“Places are not local things. They are moments in large-scale things, the
large-scale things we call cities. Places do not make cities. It is cities that
make places. The distinction is vital. We cannot make places without
understanding the cities.” (Hillier 1996:151)
This dissertation investigates the theoretical and practical importance of creating
social spaces in the city. In distinguishes between public spaces (spaces that
are merely accessible to society) and social spaces (spaces that encourage
encounters between strangers), social space is identified as an integrating space
that accommodates, adapts and relates to surrounding spaces. This contrasts public
space whose only criteria is often that it is an open space. A theoretical argument
explores the concept of ‘publicness’ in space and identifies practical design principles
that reflect this concept. The physical locality of the project is then analysed
where problems within the fabric of the city are identified. A series of local urban
interventions, constituting a regional intervention for the Johannesburg CBD, are
presented as a solution to these problems and a single intervention is then focused
on. The design process documents the transmitting of knowledge into object form;
design decisions are made intentionally and the final product is evaluated according
to a set of interrogated design criteria.
