Architecture without Land : access to land, secured with land tenure as development strategy in critical neighbourhoods, in South Africa

Abstract

Architecture without Land postulates the role of architecture without the promise of the ownership of land. It investigates the provision of land, secured with land tenure, as a development strategy in critical neighbourhoods, specifi cally Westbury, Johannesburg. It is situated within the urban land question and opportunity of land, characterised by continual redevelopment within strict urban boundaries and multiplicity of use, and addresses the fragments of apartheid city planning, particularly the question of ownership of land. Title deeds are not always practical or appropriate solutions. Fixed ownership could stagnate the process of continual redevelopment of land and hence of the social development in a low income neighbourhood. The opportunity of land tenure, as opposed to ownership, aids fl exibility and appropriation by tenants including the continual redevelopment of a site. Tenure of land, allows the tenant organisation to expand, insert or subtract their built manifestation in relationship to their economic conditions, reducing ineffi cient land use. This approach responds to change in mainly two ways; internal changeability (Architecture host to change) and external changeability (Land host to change). Land host to change; orders the permanent (stable) built fabric, predetermining structure, service and external space. Tenant dependency on stable built fabric (architecture as method) is articulated in a scale understanding of facility and connection (service point). This interaction is expressed in use of space, fi t-out, infi ll and/or insert with the condition of easy removal at end of use. Access to land and space are vital to the project as poverty is deeply spatial and ownership of land intertwined with the legacy of apartheid. This dissertation will focus on the appropriation of land, tested with social infrastructure such as early childhood development, mothers training, shisa nyama, a medical unit supported by affordable rental housing, hosted in a 66m by 36m land parcel, supporting compact city development and densifi cation in the suburb of Westbury Johannesburg.