Site Selection

44 Stanley   vs   Juta Street   vs   Maboneng Precinct

The urban enclaves that engage with 44 Stanley seem to be the more 'Northern Suburb' type of people; they are there only to be entertained on a commercial level and not venture into the city more than they have to. Whilst there are a large amount of students and creative people that go to 44 Stanley, a lot of them appear to go there for convenience, proximity or the commerce.

Juta Street in Braamfontein is home to urban enclaves, yet these enclaves aren't independent of eachother  These enclaves mix and are mutually beneficial to different enclaves, which vary by the day/hour. They commercial side of Juta street is engaging to the vast quantity of people that 'pound the pavements' on a daily basis (not only on the weekends).

The Maboneng Precinct also has urban enclaves, but these seem to be a more tourist/weekend type of person, someone who only engages with the space intermittently and from a distance. The precinct appears to treat itself as an island, separating itself from its context, even though there have been attempts to break these boundaries.

Based on research and personal experience of each site, I came across exciting challenges and opportunities in all three. However, I decided to select Juta Street as my site due to its atrributes like alleys in the middle of city blocks, paved and lawn open spaces, avenues of trees, retail stores, exhibition spaces, coffee shops on the street and markets in garages being a way to improve cities in a way that I want to engage with.