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Building urban utopias : Martin Kruger. -
Building urban utopias : Allée Bleue provided an array of delicious wine throughout the event. -
Building urban utopias : Etienne Britz from Etienne Britz Architects and Shaun Mahoney from StudioMas Architects. -
Building urban utopias : Gaynor Owen (CSM Consulting Services), Mark Sandham (Improvair Environmental Solutions), Carolyn Helfenstein and Aram Lello, both from DHK Architects. -
Building urban utopias : Martin used Venice as an example of a city that brings the urban into the home and the home into the city. -
Building urban utopias : The rows of homes in Mexico create a hub-bub of activity. People will walk rather than drive and everyone knows their neighbour. -
Building urban utopias : The One and Only hotel proved to be the perfect venue for the lunch-time talk. -
Building urban utopias : Martin kept the audience enthralled with his interesting views and suggestions. -
Building urban utopias : VISI's Alma Viviers introduced Martin to the room of architects and enthusiasts. -
Building urban utopias : A successful event left everyone feeling inspired.
PHOTOS: Shavan Rahim/NMP Photography | WORDS: Remy Raitt
In a talk held at the V&A Waterfront this week, architect Martin Kruger shared valuable ideas on how cities can become homes, and homes can become cities.
Held this week at Reuben’s at the One and Only Hotel in the V&A Waterfront, Martin used a collection of his own and sourced photos to show the audience how “cities can become homes, and homes can become cities”. By increasing the population of dwellers in urban areas, public spaces will become more apparent, while urban residential areas will become the hub-bub of cities.
In South Africa, Martin believes, we’re too reliant on cars and burglar bars – unlike many of our Western counterparts who rely on bicycles and their own two feet to make their way from offices to restaurants to homes.
Martin furthermore discussed ways to treat “the green gospel”, as he calls it. He said that greening the city doesn’t only have to be done through expensive new materials, but that simple things like increasing the livability of smaller areas will also ensure that no single carbon atom is emitted in vain. By creating a “mini cosmos”, beautiful and sustainable buildings are a definite possibility.
The South African reality
The realities of urbanisation in South Africa were also on the agenda.
Martin pointed out that, in South Africa, we’re aliens to each other and our inner cities. Due to our personal forms of transport, we don’t engage with the buildings, plants and people who inhabit these spaces.
But not dwelling on the negative, Martin said that South Africa is viewed as a place of hope and that the sprawling landscapes that surround us make up for the negative carbon footprint the abundance of vehicles that stream through our streets have created.
He believes it’s time for people to enlist in the war on cities, to engage in our heritage while also limiting the enormous consumption of buildings.
By moving in to smaller spaces and enjoying public areas, which are there for a reason, not only will the urban utopias of South Africa be kinder to Mother Nature but the daily interactions of citizens will be direct ones, dealing immediately with their urban environment and neighbours.
Martin Kruger: www.martin-kruger.com, +27(0)21 418 0342
Newsflash: Martin Kruger Associates came third in the prestigious Blueprints of Paradise: Imagine Future Built Africa competition, run by two organisations based in the Netherlands. This competition was open to all African architects, artists and visionaries. The firm’s written piece, accompanying image and the video below talked about how important it is to understand the nature and scale of the rapid urbanisation problem in this country and the rest of Southern Africa. The idea of the “agora” is that it becomes a model for structuring our rapid growing urban areas in a way that’s adaptable, flexible, robust and which has all to do with community (he speaks about civitas), equity and opportunities.
