African Design Magazine ADM #39 April 2018 | Page 51

AZA18
actions to protect their interests.
However, different social groups
have different possibilities and
political means to exert pressure,
so the most vulnerable ones are
often those who have to face
eviction or displacement due
to urban redevelopment. The
construction of Brasilia, capital-
city of Brazil, illustrates some of
these questions very well,” she
adds.
Marianne de Klerk of
Marianne de Klerk Architects
& Urban Designers says that
her presence as a Masterclass
presenter at AZA18 forms part
of bigger research project that
she is doing in collaboration
with New Urban. “We applied
for funding from the Dutch
government on, amongst
other things, the architectural
heritage within the CBD. We are
looking at the contested history
in CBD architecture and how
history and heritage functions,
leading through to a larger
push of revitalisation of the
CBD. As a result, we proposed
to do number of workshops
with stakeholders to promote
revitalisation and the Masterclass
will allow us to facilitate this.”
The research project involves
three key sites that are part
of the modernist architectural
history of the city: The Church
Square area with government
house, the State Theatre area,
the Women’s Memorial and
Schubert Museum. “We are also
analysing the connecting trade
patterns and arcade patterns
to determine how they are
interconnected. This will allow
us to develop amulti-pronged
strategy to revitalise the city.
This will bring many people
of various groups to the city
and will engage government
institutions and ordinary
people in the revitalisation
process.”
Keynote speaker and ‘The
495 CITY’ Masterclass
presenter Peter Barber,
is intrigued by South African
cities, which are naturally very
different from London. He is
keen to share his experience
with the South African market
and take back with him the
wealth of global and local input
expected at AZA18.
“Sometimes architects make
claims that are too great. I do
not believe that we can ‘build a
AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE © | APRIL 2018
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