THE POSTER

A fictional futuristic paradigm for Cape Town’s Foreshore

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“The postmodern reply to the modern consists of recognizing that the past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence, must be revisited: but with irony, not innocently.” Our approach to re-imaging Cape Town’s foreshore was addressed in such a manner; but with the addiction of futuristic pretence founded on the historical development of the city. We cannot deny that the implementation of the modernist highway buffers have segregated the city from the very element that allowed for the creation of the city. Through our futuristic fictional scheme we hope to reconnect the city with its historical waterways. In the above scheme Adderly Street’s historical pier gets reinvented; the modern tram is reintroduced and traveller becomes engulfed by geodesic urban jungle domes which house varying ecological scenes. This future foreshore becomes a playground for the urban flaneur; the highways become the endoskeleton, the waterways become public pools. Fresh water from the mountain is purified through a series of reed beds; and these reed beds in turn become sculptural parks. The fundamental principle of this planet is that it is constantly transforming; thus one needs to design architecture that allows for transformation. This fictional scheme allows one to suggest the development of structures that can adapt, react and transform in previously unimaginable ways. Bridges do not need to be concrete they can become sculptural organisms that grow out of natural elements. The scheme relies on Biomimetic design, three dimensional printing and futuristic materials. To counteract the city’s disconnection we have added the intersection at varying levels. These intersections create vertical and oblique slippages, and it is these slippages that allows for the development of new spatial perceptions. By intersecting the highway buffer zone with natural elements, alternative transport methods and interventions at varying scales one hopes to create daedal sensory concourse for the urban flaneur.