Design Dissertation

For her Master of Architecture (Professional) design dissertation, Christine demonstrated how the implementation of a three- day music festival in Gugulethu, South Africa; one that is true to the identity of the area and its young adult inhabitants; can be used as a medium for social and environmental upliftment in youth culture.   Through an exploration of youth culture in Gugulethu and existing youth- orientated social initiatives, the design dissertation aims to understand how a large- scale event can be designed using a kit- of- parts of festival design parameters in relation to an architectural design inquiry. The inquiry focuses on the design of temporary, semi- permanent and permanent interactive festival architecture as a medium of creating new and dynamic public spaces relevant to existing recreational spaces and infrastructure that are significant to young adults living in Gugulethu.  This is achieved through a series of distributed interventions across a number of sites throughout Gugulethu, at different scales with different programmatic functions. By doing so, the design dissertation aims to connect, rejuvenate and in some cases restore existing recreational spaces and activities through a temporary three- day event that will benefit the youth and the community throughout the rest of the year.