Westfort Work Incubator

a historical leprosy colony in transition

Master thesis (2017)

Authors

G.J. Jansen Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

J. Roos (mentor)
Nicholas Clarke (mentor)
M.C. Kuipers (mentor)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2017 Gerben Jansen
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Published Date

04-07-2017

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

The Westfort Leprosy Colony in Pretoria, South Africa, was built by the Department Publieke Werken of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek in 1898-1898 under supervision of the Dutch architect Sytze Wopkes Wierda. It is the only leprosy colony of its kind that is still (almost) intact. It is part of to the national history of South Africa and has an international connection with the Netherlands and its colonies. Since 1997 the colony is abandoned. Illegal inhabitants took possession of the site and form an informal community of +/- 4.000 inhabitants. Currently the site is heavily in decay and some of the most characteristic buildings are destroyed. Most recently, in April 2016, the octagonal Dutch Reformed Church. The site is also under pressure of upcoming low cost housing developments. Despite several positive initiatives, the inhabitants of Westfort, and the surrounding neighbourhoods, live in squalor. Crime and safety are daily uncertainties. The project shows a vision about how to transform the historical centre of the former Westfort Leprosy Colony into a vivid work incubator. A place were the inhabitants and visitors can live, work, learn and recreate. The main theme is separation & connection. This tension touches every topic of the project. From the function that is about connecting people from the different sides of the city that is still characterized by the town planning of the apartheid era, to the design that is about the tension separation and connection on the site. The project shows small interventions can have a large impact by looking closely to the site and its needs.