VPUU Harare Khyalitsha | Cape Town South Africa | Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architects

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The VPUU (Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading)  an urban renewal project of a  network of play courts , school play grounds, commercial squares and pedestrian linkages, in Harare Khyalitsha. Developed as a response to the communities expressed desire for safer streets and routes to and from, schools, the CBD and Public transport.

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Our brief was to design a landscape language for the entire route with an emphasis on the major squares as our first projects and the Walkways/links as the final uniting element. In retrospect the lessons learnt from working on a project that spanned over 5 years from inception have been invaluable. The materials and design resolutions proved to be adaptable to the varying conditions without  losing their integrity  and therefor still ensure that the entire system reads as one intervention, without becoming repetitive and monotonous.

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The most exciting part of the project for us is that the design facilitates community involvement as is evident in the art works, tree cages and stone work, it certainly feels like the walkways and squares belong to the community, as they are constantly occupied and well maintained.

We as landscape architects, feel this project is valuable as it demonstrates how design can improve the quality of a communities living environment with quite simple interventions. However it also demonstrates how as a designer it is certainly more constructive to work within an interdisciplinary team inclusive of  the end users,  were ideas are collaboratively assessed and developed  giving them a richness and durability.

VPUU Harare Khyalitsha |Cape Town South Africa | Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architects (TKLA)

Project Team:

Project Managers: SUN Development/ AHT Group AG; VPUU

Urban Designers/Planners: SUN Development; Macroplan

Architects: Jonker and Barnes  with Jackie James; Charlotte Chamberlain and Nicola Irving Architects CCNIA

Engineers: Naylor Naylor van Schalkwyk

Quantity Surveyor: Talani

Landscape Architects: Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architects (TKLA)

Community Participation: City of Cape Town/VPUU; Khayelitsha Development Forum

Operation and Maintenance:  SUN Development; VPUU/City of Cape Town;

Socio- Economic Interventions: SUN Development; VPUU City of Cape Town
A host of NGO’s including Mosaic anti gender based violence, UWC Legal Aid Clinic, Sikhula Sonke ECD, Business Place Khayelitsha SMME support, Metro Police, Safety volunteers from the community.

            

 

 

 

About Damian Holmes 3245 Articles
Damian Holmes is the Founder and Editor of World Landscape Architecture (WLA). He is a registered landscape architect (AILA) working in international design practice in Australia. Damian founded WLA in 2007 to provide a website for landscape architects written by landscape architects. Connect on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianholmes/