Browsing by Author "Cloete, Magdalena Catharina."

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Architecture and childhood development : towards establishing architectural design guidelines for children's environments in South Africa.
(2016) Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.; Harber, Rodney.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.
The research in terms of Architecture and Childhood Development is based on an understanding that Architecture serves society and has the potential to impact positively on children. The research is grounded in a postmodern theoretical enquiry, and the primary purpose of architecture is established as the process of creating places for people to dwell. The concern with childhood development and more specifically Early Childhood Development relates to the universally recognised potential of changing society through early intervention and provision of quality childhood development. The research relates to the principles of The UN Convention of The Rights of The Child, and aims to initiate the transformation of the architectural design of spaces for children, to achieve a positive impact on childhood development for children in South Africa. The research problem is defined in terms of the concept of the built environment and how it impacts on childhood development, seldom considered in the provision of Early Childhood Development in South Africa. The key question is: How can architectural design provide nurturing and stimulating environments that influence the care, education and development of children between the ages of 0-6 in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa? The research methodology includes a literature review, policy analysis and collective case study. The literature review examines the theoretical framework of phenomenology and perceptual theory, as well as concepts of placemaking, dwelling, child development theories, and educational studies relating to children’s spaces. The key concepts of Responsiveness, the Third Teacher and Community are established. The methodology of The Pattern Language and design guidelines from the UK and Australia are investigated to assist the understanding of these concepts translated into architecture. The policy analysis reviews the Rights of The Child, as well as ECD implementation both universally and in South Africa. The case study highlights the methods of translating the theoretical concepts of Responsiveness, Third Teacher and Community within the Kwa-Zulu Natal context as implemented by architects. The research concludes with a framework for the design guideline for children’s environments in South Africa.
Architecture to enhance medical research innovation: a proposed cancer research institute for Richards Bay.
(2019) Pillay, Lenisha.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
The focal point of the research of Architecture and Innovation, in the field of Medical Research, is based primarily on how architecture and the way we design spaces affect our productivity as human beings. The research of data available, can help to improve and enhance the process of innovation in the research environment. The literature explored is underpinned by both educational and architectural theories, that provide a means and a method that can be implored in order to improve the way we design spaces. This focuses on how architecture can improve the experience of the individual, creating an environment more conducive to better interaction, collaboration and engagement in a shared learning process. This would then substantially improve the morale of individuals within the space, creating a more cohesive unit, ultimately improving productivity. The research problem essentially stems from the idea of architecture and the built environment. It focuses on the effect architecture and the built environment possesses on the process of creativity and innovation and how, this is often disregarded. The key question is therefore: What is the relationship between architectural spatial design and an innovative working environment in the field of research? The research methodology includes analysis of safety protocols, a comprehensive literature review that explores what is currently in existence, both abroad and in the form of case studies. The literature review examines the theoretical framework of phenomenology and social constructivism, while also paying attention to concepts such as: Liminal Space, The Watercooler Effect and Third Place. These key areas start to focus on learning as a social activity, and how architecture and the built environment can begin to support this. Ultimately, the research presented informs the design for a cancer research institute where the process of innovation through enhancing the creative process, through architecture is at its core.
Exploring the role of the built environment in redefining Durban’s water culture: a proposed recreation hub and Maritime museum for Durban harbour.
(2017) Achary, Dhiantha.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
Water controls life on earth as a natural asset. This is just as applicable within the urban setting. An element which is equally enabling as it is incapacitating, water is constantly shaping the way we experience life on earth. The successful operating of the urban environment depends fundamentally on the efficient movement of water into and out of the city. While in urban settings, water is often concealed and controlled to create the illusion of a hydrophobic space, the hidden waterways which run below the surface of cities are proof that water is still a part of our everyday lives. The relationship between architecture and water is constantly evolving, and the design of modern cities does not always cater to the integrity of water and its natural sources. The dichotomous relationship between architecture and nature further reinforces this disassociation of people water and architecture. This document aims to explore how architecture can adapt and transform to enable a better water culture within cities, so as to protect natural sources and ensure a more resilient city.
Exploring visual impairment through the built environment.
(2023) Mancotywa, Mbuso.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
Visual impairment can present itself as a tough challenge in a human's life, and navigating the built environment independently is often one of the biggest obstacles to be approached. Not being able to perceive the environment around one and having an absence of a strong relationship or bond to the spaces one encounters leads to visually impaired people feeling lost in space. These issues get exacerbated by the gross insufficiencies of the built environment in its response to being inclusive for the visually impaired. This is often caused by the modern architectural approach, which did not factor in significant consideration for the other senses within their designs and favoured an ocular-centric approach that gave much preference to the sense of sight in architecture. As a result of the isolation in space, visually impaired people end up being excluded from the built environment and even other activities that may take place within buildings due to the lack of inclusivity within many different architectural typologies. This dissertation will explore how the built environment can respond more to visual impairment. The framework of the research will be formulated through the literature covering the theories of Phenomenology, Place theory, Universal Design and Multi-sensory design. These theories will more profoundly explore the human senses' role in the perception of the built environment. Understanding how architecture can respond will assist in making the built environment more inclusive for the visually impaired and strengthen the relationship of the senses to space to make architectural design more meaningful.
Facilitating adult learning through responsive architecture: the design of a community education & training centre in Bridge city town centre, Durban.
(2021) Gumede, Thobani Zakhele Edwin.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
The Department of Higher Education and Training (2017) affirms that many South African adults in townships lack primary formal education. They in-turn have fewer employment opportunities especially in this digital era, resulting in negative outcomes society in general (de los Angeles, 1919). The current public institutions for adult education and training lack both capacity and institutional identity. The aim of this study is to investigate how didactic architecture could be applied to develop a contextually responsive design for adult education, within a township condition. It was envisioned that the design of a CET Centre, utilising didactic architecture principles would provide reprieve to a strained sector of the department. The study is underpinned by the Environmental Psychology field along with Place Theory, Critical Regionalism and Social Cognitive Theory. This research entails a literature review, local and international precedents, a local case study in Zwide, Port Elizabeth. The research site is within KZN Community Education and Training (CET) Centres within the Bridge City area, and its immediate surrounding townships (Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu and Phoenix). The method of data collection included questionnaires as well as interview schedules. The findings indicate that the location of an educational facility has paramount importance, as it needs to link the community to the facility and the facility to the community. an understanding of the unique parameters of the site, the context, movement patterns, client, desired uses, culture, ethnicity, and the vernacular elements of that community, develops the best architectural design solutions for educational facilities. Adult learners require dedicated learning environments that possess an institutional identity and are independent of the mainstream children’s education. These environments must be articulated, universally accessible, well lit, well ventilated, and offer quiet spaces for individual study. Adult learners require workshops suitable for vocational skills, libraries and outdoor learning environments designed with an educational value. Toilets are to be located in close proximity to all learning spaces. All learning spaces are to be specified with comfortable and ergonomic furniture, at a suitable scale. Shape, form, colour, daylight, acoustics, air quality, ventilation, didactic architectural expressions, soft nurturing environments, and environments of curiosity and discovery stimulate learning.
The influence of child self-directed learning on the built environment: towards a primary school in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.
(2020) Kashit, Anthony Musevu.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
The contemporary architecture of learning environments in the city of Lubumbashi still supports a system of education that has been proven to limit passion and creativity in children. This system emerged during the first industrial revolution as Europe was adopting the process of mass production in manufacturing. The revolution came with a great demand for factory labour that contributed to transforming education into an act of predominantly transferring knowledge, hence creating a parallelism between teaching and factory production. Coupled with regional factors, the association of school with factories in Lubumbashi resulted in a type of places of learning with spatial qualities that do not account for the individual and the collective aspect of learning in children. Subsequently, formal, and restrictive spaces became the norm in primary schools such that children are not motivated about conventional schools. Therefore, this work looks at alternative ways of designing primary schools by exploring the relationship between the pedagogy of child self-directed learning (CSDL) and the built environment, within the context of Lubumbashi. To achieve this aim, the research starts with the question of How child self-directed can influence the Built Environment To understand the ontological relationship between education and built form, the research is primarily situated in an interpretive (constructivist) paradigm. Therefore, primary, and secondary data has been processed from an integral theory that includes the different aspect of human experience of the built environment. While experiential learning theory was applied to provide depth to the human experience, critical regionalism theory was employed to underline the contextual aspect school. Hence, two case studies were analysed. The first school, which is in Lubumbashi, has been studied for the purpose of understanding contextual factors that influence the architecture of the learning environment. The second school, which is in Durban, helped empirically explore the relationship between child self-directed learning and the built environment. Finally, this work demonstrates that the relationship between Child self-directed learning and the built environment reveals new spatial conditions that integrate the individual, the collective and the contextual aspect of leaning.
The influence of youth rural-urban migration on architecture and urbanism: towards an employment indigenous skill centre in Durban.
(2022) Sithole, Thulisile Nomthandazo.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
Rural-urban migration has a huge impact on urbanization, population distribution and settlement. Young adults migrate in search of better opportunities in education and employment (Muhwava W. et al, 2010). People perceive cities to have better living and working conditions. These migrants generally do not possess the skills or the education to enable them to find and secure employment in the formal sector, and they must settle for work in the informal sector which is mainly informal trading (Timalsima, 2007:1). This largely impacts on the urban fabric and the architecture provided in the cities to service the needs for the population. Rural urban migration also contributes to a lot of social issues that affect the city’s population. Rural-urban migration is attributed to the idea that urban areas have better economic conditions and opportunities. This is the pulling factor that attracts rural people into the cities. Political and social factors and conditions also play a big role in drawing people into cities. This causes a big shift in architecture and the provision of services in big cities, causing housing backlogs etc. This study aims to explore the influence of rural-urban migration on architecture and urbanism as means for creating a skill’s centre for the youth of Durban. The study investigates the role of culture and identity in restoring and preserving local identity through the built environment, as well as providing opportunities for sustainable economic development for rural-urban migrants. The need to develop local cultural identities in order to build environments and ensure that these are expressed in a progressive and dynamic manner in order to express culture as a dynamic evolving organ rather than a static dogma, ensuring versatility and significance to future generations. It will also highlight the importance of heritage and cultural preservation through built form. Culture is reflected through history and forms part of buildings, artefacts that form part of the traditional built environment which is how rural urban migrants read urban spaces (Mensah O, 2012:18). Cultural identity plays an important role in the preservation of indigenous knowledge skills, knowledge systems and their conservation (Hoppers, 2002). The research investigates how culture, tradition, and built environments can be integrated to create a meaningful environment that is an epitome of and responds to people's needs. The study will be conducted in Durban one of South Africa’s major port city that is home to the largest industrial hub after Gauteng. Durban is in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The study will focus on the area of Stamford Hill (co-ordinates -29.0846906, +31.031977). It is in an urban setting. The area is affected with high concentrations of informal settlements and lacks integration in the overall Durban economy. The area is affected by issues of low levels of literacy and skills development and a lot of unsuitable development practices. Durban is deeply divided in terms of social inequality with almost 70 % of its population residing on the periphery of the CBD in peri urban areas. In Durban, peri-urban areas can be identified along the threshold between the CBD and the immediate surrounding suburbs and rural areas outside the urban development line. Indigenous knowledge and the integration of knowledge systems, the promotion and conservation of these systems is important (Hoppers,2002:1). To empower and develop people, these systems help in finding human a human-cantered vision of development and preservation of basic human rights and the alleviation of poverty (Hoppers,2002:3). Sustainable human development that is built on these systems that exist in communities helps promote societies and development that benefits generations (Hoppers, 2002:3). The loss of these cultural reference points sometimes leads to a breakdown in societies (Hoppers, 2002:3). These systems can be used to benefit the youth. The precedent studies looked at are the BAT Centre in Durban and the Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre in Qunu (Eastern Cape). These precedents will explore the concepts of identity and the role that architecture plays in instilling national pride and identity while reinforcing the importance of skills development. The materials and the celebration of identity in creating place. The relationship between architecture and heritage and the role it plays in economical growth.
A responsive architectural strategy for the generations of smart communities: an integrated tech hub in Welbedacht, Durban.
(2018) Dockrat, Saadiyah.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
The social and economic development of peri-urban communities are often overlooked by government contributing to a centralized development approach. This approach encourages migration to areas with more opportunity, preventing development of the underserved community. The uneven distribution of developmental resources and facilities leads to the manifestation of the assumption that opportunities to progress are centralized to certain areas of the city. This divide affects the communities’ morale to empower themselves within their locale thereby hindering their development and growth. In order for South Africa to foster a developmental state, it is vital to create initiatives in underserved peri-urban communities such as Welbedacht, that are more inclusive and empower individuals to control their own development. The theories presented in this research is an attempt to understand how architecture, responding to current issues in peri-urban communities, can act as a social agency for change to help enable, integrate and empower underserved peri-urban communities. Answering the research question, “What is the role of the built environment in enabling, integrating and empowering communities?” Place theories are applied to understanding people; linkage theories are applied in order to understand the needed infrastructure and theories of Socio-Ecological Resilience is applied in order to understand the design principles needed to achieve a holistically responsive architecture. Unilaterally connected, the theories will be applied so that connection between the theories provide a design strategy for sustainable development of smart peri-urban communities Explored in the research is architectural examples that encompass the principles identified through literature review, tectonic, technique and technology. Although the context of the precedent has similarities, no site is the same and therefore the community of Welbedacht is explored in detail (social, economic and environmental context). With an aim of sustainable development, the research focuses on a design outcome to encourage and facilitate active participation of citizens in the development of their communities.
The suitability of contemporary church design for Christian gatherings and worship – a regional analysis.
(2018) Williams, Walter Hurst.; Cloete, Magdalena Catharina.
The core of this thesis is seeking to find the most appropriate and successful architectural responses which best support the contemporary local church (the term ‘church’ defines a body of believers who meets regularly together for worship). To be able to put forward advice or direction in this regard the thesis firstly presents a clear brief of what is required for a church to be successful. It looks at such questions as: ‘How does one gauge a successful church biblically?’, and ‘What is a local church called to do?’ The Literature Review section of this thesis attempts to answer the above questions by looking at all relevant Biblical instruction on the subject. It then continues to look at all Biblical comment on design and construction of places of worship, including the Tabernacle and the Temple as described in the Old Testament, and their relevance, if any, to contemporary church design. The Literature Review then looks at the history of church architecture. It is a vast subject, therefore the review will only focus on the direct ‘ancestors’ of the current churches we have in South Africa and in particular Kwazulu-Natal. Questions that are dealt with are: ‘Why were churches built like this?’, ‘Did they work?’, and ‘Are they still relevant today?’ The Literature Review also touches on Indigenous African, as well as more recent church architectural design, and its appropriateness to the contemporary church. The primary research for this thesis consists of a case study of ten churches in KwaZulu-Natal from various denominational and cultural backgrounds, looking at the reasons behind the design of each, and which aspects of each design are successful. The findings and observations are based on interviews with pastors or church elders from each of the churches, as well as the author’s own observations from attending church services in each of the ten churches. Some of the areas that are discussed and grappled with are: The holiness of beautiful architecture, the importance of volume and light in the main worship space (and how the emergence of a strong audio visual element is impacting this), the importance of the building catering for young families, how successful fellowship areas help church attendance, and the ever present problem of acoustics. Each of the buildings is analysed in terms of its architectural merits and functional successes. Going from large to small scale architecturally, each area of each church is looked at. These results are then analysed together, looking for trends and synergy in the various areas and distilling what emerges as the most important aspects of each area. The thesis concludes by emphasising the importance of well thought out church architectural planning in a contemporary culture that is fickle and far less denominationally committed than previous generations.