The Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies (CUBES) is a platform for research, transdisciplinary learning and service, within the School of Architecture and Planning. The role of CUBES is primarily in research, with a focus on urbanism; this includes urban design, housing, human settlements and city studies. It is a centre for self-initiated research, the construction of research groups or collectives of common interest, and a vehicle for linking the research interests of members to the needs of surrounding communities.
CUBES currently has four thematic areas of concentration:
• City space – building, city, city, building
• Who runs the city?
• Urbanism in the unequal city
• What does history do for the city and its future (especially in Johannesburg and Gauteng)?
Besides working on self-initiated and contract research projects, CUBES has also been a platform for successful events including conferences, the City Seminar series, symposia and exhibitions. 2009 CUBES events include the South African City Studies Conference (jointly with the African Centre for Cities), Jugurta (spatial justice) and Corus (voices of the poor in the city) conferences, a range of events around the 50th anniversary of the John Moffat building, and a seminar series on the theme “Memory in the City” in the second semester. CUBES currently houses a number of research contracts which include supporting the Holcim awards for sustainable architecture and an EU funded project on energy efficient urbanism in Africa.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Charlton (acting directorl): (011) 717 7717
sarah.charlton@wits.ac.za
Naomi Roux (researcher): (011) 717 7730
Naomi.Roux@wits.ac.za
Zakiyyah Ayob (secretary): (011) 717 7732
zakiyyah.ayob@wits.ac.za
Or visit us online at http://web.wits.ac.za/Academic/EBE/ArchPlan/CUBES
(Last updated on 20 June 2010)