Staff Profile

MArch(Prof) (Pretoria), PhD (Pretoria), PrArch

Lecturer and Course Coordinator Earth Sciences

Contact no: +27 (0)12 4202578

Email: [email protected]

Office: 3-10, Boukunde Building, Hatfield Campus

Bio

Jan Hugo is a registered architect that completed his training at the University of Pretoria in 2010. His Professional Masters project contributed to the UNDP & GEF Sustainable Transport and Sport project, which specifically focused on developing low carbon transport systems in South Africa. He practised as an architect for a number of years, completing and contributing to a range of residential, public and infrastructural projects. He joined the Architecture Department at the University of Pretoria in 2016 and coordinates Professional Masters in Architecture programme and the Earth studies curriculum stream. His research focus is climate change adaptation potential of meso to micro-scale interventions in the built environment.

Module involvement and teaching philosophy

Jan Hugo, coordinates the MArch(Prof) programme

Teaches and coordinates the building performance and technology modules in the Masters and Honours programmes. In the undergraduate courses Jan Hugo teaches Earth studies modules focusing on sustainable design strategies and material use.

My teaching philosophy: I believe we need to develop ecological literacy for all students regardless of background or discipline. To develop a new generation of practitioners who can respond to the various critical concerns of our era, a higher level of integrated thinking is needed. This requires a constructivist teaching model that focuses on building capability and capacity for innovation, flexibility and responsive design. Ingrained within this are a few principles that I endeavour to convey through my teaching, these include holistic and systemic thinking, a rational approach that is sensitive to one’s lived experiences and the intangible conditions, valuing both quantitative and qualitative thinking processes, and facilitating personal growth through reflective practices.

Research profile

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4840-2642

Research focus areas: Regenerative and Resilient Cities

Research Interest: My research interest considers sustainability in Architecture and specifically deals with climate change in Southern Africa. The research focus is primarily on Southern African cities and how these can be retrofitted using climate change adaptation strategies. While the research considers Southern African cities, the scale or locus of interest is focussed on the role of Architecture within the urban context and straddles the meso urban and public space scale, and the detailed architectural scale.  

The theoretic lens within which the research field is framed follows a complex adaptive systems and eco-systemic thinking. The larger research question considers the systemic relation between various sustainability strategies and how these can be developed to future proofing our cities. 

The locus of research within the Architectural Discipline is on the interplay between the technological, systemic and spatial dimensions when developing architectural solutions and the associated public space. Currently, my research is primarily focussed on climate change adaptation strategies to address climate change risks, as well as the interplay between the informal built environment, user wellbeing and climate change resilient solutions.

Research projects

Current Research Projects:

Title: Flexible facades for climate change resilience of multi-storey buildings in Tshwane, South Africa

Grant 1: Research and Development Programme, UP

Grant 2: Vista Funding, CIB

As a pilot study the project reviews existing building technology laboratories and living laboratories to develop a testing facility to build and test smart flexible façade strategies that can improve climate change resilience on a building scale.

Role: Principal Investigator.

Title: Heat Adaptation for Pregnant Women and Infants

Grant: Wellcome Trust Grant

Number: 226758/Z/22/Z

An inter and transdisciplinary project that aims to develop co-produced multi-level, multi-component interventions to reduce heat impacts on maternal and newborn health (MNH) in diverse contexts.

Role: Co-principal Investigator

Title: Science Shop project: Co-creating Wellness and Human Dignity (2023 - 2025)

Grant: NRF/SAASTA 

The project considers the use of fine-grained data collected to contribute to the development of Community Action Plans to address immediate challenges of health, dignity, safety and education faced by communities living in the informal settlements of Plastic View, Cemetery View and Melusi in the City of Tshwane.

Role: Co-Investigator
 

Title: Regenerative Public Spaces Project

Grant: NRF

Number: 137981

Cities and public spaces are changing rapidly - sometimes in an uplifting way, yet often causing major concern. This project aims to recognise the true value of public space in cities, especially in South Africa and contribute to uplifting changes in these spaces.
Role: Co-Investigator.

Title: Air quality, climate factors, built environment quality and children’s health in Greater Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province

Grant: NRF

In response to rapid urbanisation and development of informal urbanity, this project investigates the impact of air pollution, climate factors and the quality of the built environment and its effects on children’s health in early childhood centres located in informal settlements.

Role: Co-principal Investigator.

Previous Research Projects 

Architecture and Public Health Nexus: An intersectoral approach to health and well-being.

Grant: Research and Development Programme, UP; UNICEF One Health Cluster.
 

This research project undertakes an intersectoral approach to understanding health and well-being in an informal neighbourhood in Tshwane. It specifically considers the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of individuals' response measures to water insecurity and heat-stress risks within the South African context.

Role: Co-principal Investigator.

Regenerative Public Space.

Grant: National Research Foundation (NRF).
 

This project aims to recognise the true value of public space in cities, especially in South Africa and contribute to uplifting changes in these spaces. Through transdisciplinary cooperation, the project explores the regenerative potential of public space to realise the role of public space in promoting the UN sustainable development goals. In this project, a process and methodological framework towards regenerative public space are being developed and a digital platform or tool to assist the implementation thereof in practice.

Role: Co-Investigator.

Recent publications 

Patrick, S.M. Hugo, J.M. Sonnendecker, P.W. & Shirinde, J.S. 2024. A conceptual analysis of the public health-architecture nexus within rapidly developing informal urban contexts. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12:1285352. DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1285352

Hugo, J.M. & Sonnendecker, P.W. 2023. Ground-level documentation of heat stress exposure and response strategies in informal settlements in Tshwane, South Africa. SASBE, online. DOI 10.1108/SASBE-10-2022-0229.

Hugo, J. M. 2023. Heat stress: adaptation measures in South African informal settlements. Buildings and Cities, 4(1), pp. 55–73. DOI: https://doi. org/10.5334/bc.269.

Vawda, Z & Hugo, J. 2022. Evaluating the energy performance of social housing as a catalyst towards net-zero carbon building in the mitigation of climate change in South Africa. Acta Structilia, Vol 29, No 2, p. 226-259.

Hugo, J.M. 2021. The Hanoak House as a Flexible and Adaptable Vernacular Precedent for Modern Architecture. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, Vol 16, No 4, p. 731-739.

Hugo, J.M. du Plessis, C. Masenge, A. 2021. Retrofitting Southern African cities: A call for appropriate rooftop greenhouse designs as climate adaptation strategy. Journal of Cleaner Production 312, 127663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127663

Hugo, J.M. du Plessis, C. 2019. A quantitative analysis of interstitial spaces to improve climate change resilience in Southern African cities. Climate and Development, 12 (7), p 591-599. DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2019.1664379

Hugo, J.M. Stoffberg, G.H. Barker A. 2014.The carbon footprint and embodied energy of construction material: A comparative analysis of South African BRT stations. Acta Structilia, 2014:21 (1), p. 45-78. UP Online Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/45432

Hugo, J.M. Stoffberg, G.H. Barker A. 2012. Mitigating climate change by minimising the carbon footprint and embodied energy of construction materials: A comparative analysis of three South African Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Stations. Acta Structilia, 2012:19 (2), p. 21-46. UP Online Repository://hdl.handle.net/2263/21538

Students currently supervising

Smit. K. 2023. The climate change adaptation potential of public spaces in Tshwane: Muckleneuk Commons Communal Garden. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Mnguni, N. 2023. The climate change adaptation potential of the historic Burgers Park in Tshwane and its effect on the use of the space. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Read. M. 2022. Regenerative and Resilient Cities: Future-Proofing cities through complex adaptive systems and eco-system thinking. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Grobler. J. 2022. Ex-Machina. Adaptive Reuse of the Pretoria Power Station. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

De Jongh, C. 2022. Mindful Metropolis : Transforming lost space to promote the well-being of transient urban users in Hatfield. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Thusi. Z. 2022. Investigating Urban Heat stress vulnerability in Tshwane: A case of Melusi informal Settlement. MSc Applied Science (Architecture) Dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Chauke. J. 2021. Urban Exodus. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Odendaal, P. 2021. [Re]Connecting Ecology. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Ramsey, N. 2021. Anticipated Informality. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Achi. J. 2021. Handmade City MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Greef, J. 2021. Catalytic Nexus. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Vawda, Z. 2021. Towards a net-zero carbon social housing: the case of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) net zero carbon certification scheme in sustainable social housing within urban South Africa. MSc Applied Science (Architecture) Dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

De Villiers, J. 2019. Inhabiting Infrastructure. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Veldsman, K. 2019. The retrofit and regeneration of local vernacular. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Di Bon, J. 2019. Living with Carbon. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Mtwetwa, M. 2019. Dijo: An Agri-park. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria. Snyman, R. 2018. The Urban Oasis. [Re]-thinking urban river space design. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Puckiree. S. 2018. The Run-off – Considering storm water as resource in the city. BSc Hons Applied Science Dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria. 

Thusi, Z. 2018. Assessing the success and implementation impact of SANS 10400 XA on Student housing in Hatfield, Tshwane. BSc Hons Applied Science Dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Malebana, M. 2018. Network of Opportunity: Architecture as a Facilitator for sustainable communities. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Snyman, R. 2018. The Urban Oasis. [Re]-thinking urban river space design. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Van Schalkwyk, R. 2017. [RE]Claiming Vigour. Designing an Urban Industrial Complex in Mamelod. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Janeke, A. 2017. Botshabelo: The Symbiosis Between the Land and the People. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Cochrane, M. 2017. An architectural agon: considering a spatial representation of adapting identities, as a temporal domination of order, in the historic CBD of Pretoria. MArch (Prof) dissertation. University of Pretoria, Pretoria