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Department of Architecture delivers first PhD in new creative programme specialising in design

07 December 2023 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo CHARL DEVENISH

“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 receives R13,7 Million for Research into Prehistoric Organisms

2007-03-27

Some of the guests attending the launch of the research contract are: Dr Siyabulela Ntutela (Deputy Director: Biotechnology at the Department of Science and Technology), Dr Godfrey Netswera (Manager of Thuthuka and the Support Programme at the National Research Foundation (NRF)), Dr Esta van Heerden (Platform Manager and lecturer at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS), Mr Butana Mboniswa (Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD), and Mr Vuyisele Phehani (Portfolio Manager for BioPAD).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The University of the Free State (UFS) has been awarded a massive R13,7 million contract to conduct research into prehistoric micro-organisms which live under extreme conditions, for example in mineshafts.

This is one of the biggest research contracts awarded to the UFS in recent years.

The biotechnology research contract was awarded to the UFS by BioPAD, a South African biotechnology company that brokers partnerships between researchers, entrepreneurs, business, government and other stakeholders to promote innovation and create sustainable biotechnology businesses.

The project is endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF), which contributes to the bursaries of the 17 postgraduate students on the programme.

The contract involves the establishment of a Platform for Metagenomics - a technique which allows researchers to extract the DNA from microbes in their natural environment and investigate it in a laboratory.

“Through this platform we will be able to understand deepmine microbial populations
and their potential application in the search for life in outer space. It is most likely
that, if life were to be found on other planets in our solar system, it would probably
resemble that which existed millions of years ago on earth. Apart from all this, these
organisms have unique properties one can exploit in biotechnological application for
South Africa and its community,” said Dr Esta van Heerden, platform manager and
lecturer at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.
She is assisted by her collegues, Prof. Derek Litthauer and Dr Lizelle Piater.

“The platform aims to tap into the unique genetic material in South African mines
which will lead to the discovery of new genes and their products. These new and unique products will find application in the medical field (anti-cancer, anti-bacterial en anti-viral cures), the industrial sector (nanotechnology, commercial washing agents and the food industry), environmental sector (pollution management, demolition of harmful metals and other toxic waste),” said Dr Van Heerden.

According to Dr Van Heerden, the Metagenomics Platforms stems from the Life in
Extreme Environments (LExEN) programme which was started in 1994 by Princeton
University in the United States of America (USA) in South African mines with grants
from among others the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA. Other international collaborators
on the project include Geosynec Consultants Inc. (USA), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (USA), the University of Tennessee (USA) and in South Africa the
Universities of the Witwatersrand, North West and Limpopo and companies like BHP
Billiton, MINTEK and mining companies like Harmony, Gold Fields and AngloGold
Ashanti.

The research field laboratory of the Metagenomics Platform, which was situated in
Glen Harvey, was moved to the Main Campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein. “In this
way the university has become the central hub for all research programmes. We are
also the liaison between the LExEN programme and the various mining companies
involved,” said Dr Van Heerden. The new laboratory was introduced during the
launch of the research contract.

“Our decision to commit BioPAD to this project stems from the company’s commitment to advance human capacity development to strengthen South Africa’s research infrastructure. It is also part of our aim to create and protect intellectual property,” said Mr Butana Mboniswa, Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD.

Talking on behalf of the UFS senior management, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector
of Academic Operations, said that the university shares the excitement to be part of
the exploration of unknown forms of life, the discovery of new genes and
their products and in applying newly gained knowledge to better understand our
universe.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
27 March 2007

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