AgriTectonics: Bridging Informality with Small Scale Agriculture
Supervisor: Prof Carin Combrinck & Jason Oberholzer
Location: Melusi Informal Settlement, Pretoria West, Gauteng
Departmental Research Field: Public Interest Design
Keywords: Participatory Design, Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL), Design-for-Disassembly, Passive Climate Control, Informal Settlement Upgrading
Abstract
Agri-Tectonics proposes a community-led agricultural hub and network of productive landscapes in Melusi Informal Settlement, Pretoria. The programme integrates seedling propagation, agricultural workshops, a tool library, composting facilities, storage, learning spaces, and outdoor markets, complemented by smaller residential satellite hubs. Activities centre on small-scale food production, skills training, resource sharing, and informal trade.
Located on a disused government tree nursery, the site’s central position and existing vegetation support integration into daily settlement life. The Melusi community, engaged through participatory processes facilitated by the University of Pretoria’s Unit for Urban Citizenship, is both client and collaborator.
The project addresses food insecurity, fragmented public space, and the absence of accessible agricultural infrastructure by bridging informality with small-scale food production. Design strategies include design-for-disassembly, hybrid construction with local brick and engineered timber, and vernacular techniques adapted for informal contexts.
Guided by Continuous Productive Urban Landscape (CPUL) principles, shaded green corridors connect the AgriHub to secondary facilities, seasonal markets, and micro-hubs embedded in residential clusters. These hubs, co-managed by neighbouring households, feature raised beds, compost stations, and rainwater harvesting systems.
Grounded in theories of Spatial Agency, Co-Design, Relational Space, and Ecological Urbanism, the project integrates passive thermal strategies and modular adaptability. Agri-Tectonics demonstrates how participatory and regenerative design can transform underused land into a catalyst for food security, resilience, and inclusive urban development.
