Browsing by Author "Wang, Derek Trygve."

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The architecture of railway stations and transportation nodes, towards the design of a proposed new commuter railway station in Kingspark sports precinct.
(2008) Mtembu, Mxolisi Sikhumbuzo.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.; Wang, Derek Trygve.; Duncan-Brown, Alethea.; Brewis, Deon.; Wilson, Anthony.
In a world of increased daily travel, more efficient means of transporting people become all the more relevant as citizens constantly try to bridge time and distance in an effort to get to work and other meeting places. The ability to transport large numbers of people at the same time, establishes the rail transport as one such mode viable for this task. As a result, cities throughout the world constantly revive existing rail networks and introduce new ones to cater for this growing traveling demand of the 21 st century. The most popular forms of transportation in the city of Durban, namely the bus, taxi and private car are the main contributors to the traffic congestion and air pollution problems in the city, hence the need to reconsider the importance of the train. Following international precedent, South Africa is planning to revive its railway services by changing its image and ensuring passenger safety in order to establish it as a major public transport system (Ministry of transport, 2006). In creating the building form of railway station buildings, it is necessary to understand passenger movement and activity within the station as well as the spaces required for such activities. This is vital if the designer has to make a meaningful contribution to society though his building intervention. Railway stations do not function in isolation to other modes of transportation in the city, hence the need for this study to consider the station in a node or interchange context to enforce its role within the city's transportation system as a whole.
The design of a centre of the performing arts : catalyst for the rejuvenation of Durban's embankment.
(2009) Haiden, Lauren.; Peters, Walter Hermann.; Duncan-Brown, Alethea.; Wang, Derek Trygve.
The purpose of this dissertation is twofold. Firstly to investigate the aspects and issues around performing arts and their influence on architecture. Secondly, to set the brief for the design of a performing arts theatre that directly relates to its surroundings, namely Durban's bay and urban waterfront, the Embankment, as well as to the large, existing theatre community within Kwa-Zulu Natal. The building will seek to accommodate the independent theatre and dance companies that have been displaced due to the ‘White Letter’ bill passed in the early 1990s, creating a home base for them. The facility aims to enliven the neglected water's edge and be a catalyst for its rejuvenation of the area. Through this study, specific characteristics of theatre design will be investigated. These characteristics include the following: the relationship between funding and the community, theatre planning and the spatial relationships that exist between functions as well as the engagement with the public and promenade edge. Due to the fact that a theatre is a civic facility that connects a variety of different people from diverse walks of life together, an opportunity presents itself in creating a building that contributes to the both the city and its community. This research will study the multi-faceted aspects that comprise a performing arts theatre on Durban's Margaret Mncadi Avenue (formerly the Victoria Embankment). The research will consist of primary and secondary sources. Conclusions will be drawn from both case and precedent studies but a balance between primary and secondary research is needed to obtain a workable response and brief for the design of a theatre. This research will also concentrate on urban waterfronts, in particular Durban, which exists today as a reminder of what we are focused with in today's society, namely leisure pursuits coupled with commercial skyscrapers within the inner city verify our focus as a community. It is the author's aim to provide a facility that changes this focus to include cultural activities such as a theatre as a means of pure expression.
The role of architecture in the development of indigenous and biomedical collaborative healthcare facilities : designing a joint indigenous and biomedical healthcare centre for Durban.
(2008) Mdakane, Dumisani Talent.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.; Wang, Derek Trygve.; Duncan-Brown, Alethea.
South Africa is currently revitalising the role of Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) in the country's healthcare provision. This undertaking is guided by Chinese Traditional Medicine which is said to be one of the most highly developed traditional healthcare systems in the world. Programmes developed by the National Department of Health and other stake holders in the development of indigenous medicine often need to be accommodated architecturally. Collaboration with biomedicine is one of the main programmes aimed at empowering Traditional Health Practitioners of the country. Accordingly, this dissertation is divided into two sections, both based on the current undertakings of collaboration between biomedicine and indigenous medicine in South Africa. Due to the fact that traditional healing systems are less commonly described than biomedicine, the main focus of this study is indigenous medicine and how architecture could be influenced by alternative healthcare practices. The first section (A) is theoretical. It investigates and compares the current architecture that accommodates THPs in rural and urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal. This unveils social, cultural, economic and political factors affecting this architectural genre. The aim thereof is to establish architectural elements to be considered when designing a health care facility for THPs. Section A also explores the current state of healthcare architecture in the country and abroad so as to establish the latest challenges to be addressed by the proposed collaborative healthcare model. Design principles for collaborative architecture accommodating THPs and biomedical practitioners in an urban context of South Africa are then be put forward. Section B incorporates the theories derived from section A, towards the design of a joint indigenous and biomedical healthcare centre for Durban. It gives specific spatial requirements for a collaboration between biomedical practitioners and izinyanga.
Towards an objective interpretation of quanum mechanics.
(1978) Wang, Derek Trygve.; Bedford, Donald.
Abstract on PDF file.