Thorntree View Summary

Content/
1 overview
gwastudio U3
2 site
3 Precedent study
4 approach
5 principles of design
6 residential blocks and buildings
7 routes
8 green structure
9 urban structure
10 activity corricors
11 densities
Thorntree View, A New Master Plan for Soshanguve
Thorntree View is synonymous with one of the single largest residential developments in Gauteng within the
boundaries of the City of Tshwane. The establishment of at least 30,000 households will be complemented by
the development of social- and economic amenities, enabling the community to interact effectively with one
another.
Modern town planning philosophies backed by proper urban design criteria form the backbone of the implementation of a sustainable human settlement.
The present Development cost value is in excess of Two (2) Billion Rand and we propose to finish the bulk of the
Development in three years! Funding for Phase one is at this time contractually secured with R650m by Dept.
Housing/ Tshwane, R200m by the S.A.C.S fund and funding in excess of R500m for bonded housing and associated products! The funds are being expended as we speak!
12 spacial places
13 roads
14 urban agriculture, parks, and public spaces
Bouwer Serfontein, architect /
U3/04
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
U3/03
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
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Site
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The Thorntree View project is located just north of the
Rosslyn Industrial Area, north-west of the city centre of
Pretoria in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, located on just over 1,200ha.
1 Africa continent
The area of development is ideally situated along major
access routes such as the R80 (Mabopane Highway),
joining the N4 Platinum Highway on its eastern boundary. The railway line between Mabopane and Pretoria
dominates the western boundary of the estate.
3 Soshanguve
Thorntree View will become a modern residential extension to the south of Soshanguve, consisting of well over
24,000 residential housing units. An approximate 6,000
houses have been developed since 1994, including a
total of 1,000 fully subsidized houses. The Development
also falls within the new proposed priority node as part
of the Tshwane Mayors and Housings Ministers delivery
initiatives.
2 South Africa/ Gauteng/ Soshanguve
Precedent study
Brickfields, Newtown. Since it was established in 1995
the JHC has devoted itself to this cause, creating 1 842
housing units in or near the city, either by refurbishing
existing buildings or building them from scratch. As its
brochure boldly states, the JHC is “committed to regenerate the Johannesburg inner city through the provision
of quality, value for money accommodation and service
for all who choose to live there, in a manner that is both
sustainable and promotes growth”.
History has shown, adds Adler, that a residential
component is a crucial part of inner city revival, as has
happened in cities like New York, Chicago and London.
“If you want a 24-hour city, you need people living in
it,” he says. The concept of social housing implies some
kind of government assistance and much of the capital
for JHC’s buildings has come from foreign funding and
government housing subsidies.
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1 South-east view
2 View from parking
3 View from courtyard
4 North elevation
(source unknown)
U3/06
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
U3/05
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
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Approach
Social dynamics: A community led process is followed
to adress a number of key challenges, includes transportation, housing, community facilities. It is important
to include the local people of Soshanguve into the
design and development process. It is also useful to
delve into the local Tshwane history to understand how
the place has evolved over time.
Place: Everywhere is somewhere. An assessment of
the roles and relationship of the project area to its
strategic context, together with an appreciation of the
individual characteristics of form and the way a place
is used were done. It can be concluded therefore that
Soshanguve, a edge community for the City of Tshwane
is a former “black” township previously designed for
migrant workers. Today the township has become
a city in itself, housing a large portion of the total
Tshwane population.
1 Conceptual vision: Thorntree View productive landscape in 2025
Urban cores: Mixed use cores/ centers with the highest
concentrations of activity emerge along major movement networks.
2 The people of Soshanguve
Density: Densification in the project area should focus
on urban cores and along major movement networks.
Areas targeted for densification should be well served
by public transport, social facilities, open and recreational space.
(2_source:Beeld)
Housing: The project will be a sustainable development due to the access to public facilities and choice
of housing typologies. Multiple housing options for
the inhabitants which insures greater choice for the
residents of Soshanguve include, Bonded [one-houseone-plot], Gap [one-house-one-plot], Full subsidized
[semi-detached, row housing], Rental [2-3 storey walkup], Shacks [legal and illegal erected]
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3 Sustainable urban development
U3/08
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
U3/07
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
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At the present time, regardless of the way in
which housing is delivered, the essentialformfree-standing houses on plots- is the same and
monotony is ensured
The plan refelcts a collection of activities around
a system of squares, private gardens, communal
gardens: the activities are closely integrated into
the life of the community.
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Principles of design
Places for people: Thorntree View will become a safe,
comfortable, varied and attractive place for people. The
distinctive nature, variety and choice offer opportunities
for meeting people and creating good living environments.
1 Clustered nodal development
2 Incorrect block and street approach
3 Correct block and street approach
Enrich the existing: The new project will enrich the
qualities of the existing context and a distinctive
responce will encouraged that arises from and compliments the setting. This implies to every scale: the
region, the neigbourhood and the street.
Mix uses and forms: The demands from the widest
range of users, amenities and social groups will be
met through the project of stimulating, enjoyable and
convenient places. Thus, different building forms, uses,
tenures and densities will be woven together.
Community life: In order to create a successful community a full range of local services and facilities, including commercial, educational, health, spiritual and civic
uses will be developed. Places and spaces where a
variety of activities can take place, will form the backbone of the development.
Making connections: Careful considerations will also
be given to pedestrianisation, cycling and public transport in order for the development to be accessible and
integrated.
Work with the landscape: The project will aim to strike
a balance between the natural and man made environ-
ment and strive to utilise the sites intrinsic resources
- the climate, landform, landscape and ecology - to
maximise energy conservation and amenity.
(1_source:unknown)
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4 Typical block and street layout
U3/10
U3/09
Block size
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
Small is beautiful. In considering the
optimal size of the development block, a
trade-off has to be struck between the ease
of access, the ability to sustain a variety of
buildings types and uses, and the ability to
change and adapt over time.
Block shape
Shape for change. Square blocks are
generally thought to offer the most flexibility basis for accommodating a range of
commercial and residential buildings and
more options for internal treatment.
Block interiors
Internal flexibility. Perimeter block structure enables a variety of interior treatments,
including service yards and car parks, private and communal gardens with children’s
play spaces, houses with workshops, a park
or a civic squares.
Blocks
Routes
Primary routes
Special places
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Residential blocks and buildings
Face the street: The most fundamental requirement in
structuring built form within development blocks is to
make a clear distinction between public fronts and private backs. Buildings which front streets, squares and
parks present their public face to the outside world and
give life to it. Public fronts and private backs are made
distinct when primary access is from the street, the
principal frontage. Where this principle is not followed,
stand-alone pavilion buildings often expose blank sides,
car parking and rear servicing to the street.
Line the perimeter: Lining the edges of blocks
with perimeter buildings is the best way to accommodate a diversity of building types and uses at
medium-high densities, while ensuring that buildings relate positivity to the public realm.
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1 Residential blocks, special places, and buildings
Secondary routes
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Routes
Successful project depends on good access and connections. The connections, primary and secondary
routes, between the project site and its surroundings
are important. To integrate the site with its surroundings, it is first necessary to analyze existing point of
access and linkages for both movement and infrastructure.
A successful movement network provides the
maximum choice for how people will make their
journeys, takes full account of the kinds of movement and makes clear connections to existing
routes and facilities.
The primary and secondary movement routes
therefore make it as easy and attractive to walk,
cycle or take the bus or train, as it is to travel by
car.
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1 Movement routes
U3/12
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
U3/11
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
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Primary green corridors
Green spaces
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Green structure
A quality landscape and a sense of urbanism can, and
should, go hand in hand. The landscape, blocks and
buildings, and movement framework are the main design elements of an urban project like Thorntree View.
Landscape consideration is given to the design of open
spaces, water, movement corridors, parks, squares,
streets and street furniture, hard and soft spaces.
A key design principle is to treat everything as
landscape, buildings define the edge of space,
landscape occupies the space, whether it is a park,
a street, a fence or a pavement. Provide a variety
of open space types is necessary to assess the
quality of existing provisions in the wider context,
and use this as the basis for deciding on the elements of a proposed open space hierarchy.
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1 Green structure
Noordaansig
Urban structure
Urban structure refers to the pattern or arrangement
of development blocks, streets, buildings, open space
and landscape which make up urban areas. It is the
interrelationship between all these elements, rather
than their particular characteristics that bond together
to make a place.
Thorntree View’s urban structure provides the foundations for detailed design of the constituent elements. It
creates a coherent framework, which forms the basis
of the design of individual areas within the project area
and achieve the following:
_Integration with the surrounding areas.
_Funcitonal efficiency so that individual elements work together.
_Environmental harmony that are energy efficient and ecological sensitive.
_A sense of place that is a recognizable distinct.
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1 Urban structure
2 Klip-Kruisfontein Urban Core
3 Commercial and legislative nodes
4 Special places
U3/14
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
U3/13
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
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Activity corridors
Routes gives life and activity corridors are the arteries
of the city and Thorntree View. Corridors are determined as main routes through its relationship to the
nodes of activity or centers. Accessibility within this
corridors and how easy it is for people to travel and the
choice they have about how they travel are important
for urban mobility and connectivity.
Pedestrian and vehicular through-movement are an opportunity to create lively, viable mixed-use, rather than
a problem to be re-routed.
What matters is that corridors, wherever possible,
movement on foot, by bicycle or by public transport
should be as easy and convenient as using a car. The
car should not be excluded from activity corridors, what
is needed is an appropriate balance between traffic and
other to create attractive, lively, safe and interesting
places.
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1 Macro context
2 Micro context
3 Micro context
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Densities
Recent moves towards the creation of sustainable
places that offer a high quality of life whilst minimizing
resource consumption, energy and water and land, are
the density concept of the project. Density is only a
measure, it is a product of design, not a determinant of
it. The aim should therefore be not to achieve a given
residential density, but rather to generate a critical
mass of people able to support urban services such as
public transport, shops, schools and churches.
Thorntree View, located on 1200 Ha of prime positioned
land close to the CBD, is a extension to the low residential density of Soshanguve South. An approximate 6000
houses have been developed pre 1994, all under dogmatic urban apartheid policy and thinking. Densification from 17 000 household to 30 000 households with
balanced urban services and amenities is envisaged.
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1 Density framework
U3/16
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
U3/15
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
School/ church arranged around a public
scuare and buisness opportunity
Community centre
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School/ model change/ sharing sports facilities/
creche/ church
Business/ commercial node
School/ model change/ market arranged
around public square
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Special places
Special places refer to the grouping of public amenities,
that include schools, clinics, nurseries and churches,
around a public space.
Public services and amenities support residents and
workers, and provide focal elements of the urban
structure that help to encourage a strong sense of community and identity. Nurseries, libraries, community
centres, police and fire stations, government offices are
the best placed at the central points in highly visible
locations. Public squares can be used to emphasise
their civic status.
Both the scale and the mix of uses the special places
contains will depend on where the scheme sits in
relation to the urban hierarchy. Mixing tenures around
these special places promotes social diversity and it is
important to spread different building types and tenures
across this range.
1 Micro context/ special places
A comfortable and stimulating public realm, special
places, that encourages social interaction requires
detailed attention to the structure of a space and the
elements it contains. The best public spaces often have
nodes of activity, complimented by quit zones for rest
and people watching. Deciding the relative positioning
of activity areas requires attention to:
Visibility, to enable people to have views across spaces.
Orientation, north facing sunny and well sheltered spots
with seating.
Facilities for sitting and stopping in public spaces.
Places for child ren and the elderly. It is particularly
important near housing to create spaces for children to
play and for parents and cares to meet.
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1 Approach to school layout
2 Special place_school
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U3/17
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
20-25m Road
16m Road
10-12m Road
8-3m Road
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Roads
1 Movement routes network
2 3m Tertiary route
3 10m Internal route
4 16m Internal route
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5 25m Primary route
6 20m Secondary route
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Urban agriculture, parks and public squares
All sites are habitats.
Thorntree View offers suggestions on how urban
agriculture could shape the urban form and contribute
towards safe public space making. Key urban strategies to create magnetic and unique agriculture and
food precincts and community places where food is
celebrated is explored.
Provision is made for a variety of opens space
types, including urban agriculture and parks and
public spaces, and a planting framework is established for the project. A variety of parkland distributed within the urban area ensures a range of
recreational needs within close proximity to homes
and placed of work.
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1 Micro context
2 Productive landscape
3 Food security diagram
4 Green cycle
U3/20
november 007
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GWA Studio
Van Zyl & Benade Planners
Bigen Africa [civil]
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Bigen Africa [electrical]
Safdev SSDC [town planning]
Ivan Pauw & Partners [legal]
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Towards medium density housing: design for change
The provision of freestanding freehold houses cannot
be sustained and there is a need for end-users, government and civil society to change attitudes towards
medium-density housing. Designed medium housing
typologies allow for flexible ground floor plans that
could adapt easily to work/ life housing typologies.
1 The vehicle
2 The playground
3 The garden
Thorntree View leads the way in medium density housing proposals and a compact urban form. A range of
housing types and tenure alternatives are suggested,
they include:
_Full subsidized housing, single/semi-detached/
row houses
_Gap housing [partly subsidized], single/
semi-detached houses
_Bonded housing, single residential houses
_Residential 3 [rental/ social housing], walk-up
3-4 storey buildings
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4 Future impression
Gary White
Bouwer Serfontein
Louis Wright
Marinda Smalberger
Piet van Zyl
Villiers Strauss
Llewellyn Jacobs
Jeannie van Zyl
Johan Victor
Theo Pieters
Yusuf Ebrahim
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
Thorntree View, Soshanguwe
U3/19
gwa U3