UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

ARPL 3003 Contemporary Issues within Architecture 2009

STAFF
Solam Mkhabela
Consultation times: On Appointment after Lecture
Lecture/ Seminar: Tuesday, 08:00 – 09:45, West Studio

While contemporary urbanization is mapped, researched, edited and branded by architects, we overlook how the
discipline of architecture, a specific operational field of knowledge, could project the city against its further disintegration.
Issues of form, spatial organisation, technology, matter, geometry, structural design, aesthetics and typological analysis
need to be addressed.
Beyond Mapping, Architecture Biennale Venice 2006, The Berlage Institute Research

SITUATION
This thing we call Living City contains many associative ideas and emotions and can mean many things to many people:
liking it or not liking it, understanding it or no understanding it, depends on these personal associations. There is no
desire to communicate with everybody, only with those whose thoughts and feelings are related to our own. What we feel
and think about the city is not new in the sense that it was unthought of before, but only in that the idea of the Living City
th
has not been acted upon before by our generation. In the second half of the 20 century, the old idols are crumbling, the
old precepts strangely irrelevant, the old dogmas no longer valid. We are in pursuit of an idea, a new vernacular,
something to stand alongside the space capsules, computers and throw-away packages of an atomic/electronic age.
Situation concerns the state of change within the city environment caused by the fluctuating come/go of people and things
over a time scale. All of us find the Living City in Situation. An awareness of the city is necessary before we can move
forward.
A Guide to Archigram 1961-74

AIMS
The course deals with place-making in different social and cultural contexts with specific regards
to the cross over of the disciplines of architecture, planning and urban design. This year, the main
focus will be on an area of Johannesburg which is undergoing radical change with regards to the
upcoming Soccer World Cup in 2010: the greater Ellis Park Precinct. Students will look into its
past, present and (projected) future and will be exposed to different methods of reading and
making the city, recent urban morphologies and architectural topologies. The research will enable
them to formulate their own approach and design an urban framework at a later stage.

OUTCOMES
A student completing the course will be expected to have reached the following knowledge and
ability:
• to consider alternative design methodologies and approaches to implementation
processes and planning.
• to be competent at applying different approaches to planning.
• to critically engage with a range of inter/ national case studies.
• to understand, communicate and work in the various scales that architecture, planning
and urban design share.
• to derive & formulate, structure and substantiate theoretical arguments.
• to professionally collect, assimilate and present information verbally and in written form
with confidence and clarity.
• to derive & formulate, structure and substantiate theoretical arguments.
• to work as an individual as well as a team.

TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE COURSE

1. SEMINAR/ RESEARCH: A research report will be the outcome of student research

related to specific themes to serve as tool box for further projects. It will be presented to
the class in form of a lecture during the weekly seminar time. Further workshops and
 discussion groups may be held, at various points throughout the term. Seminar and
studio will take place Tuesday, 08:00 – 09:45, West Studio. Consultation time for
preparation of research on appointment.
2. PEERS: Discussion and interaction between students informally in discussion groups and
during independent studio time is an important source of learning.
3. DICTIONARY: The class as a whole will work on a dictionary of architectural and urban
planning terminology and general spatial definitions. The dictionary will be developed into
a digital book at the end of the semester.
4. LIBRARY: Students are required to read all material that is handed out during the course
of the year. All reading handouts are examinable. Students are also encouraged to make
extensive use of the library to extend their knowledge and understanding of the subject at
hand.

MATERIALS
Students are expected to provide suitable materials for all projects, seminars and workshops. A
scale rule, a calculator, drafting paper, pencils or pens, eraser, notepad are considered the
minimum materials for attendance during the course. A digital photo camera would be desirable.

ASSESSMENT/ WEIGHTING
Students will be assessed on the basis of their course work and a take home test. Course work
will comprise one research report and one urban design project. The proportion of the marks is
weighted as follows:

Research report: 80%

Take Home Test: 20%

All topics have to be passed with a minimum of 50% each, in order to pass the course.
All topics will be externally examined. The course qualifies for 12 points.

COURSE PROGRAMME

date Topic Research

10 February Briefing Themes
17 February Site Visit Ellis Park:

24 February Seminar White City

Presentation1
03 March Seminar Soccer Booster
Presentation 2
10 March Seminar Street Life
Presentation 3
17 March Seminar Rooms
Presentation 4
07 April Seminar Migrant Neighbours
Presentation 5
14 April Seminar Edge Conditions
Presentation 6
21 April Seminar Ponte Tower
Presentation 7
28 April Seminar Public Transport
Presentation 8
28 April Seminar 24h/ 7days/ week
Presentation 9
05 May Seminar Masterplan
Presentation 10
12 May Seminar Dictionary
Presentation 11
19 May Feedback
26 May Feedback

27 May-19 Take Home Test

June

SUBMISSION RULES
All reports and projects are to be presented and handed in on the specified dates.
Submissions not handed in or research not presented on the specified date and time will not be
marked.
Non-submissions will be marked as 0%.

Exemption from hand in dates

Exemption from hand in dates may be granted on the following grounds:

1) Prior notification with a serious reason e.g. bereavement, presented to the course lecturer.
2) A doctor’s certificate in the case of illness, presented to the course lecturer, subject to scrutiny.
3) Should the situation arise, burden of proof will be placed upon the student to prove that their
work was handed in on time.

A submission which, subject to the course lecturer’s discretion, is justified in terms of the above,
may be marked out of 100%.

DUE PERFORMANCE
Student attendance at studio design sessions, crits, seminars and tests/ workshops is at
all times compulsory. A register will taken at crit sessions and ‘one day design studio’s’
by tutors. This register will be used to monitor student attendance. Due Performance (DP)
is required in this regard!!

Refusal of Due Performance

DP is monitored in terms of the attendance registers and submission of work. DP may be refused
to students where attendance and / or submission records are below 80%. Please note that
University policy requires that the DP assessment be issued at least 30 days before the end of
year examination.
Refusal of Due Performance means the student will not be granted an end of year oral exam,
which results in failure of that course!!!

PLAGIARISM
PLAGIARISM will not be tolerated, although peer learning is encouraged! Plagiarised
submissions will receive 0 – nil!

In terms of Architectural Design this means that an obvious copy of a published project, or project
within the School of Architecture, may be scrutinised in terms of plagiarism. Clearly, influences by
peer and published work will occur, but in the case of clearly copied design work, the relevant
tutor will raise his/her concern. The project will then be assessed by the year lecturer, and if need
be, the Director of the Planning Program.

Please refer to Dr. A. Coetzee’s POLICY ON PLAGIARISM, COPYRIGHT & REFERENCING,

February 2000.