URBAN DESIGN & PLANNING
MONWABISI
Consultant Team:IG Architects + Urban Design / Urban Collaborations
Period: 2008 - 2010
Client: Africape Developers
Value: R2.2m
The Monwabisis Spatial Development Framework arose out of a need to connect Khayelitsha to the seaside resort of Monwabisi. It is envisaged to comprise 30,000 dwelling units in a mixed-use urban quarter. The housing typologies range from GAP housing to luxury beachfront properties in multi-storey apartments.
The existing vacant land is under threat from invasion by shack dwellers, locals harvesting firewood and medicinal fynbos and other plant species, locals dumping waste and is extremely unsafe.
The layout takes cognisance of the natural features, the coastal dunes and fynbos and weaves an urban development form responsive to climatic factors mainly the prevalent South East Winds.
The main connection between the existing settlement of Khayelitsha and Monwabisi takes the form of a “High Street” with intense mixed use along its edges connecting public spaces, market, civic and recreational nodes.
The recreational node comprising beach access, tidal pools and picnic areas is expanded to include a coastal / urban park directly along the coastal edge. The Urban Park is a major resource for the existing Khayelticha community and forms part of the connecting “link” between the Macassar and Wolfgat natures reserves.