Manuel Hankoo

I came to Australia 4 years ago as an immigrant with an ambition to continue my architectural studies and become an architect. My aspiration is to enhance the human experience in the built environment which reflects the way we live in the city.

Beyond The Wall

The project was part of the global cities' semester that situates learning in the context of the Global City. The project is located in Johannesburg, South Africa and aims to utilise the theatre as a tool to discuss contemporary issues.


The concept starts with choosing Jazz as a cultural element that reflected a historical identity in Johannesburg, it was viewed and practised as a tool of resistance during the apartheid.


The second part of the concept originates from the theatrical aspect in the form of curiosity, which appears on an audience before opening the curtains in a traditional theatre or the curiosity of people gathering on a street performance.


The last part of the concept uses the wall as an architectural element and symbol of segregation and procreates it to form curiosity. This curiosity is generated by certain devices of design embedded in the wall which include sound and partial sight, these tools interact with people outside the wall and intrigue them to enter and watch the jazz shows performed beyond the wall.


The project also produces a street market that plays a role in bringing people to the site in order to introduce them to the wall.

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