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_infill

Part 1 Project 2003
Jacques Kleynhans
Kate Lynham
University of Pretoria | South Africa
_infill
Information centre for international exchange students

Pretoria, the South African capital, is a fragmented sprawl framed by low hills. The site of our intervention is in Queen Street, which links two main thoroughfares leading to Church Square, the historic city centre.

Given difference in language and cultural background, exchange students find rudimentary communication trying. The premise of _infill is to offer an alternative language, of spatially dynamic interfaces reacting to manual user input.

Jacques Kleynhans
Kate Lynham


The project is nominated because it offers an intriguing object for architectural criticism. The solution is unconventional and participates in an architectural dialogue, investigating current theory, local relevance and context. The transient nature of the brief is translated into an evolving construction rather than a conventional building. Interactivity of electronic media informs the design, which itself becomes interactive with its users. The choice of site enhances the theme and transforms an awkward service space in the city into a significant gathering place. As an intentionally abstract design, it avoids cultural references. Architectural issues are integrated and resolved form conception to tectonic resolution, while the final product addresses questions pertinent to the local and global.

Tutor(s)

2003
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