The day began with a briefing session in front of the Union Buildings. Elena Bondareva and Dr. Dominique Hes presented the students with their brief for the studio and the requirements for their final deliverable. The brief included the design of a Pretoria Inner City project that would have a regenerative impact, participation in a number of charrette presentations, as well as a final pitch to a panel of industry experts and officials.
A tour of Paul Kruger street gave the students an impression of the daytime activities (in contrast to the nightlife of the previous evening) as well as the conditions of the buildings, streets, social interactions and cultural artefacts within the inner city.
Chris Malan, a local architect and urban designer from Co-Arc presented the detail approach and thinking behind the urban renewal project being undertaken by the city to revitalise the CBD. Among a number of initiatives, the return of government offices to the inner city, the reclamation of old industrial land for development, the challenges of a number of offices being changed to residential and the construction of affordable housing were particularly interesting. He then led a tour from Church Square past the Central Mosque and the Old Synagogue to Boom Street where a number of students remained to explore the Pretoria Zoo and craft market. The rest proceeded to Marabastad, where Chris gave further insights about the history, functions and challenges faced by this dynamic and highly resilient suburb. Exhausted after a long day of walking, the group packed into a mini-bus taxi where they were dropped off at the Old Fire Station in the inner city in time for the evening's events.
Following such an intense day, Elena conducted a session during which we reflected on the day's events, what had been experienced and the ideas we were having or may have been too uncomfortable to voice. We spoke about what sustainability meant for each of us and what we hoped to get out of this process.
Finally, it was time to relax. We watched Waterborne, a documentary film by Pretoria Picture Company Inc (Alexander Melck, Jhono Bennett and Ingmar Buchner) about the established community at Slovo Park, whose aspirations for running water and waterborne waste removal tell a heartfelt tale about the disconnect between people's hopes and dreams and service delivery.