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The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No

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quotation from it or information derived from it is to be

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published without full acknowledgement of the source.
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The thesis is to be used for private study or non-
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commercial research purposes only.
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Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms

of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author.
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 CONTENTS

008 - 009 INTRODUCTIOI\l

010 - 053 SITE

013-015 SITE, And it rained all night

016-017 SITE, Site Description

018 - 033 SITE, A Site of Terrain Vague

034 - 037 SITE, Site as a Geography

038 - 051 SITE, Technical investigation of the Foreshore Highways

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055 - 073 SITE - RUPTURE

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057 - 059 SITE - RUPTURE, Discourse on the terrain vague

060 - 061 SITE - RUPTURE, A Rupture

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062 - 073 SITE - RUPTURE, Development of a Site Rupture
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• 075 - 097 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME

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076 - 077 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME, Developing a Site Activity

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078 - 081 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME, James Webb

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082 - 097 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME, Development of the site rupture after programme
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is introduced
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101 -113 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME - MATERIALITY AND MAKING

102 - 105 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME - MATERIALITY AND MAKING, Silence

106 - 109 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME - MATERIALITY AND MAKING, Silence, Bang, Echo /

Reflection

110-113 SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME - MATERIALITY AND MAKING, Variable Sound

Environment

114-115 CONCLUSION

116-117 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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"We can try to locate a kind of

enjoyment of place by including things

that weren't considered previously, which

are frequently accidental, and inventing

strategies of improvement, the poetics of

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situations; we can evaluate completely
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random elements and declare that we're
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dealing with a geography: "It's beautiful,

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I am going to reveal it to you .... " This is

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an aesthetics of revelation, a way of

taking a piece of the world and saying,

"I'm appropriating this, and I'm giving it

back to you for your appreciation in a

different wa'f.'
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Rupturing the terrain vague

Introduction

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This thesis started with the above statement made by Jean architecture as a means to structure and integrate all of human

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Nouvel in conversation with Jean Baudrillard on the experience, where the body is the locus of perception, thought
metamorphosis of architecture. This project set out as both a and consciousness (Pallasmaa 2006:28).
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manifestation of the above philosophy, using it as an approach
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This inquiry was focused in the urban environment. The project
towards making architecture, and as an exploration to test
studies the urban terrain vague, a term first used by architect
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whether architecture can really achieve this - to create a

Ignasi de Sola-Morales to describe strange urban spaces
human appreciation of what is, of what is not plainly seen and
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which are internal to the city but exist outside the effective
of existing in space and in a built world which exists with
circuits and productive structures of that urban system. These
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respect to a geological layer applied to all cities across the

are the abandoned, seemingly forgotten spaces in an urban
earth. In this thesis, architecture is explored as a tool for rev-
rev­
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environment. The evocative potential of the terrain vague

elation; specifically of existing situations and scenarios in the
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can be understood in the relationship between an absence of

built world which are overlooked or unappreciated.
precise boundaries, a sense of ambiguity, and the possibility
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This thesis research expands upon and questions earlier

of what could exist there (Sola Morales 1995:120). In this
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investigations into the relationship between experience and

project, the terrain vague is explored through an investigation
architecture undertaken in my undergraduate studies. Maurice
of a specific urban territory in Cape Town, beneath the 1~2
Merleau Ponty wrote that the task of architecture is to 'show
eastern Boulevard at the crossing with the railway tracks,
how the world touches us'. This rearlier research looked at

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which formed as a 'leftover' urban space in the development vague. The second is a surface rupture which is explored in the

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process of the Foreshore and the highway infrastructure but design development, where the intention is that the interven-
interven­
is a site with extra-ordinary spatial and experiential qualities. tion engages with the terrain vague without destroying it.
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Possibility and expectation are contained in the distinctive
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It is the intention of this document to illustrate the experimen-
experimen­
qualities of the site and its blurred limits in relation to the
tal nature of the design process in this project. It set out with
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productive city.
an urban situation or geography and no clear intention of how
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to intervene in it. It is a process which explores a given situ-

situ­
The concept of a rupture is applied to the site as a means to
ation and tests a number of thoughtful scenarios, at various
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occupy the terrain vague in a way that maintains its sense of

levels or stages of design. Often, decisions made were helpful
ambiguity and possibility and acknowledges the delicacy of
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in uncovering misguided paths in the design process as well as

this specific site situation. Rupture recognises difference and
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confirming and opening up other paths. It is this process that

otherness in urban space and has the potential to intensify,
is 'a part of a becoming that is hidden to us' (I~ouvel 2002:19)
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lengthen and prolong inconsistencies. This happens along

and it is a process which revealed conditions and opportunities
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two lines of inquiry. The first is a programmatic rupture, where

for siting, spatiality, activity and materiality in the design of an
a foreign activity is introduced to the site which brings a new
architectural intervention on the proposed site.
energy to that territory and must interact with the terrain

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SITE
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 'And it rained all night and washed the filth away
Down New York air-conditioned
air-conditiolled drains
Oh , the click click clack of the heavy black trains
Oh,
Amillion
A million engines illileutral
in neutral

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The tick tock tick of a
aticking
ticking time bomb

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Fifty feet of concrete underground
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ittle leak becomes a
alake
lake
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Says the tiny voice in my earpiece
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So I give in to the rhythm

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The click
cl ick click
cl ick clack
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I'm too wasted to fight back

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Tick tack goes the pendulum on the old grandfather clock

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I can see you

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But I can never reach you'

Thom Yorke

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 Site
And It Rained All Night
This introduction was first written for the theory
document generated earlier in the year. It is a view into
an early attempt at representing and understanding the
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site..
site
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The title And It Rained All Night references a song by
Thom Yorke. In music and lyrics, it reflects the space
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of the terrain vague. It also embodies the character of
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a specific site of the terrain vague which is the site of
investigation for this thesis, located along a periphery of
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Cape Town.
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Both the structure of the music and the lyrical
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composition build up a rhythm. The music is layered.
These layers do not build up into a linear narrative of
climaxes and plateaus. Rather it seems to form a
continuous, changing body which articulates the
non-hierarchical rhythm of the terrain vague. It is an
assemblage of multiplicities. Rhythms conjoin. The line
of the drums will meet with that of the bass and together
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an augmented rhythm progresses. Then the drums will
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stop - and perhaps pick up later, offset slightly from the
layering of vocals. But the nuances exposed in these
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subtle changes, in the juxtaposition of rhythms, are a
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subliminal and powerful quality of both this song and the
terrain vague.
Lyrically, words are carefully constructed - with
consideration for their sound and their relation to
neighbouring words - to compose another, different
oscillation. The
'The click click clack of the heavy black
trains' evokes a rhythm in the repetition of words and in
the use of words which refer to sounds, but also have a
distinct, even hard, sound themselves when said out
loud. Like sites of terrain vague, this is a textured
language.
The phrase 'I can see you / But I can never reach you',
speaks of the marginality of terrain vague. It locates
the space of the terrain vague outside of the flows and
rhythms of the everyday, easily accessible and ordered,
city.

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Site
Description

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The site is located in the east Foreshore , beneath the in terms of general city traffic. The railway tracks run

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N2 eastern Boulevard highways as they cross over the site..
along Old Marine Drive, both to the south of the site
railway tracks into the Foreshore . Car dealerships are located to the West and North of
The Culemborg Goods Yard lies directly east of the site . the site , with a large portion of the site area being used
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This land is owned by Transnet and is being used to for parking .
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service the Harbour, facilitating storage and industrial There are four highway bridges over the site
site.. The two
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activities. A storage warehouse for theatre and film sets inner bridges increase in volume over the site and con-
con­
is also located on this land
land.. At the boundary between tinue to form the N2 Eastern Boulevarde
Bou levarde . The two outer
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the two sites are the ruins of a building once used by br

bridges
idges compress over the site and form the on- and
the South African Railways as staff amenities , which off- ramps which link into the city's road network at the
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formed part of a continuous built boundary or gateway crossing of Oswald Pirow Drive and Herzog Boulevard .
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into the Culemborg Goods Yard. Most of these build­

build-
ings have been demolished to make way for new devel­
devel- Further out, but within a 500 m radius of the site , the
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opments. train station and the civic centre lie to the north west.
Old Marine Drive runs along the South of the site. This
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road currently connects the industrial railway areas of

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the East Foreshore with the central city and Foreshore.

This road was formerly used as a service road by the
Ra ilways . It is still a relatively quiet road
South African Railways

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Site
site of terrain vague
Asite
A

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The theory document generated earlier in the year term terrain in English has come to signify more natural

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served as a study of urban terrain vague . The site was territory, with agricultural or geological qualities. This
then located in this body of research and explored as a is perhaps significant in making a connection between
territory of the terrain vague in Cape Town . urban territories which move and develop in a manner
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similar to the processes and qualities of natural
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An etymological dissection of the term terrain vague territories.
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fleshes out a significant depth in its meaning and lends

gravity to the term as it is used in discussion of the site
site.. Vague is a French term which has its origins in Latin
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Terrain is a French term with a similar meaning to the and in German. The German word wage refers to a
English land, but with a greater urban connotation. sea swell and suggests qualities of motion, fluctuation,
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It has come to denote an extension of the precisely oscillation and flow. The French word vague has two
defined ground of the constructed city. In French,
French , the latin roots, namely vacuus and vagus . The first , vacuus,
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word also refers to greater and perhaps less precisely means 'vacuum' or 'vacant' in English . This describes
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limited urban territories, connected with a physical physical qualities of emptiness, the unoccupied , but
portion of land in its potentially exploitable or buildable also refers to that which is 'free, available or unen-
unen­
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state, but which already possesses some definition to gaged'. These last three attributes allude to a latent
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which we are external (Sola-Morales 1995: 119). The potentiality in this physical space,
space, an expectation of

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motion. Furthermore, the French vague is derived from
the Latin term vagus, which in both French and English
gives 'indeterminate, imprecise, blurred, uncertain'.
Thus, the French term vague simultaneously signifies
'wave', 'vacant' and 'indeterminate' and suggests mo-
mo­
tion, potential and ambiguity.
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In experimenting with ways of representing the site
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which communicated the ambiguity and evocative
potential of the space, I took series of photographs of
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the site at intervals throughout the year. The
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photographs were taken on different types of film with
a HOLGA CFN analogue camera. The Holga is an
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inexpensive and simple plastic camera, with two light
settings, four focusing modes and two shutter speeds.
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The film has to be wound forward manually, which
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allows for shots to be layered over each other within the
same frame.
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The terrain vague of the contemporary city is charac-
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terised by forms of absence. This space lacks any form
of scripted activity. It is space without a deterministic
order which aligns it to the effective city. It is a space
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internal to a city yet oustide to the flows of everyday
use by the general public. Ignasi de Sola-Morales
writes that,
"The relationship between the absence of use, of activ-
activ­
ity, and the sense of freedom, of expectancy, is funda-
funda­
mental to understanding the evocative potential of the
city's terrains vagues." (1995: 120)
It is also outside of the bounds of scripted territories,
in ambiguous space, that creative and new appropria-
appropria­
tions of space can be generated.

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The first series of photographs was taken in March 2011 using

film.. The film was

Ilford medium format black and white film
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processed using the standard C41 method of processing.

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Single frames have been exposed multiple times.

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Photograph of the sile with a

aview
view towards the north. This photograph is taken
from a
aposition
position at which the qualities of light and dark, solid and void, volume,
sound and texture are particularly powerful.

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Access road to the site which runs along the boundary of the Culemborg Goods
Yard and behind the motor city. The site can only be accessed from the city by
two roads . This route connects from Oswald Pirow to the site via a
aseries
series of one
way roads.
roads.

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The same route, with a

aview
view in the direction 01 the harbour (towards the north)

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Photograph taken from the onramp to the N2, just off Oswald
Pirow Drive. This is a view into the site from the north. It shows
people walking along the recently constructued BRT route
which runs through the site.

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The site seen between the barriers of the highway.

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This series of photographs was taken in May 2011 with

Kodak Porta medium format colour film. The fim was cross­
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processed.
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When the film was removed from the camera for processing,
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it was not wound tightly enough and light leaked onto some of
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the frames, over-exposing parts of it. The photographs taken

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later onthe spool of film were the ones least tightly wound and
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so have more light leaking into them.

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On site facing south with a

aview
view towards the railway tracks

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Photograph taken along the south boundary of the site facing towards the north.
It illustrates
Illustrates the opening which forms between Ihe
the outermost
oulermost highway ramp
in the east (which compresses over the site to connect with Oswatd Pirow
Pi row Dr.)
and the two major highway ramps (which continue over the site). The contrast
between light
lighl and dark is significant.
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The boundary building of the Culemborg Goods Yard which currently stands
empty.

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This image is made up of two photographs taken over each other on one frame.
They are two similar shots taken of roughly the same area - the transition from
the gap between the two main highways and the outer compressing ramp (west,
next to the motor city), to the space beneath the two main highways.

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Multiple views 01-.

Mulliple of-. towards- and from the
the east
east boundary of the site
site (the
(the
boundary adjacenlto
adjacent to the
the Goods Yard),

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Photographs which overlays on-site graffili

graffiti wilh
with a
aview
view of the site fro the north.

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Railway tracks which run along the south boundary 01 the site.

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Site
Site as a
ageography
geography
'The landscape of the earth is like a skin or veil,
wrapping the earth in its different guises, Cities are like
skins of this skin: second skins, Architecture uses the
skin of the earth, it makes it habitable', Urban Flotsam
(2001 :)
Like the first skin, cities are plastic environments
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(Bunschoten 2001) which are subject to change and
motion,
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The terrain vague is something generated by a mutable
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city,
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A city is made up of variably formed matters and
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evolving configurations of elements, of different strata
and speeds, rates of flow, of lines of articulation and
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lines of development. It consists of and generates
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strata and territories, and includes as much in its
development movements that obliterate stratification
and territorialisation (Deleuze, Guattari 1987:3-4), The
city is an assemblage of interdependent and
overlapping entities, There are a multitude of
relationships inherent in an urban system which are in
oscillation and govern the structure of this assemblage,
The city as a form of urban entropy is grounded in a
complex temporality, The reading of urban space
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cannot be disconnected from time, In a city, spatiality is
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measured in time. The fabric of the city reflects an
interplay of various temporal systems as manifested
in the different forms of spatial presence (Benjamin
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2010:40),
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Terrain vague emerges from the mechanics, rhythms
and undulations of a city,
"Through the collision of seemingly autonomous
systems emerges an aggregate of buildings and
spaces of distinctive traits, an organisation eliciting for
the urban dimension other standards of consistency",
(Angeli I 2001 :336)
Top-down forces of urban planning, economy and
order act on an urban system, These have a very real
and tangible effect on the built environment. The city
and the systems which operate with, in and through it
in turn affect the conditions which have been imposed
upon it, continually creating new and evolving systems
or relationships,
Within this mutable system, spaces form which are
foreign to the efficiency which unifies the productive
city, These are spaces external to the planned activity

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seemingly
and everyday use of a city, seem ingly forgotten places , for further exploration and writes out paths which did

It is residual or abandoned space, This is space found
in unincorporated margins, oversights, voids
vo ids and
ideologies, The terrain vague inhabits the space
failed ideologies,
beneath highways, ne xt to railways,
railways , in vacant lots and
empty buildings,
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not work, once tested against a multitude of criteria, An
example of a condition against which the design had to
find expression at a number of scales, was that the
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architectural intervention should not destroy the
delicacy of the terrain vague but enhance it. At a level

What this means for architecture IS that intervening in of spatiality in the design process,
process , a decision was
the terrain vague is an entry into a particular scenario made that the built volume of the intervention should
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- a specific set of multiplicities and oscillating relation-

relation­ not fill up the volume between the ground plane and
territory, Whatever
ships governing the spatiality of that territory, the overhead highways to be consistent in the idea
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charac­
the spatial, metaphysical and socio-economic charac- of maintaining the qualities of the terrain vague, This
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teristics of this 'other' space, they have evolved out of a approach to the site and the design means that this
very particular situation, project is a scenario which has meaning and value in
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this specific situation, and that a number of alternative

ing the site as a geography, or as an
Approaching interventions could have existed in this same space for
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Approach
assemblage of particular elemen ts and relationships this time which would all have had a distinct influence
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has influenced the process of designing for this site, on the balance of the site situation ,
The design of an architectural intervention in this space
has developed out of testing thoughtful scenarios and
situation,, at various stages in the
intentions in the site situation
design process and across a range of scales in the
design (from siting and use to materiality and
techtonics), These scenarios do not impose an
expected result or resolution on the design , This
approach tests possibilities in space against the flows
and rhythms of the site, Each decision opens up paths

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Drawing a site scenario

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Black and white photocopies transfered onto cartridge paper
using thinners, pencil drawings overlayed.
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The en loge task was the first attempt at drawing out a

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scenario on the site. These drawings illustrate the existing site

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situation with a scenario drawn into it, which aims to augment

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the experience of the site by looking at qualities of space and

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volume, light and dark, sound and texture.

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The originall ocalily plan for the highway section under study, taken from the
original technical drawings of the highways draughted in the 1970s.
38
 Site
Technical Investigation of the Foreshore Highways
To intervene in the space beneath the highway, I
needed to understand the highway system and its
structure in detail and build up an accurate account of
the highways as they related to the site. The highway
system was investigated in a technical study of the
site undertaken at the beginning of the year which was
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documented in a technical report
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Data Collection
At the outset, it was necessary to get hold of the
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technical drawings of the Foreshore Highways. This
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proved to be a challenging and time-consuming
process.
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The Government Engineering Department has records
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of all the technical documents pertaining to the
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Foreshore Freeways. The department is, however,
under-staffed and unwilling to sift through the records in
their vast archives the find the information required for
this project. Another factor in deciding to bypass
approaching the Municipality first is that this informa-
informa­
tion is caught up in 'official red-tape'. To get access to
it requires appeals to officials motivating why access
should be granted to this material, guarantees that your
project will align with the visions set out by the City of
Cape Town for the site in question, and guarantees that
the information will be used strictly for the purposes of
research and education. This is a drawn-out process
which is often unsuccessful.
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Initially, I consulted with Brian Richardson from KFD
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Wilkinson Consulting Engineers. KFD Wilkinson had
been involved with the design of a project directly
adjacent to the N2 highway, at the site of the Cape
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Town International Convention Centre. While this was a
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different section of the Foreshore Highways, it had the
same structural system as the section of highways over
the site. From the working drawings of this
project it was possible to obtain basic information on
the structural system of the Foreshore Highways, the
type of foundations (and approximate depths for
foundations and footing dimensions) and a description
of the general soil conditions of the Foreshore
reclaimed land and an approximation of the loading
that the highway must cater for. The information
obtained from KFD Wilkinson gave a basic
understanding of highway construction but was not
adequate to build up an accurate model of the
highways on the site.
Bergstan SA Consulting and Development Engineers is
a firm which has been involved in the design and
construction of highway/bridge systems in South Africa
as well as being involved in the maintenance of the
Foreshore Freeways. After speaking with KFD
Wilkinson, I approached Colin Miller, an engineer from
Bergstan SA. for further information. Due to their
previous involvement with The Foreshore Freeways,
Bergstan had printed records of the technical drawings

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for the whole of the Foreshore Freeways. These Interpreting the data - Base Drawings

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documents are kept in an off-site archive . I was not The technical drawings sourced from Bergstan were
allowed direct access to this archive facility but was analysed and used to draw up a set of base drawings
able to retrieve the documents relating to the specific (plan and section) of the site and of the highway
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portion of the Foreshore highways under investigation system (decks
(decks,, columns and foundations) as they
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(document no.Q70/26)
no.070/26) by giving a detailed description related to the site .
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of the site and its location to the Bergstan personnel.

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These documents were not allowed to leave the

Bergstan offices but I was given permission to look
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through the records and photocopy any relevant

information. From these records I was able to compile
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a 124 page document of the technical drawings of the

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highways on the site. These drawings were originally

prepared for The City of Cape Town (client) by
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Foreshore Freeway Consultants in the 1970s. The

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section of highway under investigation in this thesis

falls under Contract 1 of the Foreshore Freeways
project The drawings were draughted using the
imperial system of measurement (feet and inches) and
not in the metric system.

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Interpreting the data - Substructure constructed on raking piles which are driven at an

To
The site falls on reclaimed land on the Foreshore. The angle to resist inclined forces and the effects of
dredging and land-filling for the land reclamation horizontal thrust (caused by cars travelling around
began in 1937 and was completed in 1945. The soil bends or vehicles colliding with side barriers). All
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used for the land-fill comprised mostly sandy soil. This raking piles in this highway system are specified to be
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area of land also has a very high water table. raked at 1 to 4.
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Multiple boreholes were drilled across the site to The piles used in the foundations for the highway have
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determine the exact soil profile for the earth beneath both shaft and toe resistance. They transfers loads to or
each of the four ramps in the highway system. Reading through an underlYing stratum through friction with the
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from the borehole test results, it shows that the water surface area of the shaft (friction pile) as well as
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table is at a level of 1800mm below natural ground transferring loads through the toe to a deeper, more
level. The borehole tests also show a detailed soil competent stratum (end-bearing pile). The pile capac-
capac­
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profile, where hard layers of soil are generally found ity is the sum of the ultimate resistance values of both
after a level of about 12m below ground level. Above shaft and toe (Rickett et ai, 200417.52). The pile ca-
ca­
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this point there are various layers of sandy soils. These pacities for the foundations of the supports are 100 L-
L­
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soil profiles differ slightly beneath each of the ramps TONS and 40 L-TONS for the abutments of the ramps.
and an accurate reading should be taken directly from
the borehole results. The challenge with designing for this site was then that
an intervention which excavates into the ground would
The loose, sandy soil has poor bearing capacity and is have to accommodate for these soil conditions in its
inadequate in carrying structural loads. This requires foundation design and waterproofing system, as well as
the construction of deep foundations to transmit loads work with the existing substructure of the highways in
further into the earth where there is more competent a way that does not disturb or cause movement in the
sOil or rock. The N2 Foreshore highways were above highway structure.

Interpreting the data - Superstructure

45

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Interpreting the data - Superstructure

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The superstructure of the highway was studied as a
series of basic components (supports, decks) which
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all differ in dimensions, inclination and position . These
varied segments are brought together as one comple
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system to form what appears as one simple,

simple , ribboning
structure.
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Understanding the highway structure uncovered the

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nuances of the bridges, whi ch became an important

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influence in the design of the intervention.

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The technical aspects of the superstructure which

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impacted directy on the design are the water drainage

bridges, column spacing and
systems of the highway bridges,
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the changing inclination and dimensions of the highway

decks.
decks.

47
 (1) Deck sections

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SECTION P '
S!-QN~NAGE
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Card model which explores the potential and

constraints set by the structure of the highway in
terms of possibile excavation below ground and
built volume above the ground surface.

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Site Cross-Section
CAD drawing, pencil, transfer by thinners

This drawing was an attempt at illustrating both the

technical and evocative qualities of the site as one
representation .

52

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SITE - RUPTURE

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This section of the document explores the development from

site to a strategy for intervening on the site. First, to locate the

strategy of this project in a larger discourse I will discuss the

arguments which exist around the terrain vague and how to

intervene there. Rupture will then be introduced as a concept

and as an approach to the site. This section will also illustrate

the initial stages of the design development of the site rupture.

55
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Site - Rupture
Discourse on the terrain vague

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When discussing the terrain vague as material
material,, two applied to the site as a rational ising principle.

To
significant arguments emerge.
In the article Terrain Vague , Ignasi de Sola-Morales
In the first. vacant and indeterminate urban space
Rubidio describes the transformations introduced by
represents unacceptable socioeconomic deterioration .
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architects on these vacant sites as dissolving a sense
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These are spaces which represent the problematics of
of estrangement-
estrangement - reflected in our relationship to and
contemporary social life. It is terrain which falls outside
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fascination with this strange and disquieting space -­

of the productive efficiency of the city and embodies a
into citizenship,
citizenship , into a common identity with the rest of
of

seemingly unsettling disorder, marked for

the city fabric and its inhabitants. These are aggres­
aggres-
eradication by top-down urban planning and design
sive transformations when the architecture projects a
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initiatives. In approaching these sites of disorder,

scripted narrative onto the site , disconnected from the
solutions have often been superficial in that they do not
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network of motions and influences which reflect the

confront the root causes or the motions which formed
reality of that specific urban geography and when the
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the space but rather look to aesthetically addressing

architectural intervention is aimed at levelling inconsis-
inconsis­
the site with quick fixes.
fixes . These are the sites - beneath
tencies in urban space.
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highways, next to railways, in industrial areas - which

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are too easily abandoned as lucrative parking lots
2001 16) or cosmetic architectural
(Levesque 2001:
interventions.
On a larger scale, architecture and urban design tend
to project onto these vacant spaces the logic of an
overriding or unifying principle, which aims at
assimilating these spaces into the productive logic of a
city.
city. Architecture acts as an organisational structure, a
means through which transformation can be achieved
- from something that is unproductive into that which is
cultivated, from the disorderly to the civilised
civilised,, the void
into the built. The discomfort of disorder, indeterminacy
and inefficiency is eliminated when architecture is
Rem Koolhaas' investigation of the relationship
between architecture and urban voids offers
oHers a
discourse with similarities to that of Sola-Morales.
Sola-Morales . In
Imagining Nothingness, Koolhaas speculates that the
grand gestures, the imposing logic - paper diagrams
far removed from the sites they are intended for -­
applied by architects to urban space,
space , originate from a
fear of the void, a fear of nothingness. The nothingness
present in the metropolitan void unsettles the stability of
the urban solid.
Sola-Morales describes the role of the architect as
being problematic , in that it imposes limits, order and
form;; introducing into space the elements of
form

57

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identity necessary to make it recognisable, identical

and universal (Sola-Morales 1995: 122). A schism exists
between architecture which operates on the side of
forms, described by Gilles Deleuze as being distant
figurative,, and the divided
and favouring the optic or figurative
individual of the contemporary city who looks for forces
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In a second , opposing view; urban void
void,, imprecision of
limits and dissonance are celebrated conditions. The
terrain vague represents a counterpoint to the imposed
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order of over-inscribed urban narratives and the
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dominating influence of consumption on the city.

instead of forms , for the incorporated instead of the

distant, for the haptic instead of the optic , the The work of filmmakers , photographers, writers, poets
of

rhizomatic instead of the figurative (Sola-Morales and artists inhabit the margins of urban space. This is
1995: 123) in their lived experience of the city.
1995123) city. space liberated from a deterministic urban identity and
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a prevailing homogeneity. Here, is creativity charged

The delicate interplay of architecture and urban void is with the impetus to preserve the strange and alternate
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summed up when Koolhaas writes: space in its position outside of the continuity of urban
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space. Sola-Morales likens the ecological struggle of

"Where there is nothing,
nothing, anything is possible. Where
conserving unpolluted environments in nature ,
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there is architecture , nothing (else) is possible

mythicised as the unattainable Mother Earth , to
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(1995199)
( 1995 199) . "
preserva­
contemporary art's reaction to fight for the preserva-
tion of these other spaces in the interior of the city
This statement recognises the latent potential of the
(1995122)
terrain vague and, while it refers to the
th e limits which
architecture impresses on space and seems to caution
This other space is not subject to the commanding
against the indiscriminate use of architectural
intervention in this type of urban terrain,
terrain , it does not influence of commerce and economic productivity on
public space in the city.
city. What exists here is the
negate the opportunity that the insertion of architecture
opportunity for spontaneity, for activity not
into an urban void could effect.

58

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accommodated for in urban structures of consumption from the, often violent and seemingly negative, forces

To
and order. Unscripted space can be appropriated which have acted upon and shaped the space. It is
creatively by any city dweller. Such a freedom also Important to consider that, in reality, the forms of
translates to human behaviour in space. As a member marginality invited by this leftover space will not always
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of society, of a community, our behaviour in space has be that of liberation and creativity, but will also include
already been directed. It is physically as possible to activities which find expression in urban places of
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scream aloud in a busy public square as in an empty seclusion like crime, drug-use, inhabitation by the
church. Henri Lefebvre describes this as an adherence homeless and the collection of waste.
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to spatial codes:
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"It is clear, therefore, that a spatial code is not merely

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a means of reading or interpreting space; rather it is a

means of living in that space, of understanding it and
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producing it." (Lefebvre: 47-48)

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Within the terrain vague lies the potential for inhabiting

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space, for experiencing the city, in new and different

ways.

If pursued to its extremities, an approach like this finds

its limits in romanticised readings which leave the
space untouched, that is, which do not engage with the
reality of the site. Terrain vague is generated from the
motions of a mutable city. This 'other' space should not
be idealised to a point where it becomes disconnected

59

Site - Rupture
Arupture
My approach to this site of terrain vague has been a
simultaneous reading of both dialogues, of order and
disorder, not only in opposition but as conditions which
disorder,
interdependent , which manifest a latent tension
are interdependent,
from which architecture can be generated.
"The contrast is not between the contained and the
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open, as though the only possible response to a form
of
of restriction or containment would be the elimination
of all borders and thus the creation of the purely open. "
ity
(Benjamin 201040)
rs
In The Terrain Vague as Material - Some Observations,
Luc Levesque introduces a discussion of 'interstitial'
'i nterstitial'
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space as a means of integrating the seemingly oppos­
oppos-
ni
ing notions of order and disorder which allows for the
extra-ordinary conceptual and experiential dimensions
U
of the terrain vague to be explored.
The term interstice has come to describe places of
'otherness' (Levesque 2003) Etymologically, the term
interstitial refers to an in-between condition . Interstitial
60
n
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space deals with inconsistencies. Today,
Today, intervention
To
in the contemporary city should not aspire to assimilate
residual space with the productive city or try to align it
with a predetermined order which is inscribed onto the
e
urban fabric. Intervention in the terrain vague should
ap
acknowledge the value of operating as the 'other' .
Levesque exposes potential for intervening in the ter­
ter-
rain vague in considering interstitial space as resur­
resur-
gence of the urban wild (2002). The urban wild refers
contradic­
to the raw environments which expose the contradic-
tions suppressed by society and its composed urban
environment, which emerges at the convergence of the
city's
city 's prefigured order (top down forces) and the appro-
appro­
priations of urbanity (bottom-up motions) This wilder-
wilder­
ness reflects the forceful projections of infrastructure,
infrastructure ,
grids and zoning onto the urban condition, but also
expresses the resilience and creativity of the systems
operating within and transforming these impositions.
The reality of a raw urban wilderness, which embodies
the inconsistency of the urban condition, figures a rich
set of parameters from which to design.

 n
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If difference is to be acknowledged in the territory of to expand and change, and is able to smooth over any

the terrain vague, as both an inevitable condition of a
mutable urban system and as an opportunity for inten-
inten­
sifying the experience of urban space, the notion of
rupture can be used as an entry point.
'The break is viewed as an intrinsic principle of urban-
urban­
C
To
breaks or discontinuities. The city can be shattered
or disrupted and it will emerge again along both new
and previous lines of development (Deleuze, Guattari
e
ap
19879). In the same way, the ruptures will move and
appear elsewhere in the urban terrain.

ity and its spatial implications investigated through When rupture is used as a strategy for creating an
of

the manipulation of the architectural form. '(Angelil intervention for this site it attempts to amplify the
2003337). inconsistencies of this territory and gives attention to
ity

the continuity of the qualities and interrelation of parts

Rupture signifies an inconsistency, a break in the co-
co­
which maintain the terrain vague of this site in space
rs

herence of a city. It recognises the differences and con-

con­
and time.
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flicts which emerge from and organise urban space. It

articulates, lengthens and prolongs lines of difference.
ni

It is a concept which pursues incidents of disruption

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(Lefebvre 1970) and the experience gained in intensify-

intensify­
ing the disconituities which surface in a heterogeneous
urban system.

Rupture is also a concept which recognises the fluid

nature of a city. The city is a system which will continue

61

Site - Rupture
The development of a
asite
site rupture

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This chapter illustrates the initial stages in the design but layers another meaning onto the site. A programme

development of the site rupture.
Opposite is one of the first conceptual sketches made of
what the rupture might be on site.
C
To
which draws people to the site. This would be a private
space in that it accommodated the rituals of a pro-
pro­
gramme. Then, at certain points, this programme could
e
rupture, bleeding into the space of the terrain vague,
ap
drawing private space into the public and bringing the
terrain vague into the realm of the city dweller's experi-
experi­

The space directly above the highway is occupied by ence. The rupture lengthens, prolongs, intensifies lines
of experience.
of

cars.

This initial idea progressed into the rupture acting in

ity

The space below the ground in unoccupied.

both subterranean and surface level space. The inter-inter­
rs

The space between the highways and the ground forms vention then engages more actively with the spatiality
the delicate terrain vague, a space with extra-ordinary of the terrain vague instead of shying away from it but
ve

spatial and experiential characteristics. is still careful to not overpower or destroy it. To remain
consistent with this idea, a decision was made that the
ni

built volume of the interventiion should not 'fill-up' the

At this point, my conception of a rupture was that it
U

volume beneath the highways.

could be something which would insert a programme
into the subterranean space - which does not disturb
the critical features and qualities of the terrain vague

62

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Posu on imrro€ rsed in the terrainvague
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On loe main access road 10 the Slie (Old Marine OT)

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RUPTURES
Hypotheses explored through scenarios
 ", I
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Several basic design decisions and strategies emerged 2. Public movement and Positions A and B
from studying the site.

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The diagram below describes each point's significance

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1.
1, Finding the points of rupture on the site in relation to the other. Position A is a point at which

From studying the site, two points with significant
potential were identified.
The diagram on the left describes the two points and
C
To
the site's evoctive qualities are most pronounced. This
becomes a draw or pull space. Position B is a space
e
through which the majority of pedestrian movement
ap
flows. The overhead highway ramps open up around
position B and it can be described as an entry point

why they are important. or origin. The space between these two pOints is al-
al­
of

ready used as an informal movement route between

The diagram above speaks about Ihe change in which the central Foreshore (BRT node at the civic centre)
ity

the site is experienced and perceived as the observer and the central city (train station) and the railways. The
moves through the space. intervention aims to integrate this movement path into
rs

the design. This path brings a flow of people through the

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site and into contact with the activity which has been
inserted on the site. Potential also exists to address the
ni

relationship between people and the site, to heighten

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the exoerience of the 'foraotten' space.

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,
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3. The Broader Context

This drawing attempts to show the scale and grain of

the intervention on the site as it relates to the broader

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context of the city.

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66
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Site -- Rupture
a site rupture
The development of asite

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Topographical Studies

To
A number of topographical studies were done to test The following three drawings illustrate a progression of
how the surface of the ground plane could be surface manipulations which overlay onto each other
e
site..
manipuated to facilitate a rupture of the site forming a scenario on the site.
ap

The shape of these earlier surface manipulations were 001 position A

C

based on the site and tried to address issues of

of:: potential space to insert activity
of

public movement - experimenting with where 002 position B introduced

pedestrians could move , taking into account pragmatic potential as a public space which relates to
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conditions such as the shortest distance between a the activity

rs

location and a desired destination as well as paths

which amplified the experience of/with the site . 003 smaller 'fissures' are introduced which intervene
ve

in the spaces on the site which are restricted

site constraints - limits set by the highway structure because of site constaints from the highway
ni

(above and below ground) structure..

structure
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key points on site - exploring different spatialities and

forms which would reveal and amplify the positions
identified as key points on the site according to their
roles in relation to each other and to the site as a whole
whole..

68

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Topographical Studies
ni

These drawings explore the trajectories of the critical

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nodes (position A and 8) on the site. In the context of

this design a 'trajectory' refers to the influence of that
point as you move away from (or towards) it.

72

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SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAMME

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This section will discuss the process of selecting and

developing the activity which is inserted into this terrain. It also

documents the design development of the site rupture after a

programme is introduced.

75

Site - Rupture - Programnle
Developing a site activity
asite
The criteria against which the programme was
tested were:
That it acts as an anchor (permanent energy
in the site situation) and generates event
(changing energy)
C
Should engage with the site without destroying
of
the terrain vague
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The programme should be a rupture in relation
to the broader site scenario (on a city scale)
rs
ve
The approach to developing a site activity was similar
to the way in which the design was generated .
ni
thoughtful , scenarios were tested in the site
Different, thoughtful,
U
situation.. It is a process where the consequences of a
situation
scenario are evaluated and the idea is either discarded
or refined.
Early on, a decision was made that the programme did
not have to have a direct connection with the marginal
activities which occur on this site and in other sites of
terrain vague (like a homeless shelter or a brothel).
Those activities find expression in these overlooked
spaces precisely because they are 'other ' spaces
which formed outside of the productive circits of a city
76
n
w
as it developed. Because those activities can exist
To
there is not an indication that a programme linked to
one of these activities woud be the most suitable or
powerful form of intervention for that space. Potential
e
exists to use the space creatively and in a way that
ap
facilitates an encounter between the general city and
the terrain vague .
head­
One of the first ideas explored was relocating the head-
quarters for the Institute of Architects to this site under
the bridges. A strength of this idea was that is draws
spatial practitioners to the site who are potentially more
inclined to appreciate the site's extra-ordinary spatial
qualities. It also gave a lot of freedom in designing
a range of experientially driven spaces (like exhibi-
exhibi­
tion and meeting places). A significant shortcoming
in this scenario was that it drew a very narrow scope
of the urban population to the site (architects and
people closely related to the field of architecture). It
was important that the activity would relate to a greater
diversity of urban dwellers and so hopefully have more
relevance within the city.
Other art forms were explored as entry points into a
programme which enhances the otherness of the site.
A programme related to art (like a gallery) was still too
insular. Music is an art form which relates to a greater


diversity of people. A recording studio and perfor­
mance space was a scenario tested through the site .
A site under a highway and next to railway tracks is
the most unlikely location for a recording studio. While
a recording studio in that space is a strong com men­
tryon contrasting two conflicting ideas. which aligns
C
with the action of rupturing; the strict sound isolation
requirements for a music studio completely isolates the
of
activity from the site and questions whether this is an
activity which could happen anywhere and whether it is
ity
then a sufficiently influential intervention for a site of this
rs
nature.
ve
The programme selected picks up on the acoustic
qualities of the site, recognising sound as a quality
ni
which is itself marginalised . It is driven through the
U
process of South African sound artist James Webb. His
work often deals with the relationship between the city
and sound.
The programme selected picks up on the acoustic
qualities of the site. It recognises the particular sound­
scape (generated by a constant flow of cars on the
highway and an intermittent rhythm of the trains pass­
ing on the railway tracks) . It also acknowledges sound
as an 'other' sense and draws on this marginality to
enhance the otherness of the site while still inserting
77
n
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a meaningful activity which engages with the terrain
To
vague .
The programme has a hybrid nature. It combines a
e
studio / residence for south african sound artist James
ap
Webb with an installation or performance space for
both his work and the work of other artists. James' work
often deals with the relationship between the city and
sound where architecture is the condition in which this
relationship is explored. The artist's studio is a private
activity which brings a permanent energy to the site.
This activity begins to bleed into the public realm
through a set of installation spaces with varied heirar­
chies of private-public relationships.
The public realm of the intervention engages with the
noise of the site. It amplifies the found site sound and
also layers the new sounds of people moving through
and interacting with the site onto the existing sound .
The artist's studio creates an environment within the
noise that is silent , in which completely new sounds
can be created and experimented with. The installa­
tion space is a mediator between these two spaces,
which exists outside, in the space below the highways
but also acts as a space in which new sounds can be
introduced through the performances and installat ions.
This intervention can be described as a soundpark.

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James Webb recording the sounds of a dog

attacking a human in a protective suit for
U

his latest project to be exhibited in France

78
Site - Rupture - Programme
James Webb

n
w
To design the space in which James works required an

To
understanding of his design and work process.

Certain spatial and programmatic requirements

e
emerged in observing his process and in discussion
ap
with him:
C

acoustically isolated space for sound

recording , playback and editing
of

an 'assembly line' for building and testing

artworks
ity

space for rest (for sleeping and as a breather

rs

from a work space)

ve

James
James'' work place is a transitional space. It is the
space in which sampled material is thought and
ni

worked through, after which it is put back into the

U

context it originated from or into a specific context

elsewhere. Only half of the artwork happens on site. His
studio becomes a 'world within a world' in that it should
be able to accommodate all the worlds that he has to
work with and bring together in a project. This is the
only space common to all of his projects.

79
 Selected projects in colour, from left to right

SATURDAY NIGHT CAN BE THE LONELIEST PLACE ON EARTH

Space World is a theme park in Yahata Higashi ward, Kitakyushu, Japan, It was created
in 1990 by Nippon Steel when the company was downsizing its steel plant in the ward.
Space World offers themed rides and attractions that attempt to portray the fascination
of the "final frontier:' but dwindling audience figures give the park a more desolate atmo·
sphere. This artwork involved an 8·second hack into the Space World parking lot's pubhc
address system, interrupting their Muzak with ionospheric transmiSSions (impulsive
signals emitted by lightning strokes relayed live USing aVLF receiver) so thaI World
could, on a lonely Saturday night, receive an actual message from outer space.

THERE'S NO PLACE CALLED HOME. 2005­

A recurring. worldwide intervention whereby specific foreign birdcalls are broadcast from
speakers concealed in local trees, e.g calls of South Alncan summer birds broadcast
from Japanese winter Hees

OST,2009
A recording of Auferstanden aus Ruinen, the anthem of the Deutsche OMnn,:ralll~ctIB
Republik, sung a cappella by a lifelong East German resident within the hall
01 the tormer parly radio station in Nalepastrasse, Berlin, August 2009.

LE MARCHi': ORIENTAL, 2008

A2-minute intervention inside Cape Town's disused Orienlal Plaza, an Aparlheid-era

n
shOPPing mall designed to control Indian trade. On the 4th day 01 Ramadan, 2008, Sheikh
Mogamat Moerat 01 District Six's Zeenatullslam Majid mosque was invited !O sing Ihe

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Adhan (call to prayer) inside the empty remains of the building a few weeks prior to its

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to way for luxury aparlments.

WA 12003
An imaginary Japanese DJ named Wa was bOOked to perform at a large Cape Town party,
e
The artist invented her profile, composed the music she would play and sourced an un­
ap
known Korean tourist to learn basic DJ'ing skills and perform as Wa. Her original identity
was kept secret and the gig was advertised to the point where people were talking about
Wa as if they owned her {non-existent) albums. Her performance of ear-splil1ing noise
C

lasted 15 minutes in front of a crowd of over 1500 people. Titled 'Yumei na wa ju go pun,'
and loosely translating as '15 minutes of fame,' the gig's highlights were broadcast on
of

national television.

SIREN, 2010
ity

A building is fitled with a powerful air raid siren. wired to a locked button, Only the col·
lector and artist possess keys to the device, and it rs contractually only to be used in the
rs

event of an 'aerial or ground attack."

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All text and images taken from hltpll:www.lheotherjameswebb.com

80
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Site - Rupture - R"ogranlnle
The development of the site rupture after programme is introduced

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This section illustrates points or moments in the design

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development of the site rupture after the programme
was introduced.
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The diagram opposite describes interfaces identified
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and responded to in the design. These are
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inhabitable thresholds. 'Inhabitable' is a condition that

is ever transient and implies the potential act of
of

becoming inhabited.'
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See Cruz, M. and Gage, S (2009). Interaction: Perfor­

mance and Magic / Inhabitable Interfaces. In Bartlett Designs:
Speculating with Architecture. London: John Wiley & Sons.

82

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(009) This drawing illustrates how the ground surface

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responds to the interfaces identified.

Berms were generated along the lines where noise

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barriers were required. A path for the public space has
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been carved out. Activity fields sit in between these
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conditions which have been generated from the

topography.
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84
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 (010) This diagram describes the relationship

between the private (artist's residence) and publ
public
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(installation and public movement) spaces and how

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these activities are organised on the site.

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(011) The solid black lines represent movement along
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paths in space.
space. A surface has been associated to each
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segment of the site which is related to the programme
The path of the black line connects these surfaces.
surfaces .
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The line of public movement represented in the dia-

dia­
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gram is the primary entrance into the installation space

space..
This is intended as a path which descends into the
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installation space and immerses the observer in the site

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and in the event. The experiential narrative of this path

must be carefully considered and designed.
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The activity of the studio has a separate, private nar-

nar­
rative which physically connects with the public in the
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space.. At the point where the public and

installation space
private paths move past each other, a visual
connection will be established into the assembly line /
workshop space (most public of the private spaces)

86
 PRIVATE
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013
012

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 (012 - 014) Three sections cut along the length of the

path into the installation space . These drawings

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illustrate the changing spatiality and re lationship to the

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site (especiailly to the highways) as one progresses

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into the installation.
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89

(013 - 015) A series of clay and triplex models were

built during the design development of the ramp

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entering the installation space which tested alternative

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spatial sequences and designs .

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These drawings by Catrina Stewart (Bartlett School of

Architecture) of a stunt school depicts ramps , explo­
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sions , and airborne students flying on ankle cables

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over spun webs of emergency netting . The drawings il­

lustrate events, the the path of the event and the object
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involved in creating the event .'

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Images sourced from http://www.introducingart.coml

Issue%201 O/Hypothetically/Bartlett%20Architecture%20of%20
Seduction.html

92

 n
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These drawings influenced the way the programmatic (016-017) Sonic Plans, to be read as one would

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activities of the intervention were organised and read a ground plan but it represents the spatiality of the
designed, especially in relation to the public space sound on the site.
which forms the 'noisy' component of the design.
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(016) Sonic plan of ambient sound
ap
Again, the 'noise' of the sound park was designed by
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conceptual ising scenarios. The object which engages (017) Sonic plan of sound events
with an action in the intervention is a person who enters
of

the sound park. The event which happens could be a

game of soccer, sitting down to eat lunch, or walking
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through the space on route to destination. The action

becomes an event in the space when people's actions
rs

cause a sound eHect in the space of the site (a sound

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effect which relates directly to the volume, solidity, void,

texture of the part of the site that that person is
ni

• occupying and the nature of the activity). The sound

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event can be quantified in the physical eHect that the

soud has in terms of reflections. These reflections can
be enhanced or dissipated by the architecture of the
intervention and by the existing environment (highway)
to create diHerent acoustic moments such as echos, a
bang, quiet, loud ambient noise, etc.

93

 . . . ... ,. . ... ...

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illustrating the sound environment of the public 'noise'
space, the installation space, and the studio

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design development sketch

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design development sketch of the outdoor installation ground surface

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SITE - RUPTURE - PROGRAIVIME

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- MATERIALITY AND MAKING

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This section covers a technical investigation into the making

of specific acoustic moments i.e. silence, bang, lound ambient

sound, echo, etc.

101

Site - Rupture - Programme -­

Materiality and Making
Silence

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The artist's studio is a point in the design that requires (019) Mass / Spring / Mass resonant system

To
an acoustically isolated space in which sound will be
recorded, played back and edited. a a resonant system
if the first mass is set in motion, the force exerted
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The sound isolation strategy investigated for the studio on the spring will be resisted by the inertia of the
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space was to create two separate skins for the studio - second mass. Above the resonant frequency of
a primary structure or shell which is disconnected from
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the system, the spring will convert sound energy

an internal shell. to thermal energy (heat)
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b M1 is earthed and becomes of almost infinite

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impedence. If M2 were set in motion, it would

oscillate at its resonant frequency until all the
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energy dissipated
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(020) The choice of floating system is dependant

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on the mass to be floated and the lowest frequency to

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which isolation is needed.

(021) Triple Isolation Shell with floated walls, ceiling

and floor.

102

 (019) (020)

(a)
(a) mass-spring-mass

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tOem concrete slab
tOem. 70 kg'm' mtne,.,
wool
" N d l". lloor
(b)

Mt - e.g. a solid concrete floor

(b)

(e)

3,5k~m2
19 mm chIpboard deadsheel
flOOr boardIng
wood glue

, _ lIruetu.... (100' I

(d) 2 em, 40 kgtm 3

cotton-waslo fell

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(022) Design development drawings of the studio The studio is partly excavated into the ground. Since
on site the watertable on the site is at 1200mm below ground
level, the water pressure and waterproofing of the
building were conditions that had to be dealt with in the
design .

Common practice in waterproofing of basements is

to create two layers to a structure, allowing water to
move through the first layer, let it drain away to a sump
while the second layer is waterproofed. This system in
combination with a double skin sound isolation strategy
would mean a triple layer sin for the studio space.

(023) A system was developed which combines the

inner shell of the waterproofing system with the inner
layer of the sound isolation system to create a double
skin system that deals with both water and sound.
104
(023)

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SOUND CONTROL ROOM I

ARTIST'S STUDIO

105
Site - Rupture - Progranlme -­
Materiality and Making
Si lence, Bang, Echo / Refiecti on

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The ground topography of the public 'noise' park folds Public Space (Noise)

to house a closed I indoor installation space under-
under­
neath it. The surface of this fold is programmable and (024)
accommodates the services and techtonics required to
achieve the desired acoustic results.
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The space above the ground belongs to the
public and is the space in which noise is generated by
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people interactincg with the site. The surface of this
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part of the folding of the ground surface is designed

to make noise as people walk on it. Two Ilat

flat sheets of
weathering steel are slot jointed (loose joint) to a sup­
sup-
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port structure made of rectangular hollow steel sections

by, which scratch and clang against each other.
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(025) 3D model of the structure of the fold system as

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viewed from the public space to show the techtonic

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system of the ground surface.

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106

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024

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026

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Installation Space

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(026) 3D model of the folded surface as it relates to
the installation space (under the public space). Sliding
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ralls which extend from a back service / storage room
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slide out into the installation space. Monitors, micro­
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phones, lighting and other equipment can be fixed to

the rails from within the service room and then posi­
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tioned across the folded surface which becomes the

ceiling of this room.
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This installation space needed to be isolated from the

overhead sound. The noise-making ground surface
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above in built onto a concrete slab. Deep steel I beams

separate the upper surface from the lower one. In the
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space between the slab and the installation ceiling, a

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foam sound absorption material is used.

109
Site - Rupture - Programme ­
Materiality and Making
Variable Sound Environment

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A layer of structure is introduced to the underside of the

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highways which which manipulates reflections from the
open installation space. The acoustic environment of
this installation space can be adjusted to suite a par­
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ticular type of performance. The acoustic environment
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necessary for a live performance of sound / music (see
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project Wa by James Webb) would be different to the

environment necessary for a performance that makes
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use of a small number of monitors (see project OST by

James Webb).
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The acoustic panels have one reflective side and one

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absorbent side and can be rotated 360 degrees with a

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geared pulley system which is managed from a geared

control room by either the artist or a technician.
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The reflective surface of the panel is made of weather­

ing steel sheet. The absorbent side is constructed of a
perforated cork panel over a porous sound absorptive
material.

110

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 - - - - - . ... - . .-- .. - -- - - - - . --- --- - --- ­

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113

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In Conclusion

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Rem Koolhaas offers a suggestion of what it is to

To
intervene in the void,

"Imagining Nothingness is

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Pompeii - a city built with the absolute minimum of

walls and roof. ..

The Manhattan Grid - there a century before there was

a 'there' there.

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Central Park - a void that provoked the cliffs that now

define it. ..

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Broadacre City ...

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The Guggenheim.

Hilberseimer's 'Mid West' with its vast plains of zero­

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degree architecture ...

The Berlin wall ... " (1995:202)

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At the outset of this project, I could not project to an

expected result. My intention was to test whether

architecture can be applied to a situation to reveal the

potential that exists there. The process uncovered an

exploration of a specific space in Cape Town. This proj­

ect has been an imagining of what might have meaning

in the Space benaeth the N2 Highways.

115
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Bibliography

Angelil, M. (2003) Inchoate: An Experiment in Architectural Education. Barcelona Actar.

Baudrillard, J. & Nouvel, J. (2002) The Singular Objects of Architecture. Minnesota University of Minneapolis Press

Benjamin, A (2010). Porosity at the edge Working through Walter Benjamin's 'Naples'. In Walter Benjamin and Archi­

tecture. London Routledge.

Bishop, P. (1988) The Soul of the Bridge. Sphinx A Journal for Archetypal psychology and the arts (1) 68-114.

n
w
Bunschoten, R. (2001). Urban Flotsam Stirring the City. Rotterdam 010 Publishers.

To
Deleuze, G. & Guattari, F. (1987). A Thousand Plateaus. Minneapolis University of Minnesota Press.

e
ap
Franck, A & Stevens, O. (2007) Loose Space Possibility and Diversity in Urban Life. London Routledge.

Koolhaas, R. (1995) Imagining Nothingness. In S, M, L, XL. New York Monacelli Press.

of

Levebvre, H. (1991). The Production of Space. USA Blackwell

ity

Levesque, L. (2001). Le terrain vague comme materiau. Paysages (6) 16-18, June.

rs
ve

Levesque, L. (2001) Hyperpaysages: a I'affut de territoires reticulaires et mentaux. Photo CV (54) 5-6

ni

Levesque, L. (2003). Interstitial Landscapes as Resources. [Online]. Available:

ttp://www.amarrages.com/amarrages/amar_textes/amar_textes_eng.html[11 May 2011]

Pallasmaa, J. (2006). Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Architecture, 95(3):28-29
Ponnuswamy, S (2008). Bridge Engineering. New Dehli: Tata McGraw-Hili.

Purvis, R. (2003). Bridge Deck Joint Performance: A Synthesis of Highway Practice. Washington DC: Transportation
Research Board.

Ricketts, J., Loftin, M. & Merritt, F (2004) Standard Handbook for Civil Engineeers. New York: McGraw-Hili

Sola-Morales, I. (1995). Terrain Vague. In Anyplace. Cambridge MA MIT Press.

Tonias, D & Zha, J, (2007) Bridge Engineering: Design, Rehabilitation and Maintenance of Modern Highway Bridg­

es. New York: McGraw-Hili.

117
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APPENDIX

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Final presentation drawings; not to scale

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