old buildings to provide a strong sense of culture. Typically, it constitutes using the old buildings’ shells as pillars on which to create a new programme or function to sustain the