Browsing by Author "Steenkamp Aletta"

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    Architectural Healing Spaces: How Design Protects, Rehabilitates Survivors of Abuse
    (2024) Isola, Teegan; Papanicolaou, Stiliani; Steenkamp Aletta
    This dissertation delves into an exploration of the profound potential of architectural interventions in facilitating the healing process for survivors of abuse, with a particular focus on women and children. Acknowledging the significance of environments that promote user comfort, personal control, privacy, sensory engagement, and a connection to nature, the study recognises the pivotal role these factors play in psychological well-being, especially for victims of domestic violence. Motivated by a deep understanding of the impact of domestic violence and trauma, this dissertation is dedicated to the creation of healing spaces for women and children. Its primary objective is to investigate how architecture can actively support the mental healing process of individuals. The project centres on the idea that spatial interventions can act as catalysts for creating dignity, healing, and restoration for survivors of abuse. At the heart of this endeavour is the establishment of a sanctuary, designed to provide women with a safe, nurturing, and empowering environment to recover from past traumas and develop essential life skills, ultimately fostering personal growth and self-sufficiency. The sanctuary offers a range of spaces, including areas for counselling, workshops, communal activities, and private reflection, seamlessly harmonising with the natural surroundings. The project combines therapeutic healing practices with practical skills training, empowering women on their journey to recovery. This comprehensive training covers a diverse array of areas, from business and entrepreneurship to agricultural and computer skills, equipping women to take control of their own healing and future. Set against the backdrop of a women-run farm in the Sandveld region of the Western Cape, the design explores the juxtaposition between refuge and reveal, striving to strike a balance between safety and comfort, while fostering a profound connection with the natural world. Through the strategic layering of spaces, materials that signify both solidity and transparency, and a dedication to integrating the built environment with the natural landscape, the project exemplifies the potential of architecture to serve as a catalyst for healing, restoration, and transformation, offering nurturing not only to its inhabitants but also to the landscape.
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    Unveiling ancestral land: Alkebu-lan practices of human habitation Ebandleni
    (2024) Mahlangu, Kenneth Mxolisi; Papanicolaou, Stiliani; Steenkamp Aletta
    Our cities can be perceived as palimpsests of sequential historic events that contributed to what the cities have become in the present age. Each event or occurrence produced and brought forth the intangible spirit of the time and place relatively, the aura, which can manifest through the people, culture, identity, or environment. Due to colonization, certain fundamental historical links and clues to who we are at our essence are hidden and distorted to be lost in history, along with them, the aura they possess is subdued. Consequently, what makes up the aura becomes extinct. The languages (mother tongue), the culture, the ways of creating artefacts, the art, the belief systems, the understanding of self and the environment (physically and spiritually), and at the end of it all, yourself. This dissertation situates itself in the context of the city of Tshwane, as the ancestral land. The settling of the AmaNdebele people pre-colonization is the root at the base of the city's palimpsest that seeks to be unveiled, celebrated, envisioned, and progressed in thought and making in what is an African city in the present day. The historic events that took place on the land saw unfortunate and unprecedented struggles and deterred the progress of a people for decades. Keywords: African, space, city-centre, culture, decolonisation, urbanism, social architecture, spirituality, reclaimation