Says Marguerite Pienaar of the University of Pretoria’s Department of Architecture, “The right to adequate housing, as one of the most important of all basic human rights, is recognised in a number of international human rights instruments and treaties, yet we have made very little progress in the delivery of new approaches to housing densities and resultant typologies.
“Ultimately, we must choose to make cities sustainable and resilient, and it is within this context that architecture should address basic human rights. Through issues of resilience focused on the larger discussion of the socio-economic implications of housing provision, WeTheCity considers that the future of our cities is practically the future of our humanity.”
Providing a highly participatory platform for envisioning scenarios of change, #AZA18 will host several activities that will question the nature of architecture in contributing to society and sustainable city development.
The relationship between modernist architectural and urban heritage, the legacy of apartheid planning, inner city revitalisation and public space will be presented by Marianne de Klerk Architects & Urban Designers and Holm Jordaan through four integrated events – an exhibition titled ‘Pretoria Inner City: Formation and Transformation’, a seminar session titled ‘Modernist Heritage and Reimagining of the Inner City’, a walking tour and a Master Class.
“Vital urban issues such as the right to the city, the richly layered and often contested heritage of key sites, and the impact of informality and more inclusive use of spaces will be explored through these integrated experiences,” explains De Klerk.
The seminar session will be chaired by Professor Hannah le Roux of the Wits School of Architecture & Planning, and participants include keynote speaker Professor Maria-Fernanda Derntl from the University of Brasilia as well as Dr Kees Somer and Professor Marieke Kuipers from the Delft University of Technology, Dr Emmanuel Nkambule from TUT and Johannesburg-based architect Tanzeem Razak.
#AZA18 is hosted by the South African Institute of Architects and co-hosted by the University of Pretoria (UP) and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). Registered architectural professionals attending the two-day conference will be awarded one Category One CPD credit for each full day of attendance. Masterclasses and tours will carry additional Category One CPD credits.
For more info, go to www.architectureza.org.
