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07 December 2023 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo CHARL DEVENISH
Dr Marié Herbst
Dr Marié Herbst received her PhD with specialisation in Design, titled The (S)Pace of Images: establishing a practice of the conscious abstraction of motion. She hopes that the techniques and processes explored in her research will spark creativity in the way other designers approach their work.

“My research has unveiled the exquisite patterns generated by motion in nature and everyday objects – patterns that often evade our awareness as we encounter motion in a fleeting moment. Abstraction plays a pivotal role in unveiling these exquisite yet largely unnoticed patterns that surround us.”

This is the perspective of Dr Marié Herbst, who graduated at the University of the Free State (UFS) in December, receiving her PhD with specialisation in Design, titled The (S)Pace of Images: establishing a practice of the conscious abstraction of motion.

Abstraction, a key component of building design

Dr Herbst says that the abstract art movement has had a profound influence on how designers think about design. “Highly regarded architects such as Le Corbusier and Zaha Hadid identify their practice of creating abstract paintings as the driving force behind their ground-breaking building designs. Abstraction is therefore a key component of building design, although the process of how it is applied has historically not received adequate attention. My research explores the way abstraction enables designers to include design information that is only possible through the process of abstraction. One such aspect is motion. Through the process of tracing and superimposing still images extracted from films, I can integrate them into a single picture that shows the progression of time,” she explains.

She hopes that the techniques and processes explored in her research will ignite creativity in how other designers approach their work. “The concepts and techniques outlined in my research are intended to prompt other designers to reconsider the procedures they employ when crafting spaces,” she states.

In the future, Dr Herbst says, she would like to further explore the ideas sparked by her research, such as determining how design would be affected by recording movement in a three-dimensional environment. “New technologies such as LiDAR make the recording of three-dimensional information much simpler, and it will increasingly become a part of our everyday lives. This is a potentially useful information stream that could be applied to create novel designs,” she says.

‘Practice-based’ versus ‘design-led’ research

Prof Jonathan Noble, Head of the Department of Architecture, says this is the very first PhD from the new creative research programme in architecture that was launched in 2018, where the student has completed a ‘design-led’ enquiry. 

He explains that the new creative programme differentiates between ‘practice-based’ research, closely tied to real-world architecture, where candidates analyse and study their previous work, and ‘design-led’ research, which is led by an entirely new creative exploration that encourage speculation and experimentation. According to him, the latter leads to a creative enquiry, and this body of new work is analysed and written about.

Following Prof Noble, postgraduate research in architecture in South Africa has traditionally centred around architectural theory, cultural history, urban studies, and conservation. Creative research methods, however, have not been as prominent. The Department of Architecture is addressing this by introducing new postgraduate research modes supported by innovative research degrees, marking a departure from the traditional approach in South Africa.

“We believe the programme will have a lasting and significant effect upon our professional degrees, injecting professional creativity and new thinking into the life of the department, and serving as an opportunity to look deeply into design and pedagogic practices. Over time, the programme will strengthen ties with the profession and address the closed mentalities of the so-called ‘academic ivory tower’.”

“In addition to providing emerging young scholars with opportunities, the programme facilitates the documentation of the unique qualities of South African practice and makes an important contribution to future research publication and teaching pedagogy at the UFS and beyond,” he says.

News Archive

UFS to award honorary doctorate to Maria Ramos
2004-12-08

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) recently approved the awarding of an honorary doctorate to Ms Maria Ramos, Group Chief Executive of Transnet in April 2005. A total of five honorary doctorandi will be honored.

The other doctorandi are Proff Jan Groenewald (D Sc (hc)), Jaap Durand (D Phil (hc)), Sampie Terreblanche (C Dom (hc)) and Anthon Heyns (MD (hc)).

Me Ramos will receive an honorary doctorate in Economics (P hD (Economics) (hc)) for the large contribution she made to the establishment of a prudent fiscal and macro-economic policy in South Africa and hence, to the restoration of the financial credibility of the country in the eyes of domestic and foreign investors. Ms Ramos was the Director General of the National Treasury from 1996-2003.

She obtained the MSc-degree in Economics in 1992 from the University of London and was awarded a British Council Scholarship (Helen Suzman award) in the same year and in 1991. During the early nineties she was among others project leader of the ANC’s Macro-economic Research Group and also a member of the team that negotiated chapters on finance in the interim Constitution of South Africa. She was a research associate at the Centre for the Study of the South African Economy and International Finance at the London School of Economics and also lectured at the Universities of South Africa and the Witwatersrand.

“It is a great privilege for us to honor Ms Ramos and the other doctorandi in their different fields of expertise. This once again serves as an example of the UFS’s policy to give recognition to people who excel and make a difference,” said Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Prof Jan Groenewald will receive an honorary doctorate for his life-long commitment to the establishment and development of Agricultural Economics as a subject field in South Africa and in Africa and his various contributions to the UFS. During his career, Prof Groenewald received various awards among others in 1998 when he received the Stals Prize for Economics from the South African Academy for Science and Art and in 1990 when he received an honorary medal from the South African Society for Agricultural Economics.

Prof Jaap Durand will receive an honorary doctorate in Philosophy for his pioneering work on various fields in the South African society. He obtained his Masters degree in Philosophy from the UFS and contributed to almost 60 articles and collections. Prof Durand has a colourful career as academic manager: from professor in Systematic Theology and dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of the Western Cape to Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the same university. He was the ombudsman of the University of Stellenbosch from 2002-2003.

Prof Sampie Terreblanche will receive an honorary doctorate in Economics for the important role he played, and is still playing, to keep the debate about and the need for socio-economic and socio-political reform in South Africa going. Prof Terreblanche started his career as a lecturer at the UFS. In 1992 the Stals Prize for Economics was awarded to him by the South African Academy for Science and Art. Prof Terreblanche was also a founding member of ASSET, an organisation addressing the problems of poverty, inequality and social injustice in South Africa.

Prof Anthon Heyns, Chief Executive Officer of the South African National Blood Service, will receive an honorary doctorate in Medicine. Prof Heyns is a well-known international researcher in Hematology and recently received a Centenary Medal from the UFS for his strong role and national prominence as expert and leading figure in establishing and developing Hematology at the UFS. He was the first head of the UFS’s Department of Hematology and is also co-editor of the only Afrikaans hand book of Hematology. He serves among others as a council member and member of the executive management of the South African Medical Research Council. On the international front he serves on at least five committees of the World Health Organisation based in Geneve, Switzerland. He has two honorary appointments as professor respectively at the UFS and University of the Witwatersrand.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
8 December 2004

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