In October 2012, at the launch of the City’s transport authority – Transport for Cape Town, the City of Cape Town and the University of Cape Town (UCT) signed an agreement of collaboration around the future of the foreshore precinct and the infamous unfinished foreshore freeways.
The partnership resulted in students of UCT’s Engineering and Built Environment Faculty working on creative concepts for the future of the unfinished freeways and the future foreshore precinct.
“We have been very excited about this collaboration and have lived with great anticipation of the kind of proposals we would receive. We placed no limitations and expressed very few expectations in terms of the outcomes – wanting to fully tap into the creativity and open minds of the students.
The foreshore is no doubt the most significant precinct in our city centre which, if treated correctly, has the potential to unlock enormous opportunities for the entire city and all of us who live here.
We are well into the World Design Capital (WDC) year and, with this project, we have the opportunity to demonstrate how a unique collaborative approach can resolve a unique and complex issue.
We have, in fact, demonstrated the theme for our WDC year – ‘Live Design, Transform Life’; and this is one of the official WDC projects.
We could quite easily have put a tender out in the market and awarded a contract for a conceptual framework for the foreshore, and I have no reason to believe that we wouldn’t have been pleased with the product, had we gone this usual route.
But we were not looking to be pleased and usual. We were looking to be excited by bold thinking, creative energy and unfettered concepts that are aligned with the economic, mobility and social realities that we grapple with every day.
I am very grateful to the University of Cape Town, Professor Petersen, and his team for the enthusiastic response to our request for assistance with this project. I am also very grateful to the students of UCT for having committed to employing their training, skills and open minds to conceptualise how our city could be different and better.
This morning I walked through the exhibition as the final elements were being put together. I saw some bold, exciting thinking and I am sure you will agree that the outcomes of this collaboration are as innovative as the process and evident of a new and different approach to City planning.
UCT has curated an exhibition which displays a sample of the work that was done by the students. The exhibition is intended to stimulate thinking, discussions and debate about the future of the foreshore precinct.
That debate and engagement is not just for the urban planners, engineers, architects or transport planners. We want this exhibition to encourage everyone to participate – especially our residents.
The exhibition will be open to the public until 25 April 2014 and I urge the people of Cape Town to visit it and engage with the ideas and proposals and have your say.
Whilst this project was made part of UCT’s academic curriculum, for us and for the millions who live, work and play in our city, this is not an academic exercise. We are looking for real solutions.
Once the exhibition has closed, UCT will hand all of the student work over to Transport for Cape Town for evaluation and adjudication. The work will be carefully considered by a range of professionals from across a number of disciplines who will also take into account the public feedback.
Depending on the outcome of the adjudication process, and further engagement with UCT and the students where possible, a concept for the future of the precinct will germinate. We expect that detailed specifications will form the basis of either a proposal call to undertake further investigative studies or for further development of a concept.”
From the address of Councillor Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Town, City of Cape Town at the opening of the exhibition at the City Hall, Darling Street, Cape Town.
PROGRAMME
Date Time Event
15 April 12:30 Presentation by World Design Capital CEO, Alayne Reesburg
17:30 ‘Towards a low-carbon central city’ – Cape Town Partnership and panel
16 April 10:00 – 13:00 UCT Electrical Engineering students present their work on ideas for Smart Cities, using the Foreshore
17:30 ‘The old Cape Town pier’ – Barrie Gasson, University of Cape Town
22 April 13:00 – 14:00 ‘Re-presencing absence in the foreshore’ – proposals by students from UCT’s Bachelors of Architectural Studies (Honours) 2013
17:30 ‘Climate Change, Cape Town and King Canute: the risk of sea level rise to the City of Cape Town’ by Anton Cartwright (ACC-UCT) and Darryl Colenbrander (CCT)
23 April 13:00 – 14:00 ‘Re-presencing absence in the foreshore’ – proposals by students from UCT’s Bachelors of Architectural Studies (Honours) 2013
17:30 Presentation by the City’s Commissioner: Transport for Cape Town, Melissa Whitehead, ‘Innovate Partnership Process’
24 April 13:00 – 14:00 ‘Re-presencing absence in the foreshore’ – proposals by students from UCT’s Bachelors of Architectural Studies (Honours) 2013
17:30 ‘Engineering, myths and the unfinished foreshore freeways’, Lisa Kane, UCT Honorary Research Associate
25 April 13:00 – 14:00 ‘Re-presencing absence in the foreshore’ – proposals by students from UCT’s Bachelors of Architectural Studies (Honours) 2013
17:30 Presentation by the City’s Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Town, Councillor Brett Herron
Anyone who attends the exhibition is encouraged to provide comment and feedback. They can also do so via the City’s Future Foreshore website
PHOTO CREDIT: Bruce Sutherland, City of Cape Town
