The forecourt is held on two corners by special trade areas concerned with food, outdoor restaurants and music associated with the shebeen culture. It is profusely planted with trees and is formed by large seating areas or ‘urban lounge suits’. The first is the forecourt activated by a constant flow of people moving, watching, sitting and trading. The site was then articulated around two primary public spaces.

The initial analysis involved mapping the existing spatial and social rhythms.

At an imaginative level the key concern was how to include the community in the architectural process beyond cursory consultation. At a practical level this included the accommodation of public transportation, new informal market spaces and access to basic services. The design reinforced the integrity of this urban space. In spite of the need of land for housing, the community and traders had demarcated and preserved a 200-meter by 70-meter urban living room – a place to sustain public life. This energy resulted in the local inhabitants defining a station forecourt through dense informal trade and a range of social spaces. Philippi Station is the third largest in Cape Town, with approximately 30,000 people traversing the site daily.

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