Johannesburg

Johannesburg 2100 is an elevated linear typology incorporating a high-speed rail line and a designated Superbus lane to connect a series of megastructures along the length of the new district. The buildings, hybrid in use and organization, contain residential, commercial, recreational, energy generation, and urban farming programs. Serving as a buffer zone between residential areas and the transportation infrastructure, an elevated pedestrian pathway connects public and commercial spaces.

This hyper-dense settlement is on the outskirts of Johannesburg proper, in the Midland section of metropolitan Johannesburg. Smaller-scale farming plots and playing fields are in immediate proximity to the giant hybrid structures, while larger-scale agriculture takes place farther afield.

With the Glen Austin Bird Sanctuary to the east of the site and Modderfontein Conservation Area to the south, the design of the new district accommodates higher density human inhabitation while making wildlife an important factor. Both elements are allowed to coexist peacefully by separating them in section, enabling wildlife to pass uninterrupted below the elevated urban domain. Agricultural areas also incorporate protected corridors for wildlife, allowing for safe travel through them and between conservation areas and sanctuaries by way of animal bridges.

A visitor taking a walk along one of the city’s elevated boulevards can go through a series of large-scale buildings, their exterior façades covered with green vines and abundant plant life, and home to several species of wild birds. A main emphasis of the design is to use the built environment to support and enhance the natural one. To this end, bird nesting areas are incorporated into building façades (areas rarely interrupted by human activity), designed to be inviting to native species such as the weaver bird— which constructs elaborately woven nests.

The result creates a productive symbiosis between human beings and nature, combining natural beauty with a safe habitat for birds, and incorporating plants, which provide a natural carbon sink—which is of critical importance in this warmer world. Façades also incorporate wind and solar technologies to generate renewable energy for the district. The mega-structures contain a series of voids, which allows maximum access to natural light inside and acts as openings for the elevated pathway.

Their shape is optimized for wind velocity; small-scale, gearless wind turbines are also integrated into the buildings. Vertical panes in the structures operate like synthetic leaves, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to sequester it.

In a world that is ever more densely populated with human beings, all surfaces of the built environment must be thought of as multifunctional and as potential sites for intervention—whether in the form of added energy-generating infrastructure, plantings for phytoremediation, carbon sequestration, or occupiable areas for people or wildlife.

In this environment, transportation becomes less of an issue, because people work close to where they live. The design of the new district attempts to merge the human with the natural world, allowing new habitats for displaced species and creating a close-knit community more in tune with nature.