01. Block sizes have been reduced to make neighbourhoods walkable and pedestrian-friendly. Vilakazi street is proposed to be a winding shared street with on-street parking to slow down car traffic and provide opportunities for pedestrians to share and cross the street at any given position.

02. Khumalo Main road is the main connecter route that connects the precinct to the Klipspruit Valley road. Historically, the police and the 1976 student uprising march learners collided at this intersection. Subsequently, it connects to Vilakazi street, the Hector Pieterson Memorial and other community amenities. The proposal comemorates these events through public sculptures and public art. The buildings create a gateway; a space of arrival, introducing one to the proposed Vilakazi Precinct.

03. Focusing on the public transport routes would allow for accessible mixed-use nodes, majority of which are located near strong inter-modal facilities. The strengthening of the existing economic activities would increase and diversify job opportunities for residents. This incremental strategy would celebrate locally owned small to medium enterprises and informal businesses.

04. Street corners and sidewalks are designed to serve as gathering spaces, locations for small businesses, and as a canvas for creative architecture, cultural expression, social exchange, heritage consumption, and a celebration of our political history.

05. The Madikizela square (named after Winnie Mandela) is a hard and soft open space which contributes to the natural environment within the precinct; it provides views from surrounding properties; and it provides a place for children to play with their pets or friends. For adults, leisure such as watching movies in the evening (black screen in the next image), dining or picnics. Resultantly, adjacent buildings need to create positive, active edges onto its boundaries.

06. Adjacent buildings promote passive surveillance and active edges for the park through mixed-use ground activities, large windows and balconies which allow residents to look into the park.

07. The proposed Mandela Art Gallery aims to be an extension of the existing Mandela House Museum by celebrating local artists and artisans on show to be on a large billboard. The soffit of the building is proposed to be a digital screen that would depict educational films about the political history of South Africa and Nelson Mandela. This would create a cinematic experience onto the public realm at night. The proposed heritage approach aims at conserving the existing building and celebrating Mandela’s influence through a medium density urban building with a roof top looking onto the adjacent public square.

08. The proposed urban signage uses “African” print as a unifying graphic language. Similar to the composition of the South African flag, the various colours signify the different races, ethnicities, and other differences. The precinct aims to celebrate Cultural Heritage, Integration, Social Exchange and Political History.