This project was located in the Fringe /East City of the Cape Town CBD, on Harrington Square. The aim of the project was to use the knowledge we had gained of the Fringe thus far, and create architecture that is defined by its context.

 

The Fringe is characterised by its public realm. throughout history its been an area of controversy and segregation and in the ensuing years its become a part of the city left awkwardly untouched. Today, the Fringe still bear the marks of its social decline in the form of a fragmented urban fabric, with dilapidated buildings that seems as if forgotten.

 

However, in a new way people have started to rebuild, and lay claim to blank urban spaces. Through the mapping process we have learned how people have come to enjoy the open spaces and how they value the social environment that has slowly been remerging from the past.

This project set the challenge to create architecture that take its direction from the public realm but in turn defines the public realm.