Browsing by Author "Le, Grange Simone"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Crafting Connections: Unpacking Generational Linkages of Craftsmanship, and Memorialising Cultural Traditions
    (2023) Petersen, Leila; Le, Grange Simone; Isaacs Fadly
    The focus of this thesis is the notion of craft as both a product and a practice. The research is approached with an understanding that in the context of a post-apartheid South Africa, the long-standing tradition of craft and craftsmanship stands as an important expression of the desired communal nature of South African society. Here, the term ‘craft' is used to refer to traditional hand-methods of making in practices of beading, weaving, woodwork, crochet, knitting, and sewing. Using a personal connection to craft as a starting point, the research is extended to unpack overarching ideas of craft as a generational link that is embedded in memory and culture, the value and holistic benefits of craft, and the potential for traditional crafts to be reintegrated into contemporary micro-enterprises. Presently, we see the emergence of craft in both formal and informal sectors of society as there exists a newfound appreciation for traditional cultural values which has sparked the resurgence of craft sale to the public. A substantial portion of the production of crafts in the informal urban craft industry takes place in townships. As such, the selected site of inquiry is the eastern portion of Philippi, in the Western Cape of Cape Town, South Africa. This thesis proposes that through the design of a building or series of spaces that accommodate for the making of crafts and exchange of craft knowledge, craft networks can be established and embedded within communities, promoting creativity and craftsmanship. As an entry way into the economy for under-resourced communities, craft and craft production can facilitate that even the most economically disadvantaged sectors of society can have craftspeople who are able to develop their skills through learning from each other. Issues and constraints on site include navigating scales from the large-scale industrial buildings to the small-scale housing and informal settlements. By drawing from the existing busyness on site, this project attempts to organise busy nodes of activity while still accommodating for a degree of informality to seamlessly co-exist alongside private and semiprivate public space. In reflecting on the final design and full body of work, it can be noted that indeed, the principle of organising informality is one that is contradictory, but the attempt to do so is not all meaningless. There is value in taking lessons from existing craft practices within the Philippi community and seeing how, and in which ways, craft sectors can be bolstered and developed for the benefit on the community. It can be said firmly that through the use of craft and craftsmanship, there is huge potentials for communities of makers and entrepreneurs to racially desegregate the distribution of occupations by relying on existing skills that are embedded in both memory and culture.
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    Extracting Meaning: Toward a restored collective memory
    (2023) Roets, Chamonix; Le, Grange Simone
    Spaces hold memories, both good and bad. Preserved in the landscapes of the City of Cape Town is many unspoken memories of past events. Higgovale Quarry is one of these. This void was laboured to supply the stone that built the Rhodes memorial, among many other buildings that created this colonial city of the 1800s. The problem is twofold. Firstly, the people most affected by Rhodes's actions, the marginalised people of Cape town do not have access to Table Mountain, the symbol of the city. Secondly, there is a need to rethink the way memorials are made and memories are captured. The days of employing traditional memorials to capture collective memories are numbered. There is an opportunity to challenge the linearity and one-sidedness of traditional static memorials and discover means to dynamic ways of memorialising that aim to engage the everyday experience interactively. The aim is to mobilise the Higgovale quarry as a site of active consciousness that can contribute to the restoration of collective memory and access to the mountain. Therefore, I am designing a cultural centre. I am doing this by creating an intervention that can display dynamically the memories of the space through the design, as well as be a stage for the memories to be displayed through performance by people from diverse cultures. I aim to sculpt a space that memorialises by framing memories dynamically through the abstract, interactive building as a memorial.
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    Imprisonment of the Human Body: Reforming the system & lives through architecture [using Pollsmoor]
    (2023) Pettit, Kirsten; Le, Grange Simone
    This project looks at an approach to the design of a prison visitors centre for Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison which is grounded in humane design principles. Pollsmoor – like many prisons around the world and in South Africa – presents issues of gangsterism and overcrowding which are exacerbated by poor living conditions and a lack of effective rehabilitation programmes. This results in high reoffence rates upon release which then places further pressure on the system. Research into this cycle has shown that the single biggest determinant in reducing recidivism (reoffence) is the degree to which an inmate has a relationship with family or community members that are able to invest in them and provide support (Turanovic & Tasca, 2019). A prison visitors centre presents the liminal space where family and community relationships are maintained and strengthened. Visiting an inmate in Pollsmoor is however, not a liminal experience because there is no defined separate visitors' centre. Families with young children cross into the actual cell blocks in order to visit loved ones. Therefore, the intent of this project is to create a separate visitors' centre integrated into nature within a secure portion of the agricultural land in Pollsmoor. It is vital that the visitors centre typology is challenged in favour of a humane environment which doesn't criminalise innocent family members. This is extended to both contact visits and non-contact visits which are sometimes unavoidable. The larger intent behind this work is for the visitor's centre to firstly, fit within a master plan for the redesign of Pollsmoor but secondly for it to begin the conversation around prison design in South Africa. Prisons will always be needed in society to provide justice to individuals affected by a crime. However, if we intend for inmates to behave like decent human beings upon release, we need to treat them as human beings during incarceration.
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    In-Detoxification: Therapeutic architecture toward healing substance abuse
    (2023) Gunkel, Tymon; Le, Grange Simone
    This study explores rehabilitation by means of therapeutic architecture, to rehabilitate individuals from substance abuse and addiction. The study aims to understand how rehabilitation can benefit the community, facilitated by a community orientated program for individuals. The site used for the project is located within the Cape-Flats, in the town of Mitchells Plain. This project aims to study the concept, practice, and technologies behind creating a rehabilitation center that uses phenomenology and therapeutic design principles as its underpinning to create a therapeutic environment in the form of a rehabilitating center. The study aims to understand architectural means allowing a healthy relationship between the urban and the individual, encouraging and establishing respect for the community through program. The study is done as a response to the current social issues displayed in the Cape-flats and modern healthcare facilities whose design is based on the ability to function and house medical equipment rather than performing as an instrument of healing.
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    The City, The Body and The Mind: Interwoven Symbiosis of Nature, People and Architecture
    (2023) Nyoni, Mandla; Le, Grange Simone
    Beyond having an impression on identity, architecture and buildings share a symbiotic relationship in form of providing shelter to the human body. This thesis explores enhancing social fabric through the exploration of the interwoven symbiotic tectonics of the community's culture, their identity and architecture; guided by the understanding of emplaced embodied care. The thesis is formulated as architectural investigations dedicated to exploring roles of architecture in nurturing, sheltering, and reflecting the identity of the communities. Thus, the approach is to challenge how buildings combine the community's customs, traditions and needs with architectural work; leading to the argument that, such initiatives have the common purpose of encouraging the community to have an impact on their built environment and the society and ultimately enhancing social fabric. Even though a synthesis of theory, context, brief and technology this dissertation will expand on the field of architecture through critical reinterpretation of the community's culture and rituals to reimagine an appropriate platform that exhibit the concepts of constructed imagery, personal environment, and social communication in the form of a Iziko Community Life Centre dedicated for Abstract “We are our choices.” This interpretation of the famous saying by the 20th-century existentialist and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre when he claimed that “existence precedes essence” (Sartre, 38) is one of the often discussed positions towards definition of being. This leads to an understanding that the impression of who we are is defined by the choices that we make daily; these conscious and subconscious choices have an impression on our personality, perceptions, lifestyle, and feelings, conceiving what we can transcend. Mostly our identity is perceived through how we look like and where we come from, commonly through the way we look and live. Sustainable Building Technologies in disaster relief and emergency response in the disaster prone informal community of Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town I am passionate about people, especially those in communities. I believe there is a need to attend to strong social needs with very practical and noncomplex architectural solutions. This thesis presents a platform where I will able to build on my interest in the continued debate on how to make urban environments more equitable and inclusive through the adaptation and reimagination of both public and private spaces. This also aligns with my further personal focus which involves exploring strategies to implementing realistic and progressive solutions to the challenges of environmental and social sustainability and building technologies. I feel the need to practice in authentic, inclusive architecture to assist to upgrade and integrate existing communities while protecting and preserving their identities and culture. My focus is to navigate the complex structures set up in these communities with ultimately focusing in community architecture and the impact it has on the daily living of the general population of South Africa.
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    Un-structuring Museums: reclaiming agency and space in the Company Gardens
    (2023) Phiri, Sarah; Le, Grange Simone
    This dissertation explores the impact of colonial museum-making methods on the communities which they serve and the human body. Based on this research it then proposes alternative approaches to museum-making in a post-colonial context. The inquiry begins with an exploration of the history of museums in within a European, and then a South African context. It then goes on to look at the physical effects museums have on the human body and how people choose to engage as a result. This entry point ends with a summary of what people may need to be physically able to better engage with museums. The dissertation then goes to identify the Company Gardens as a site area and looks to its narrative as a guide to design. Based on this process, emerges an architectural intervention of an indigenous botany library and museum that aims to share the narrative of indigenous plants and Khoisan-based plant knowledge through its design. Initially, this dissertation aimed to find a fixed framework and approach to de-colonial museum design. But through the research process it becomes clear that there is no fixed approach to de- colonial museum design but rather it is a context-based process. This project becomes about reclaiming a previously colonised space and regaining agency of narrative. It attempts to disrupt colonial continuities that are still present in the Company Gardens.