Browsing by Department "Conservation of the Built Environment"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Colonial architecture as heritage: German colonial architecture in post-colonial Windhoek
    (2018) Ruhlig, Vanessa Jane; Townsend, Stephen
    The rapid post-Independence development of the city of Windhoek, Namibia; and the ensuing destruction of a substantial number of German colonial buildings in the capital city, prompted speculation as to why these buildings are inadequately protected as heritage – and whether they are, in fact, considered to be heritage. The study explores the issues pertaining to the presence of German colonial architecture, as artefacts of the German colonial period, within the postcolonial context of Windhoek. The trauma and pain of the Namibian War and genocide (1904 – 1908) are recurring themes in the body of literature on postcolonial Namibia; and this informs a wider discourse on memory. Memory is found to play a crucial role in evoking a sense of both individual and shared ownership, through its capacity to create meaning, which can in turn ascribe value to a place. Memory is also dependent on visual cues for its continued existence, which suggests the importance of colonial architecture as a material prompt to sustain memory. The research therefore investigates the memories and multiple meanings attributable to colonial architecture in this plural society, and how these meanings can be created, or possibly reinvented, through the continued use of these buildings. The study is based on an assessment of three halls in Windhoek – the Grüner Kranz Hall (1906), the Kaiserkrone Hall (1909), and the Turnhalle (1909; 1912), all designed by the German architect Otto Busch – which illustrates in part, the need for the development of historical building surveys that assess the social values and significances of these contested spaces; and moreover, the potential that these spaces have to support memory work through their continued use.
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    Corbelled Buildings as heritage resources: in the Karoo, South Africa
    (2018) Hancock, Caroline; Townsend, Stephen
    The primary aim of this study was to determine who claims the corbelled buildings in the Karoo as their heritage and why. Through the use of vernacular architecture and heritage identification theory, interviews and research it is clear that the buildings are significant and a heritage resource. Their significance lies in their historical, social, aesthetic, symbolic and cultural values, as well as their unique vernacular construction and limited distribution. The corbelled buildings as vernacular buildings are part of the natural landscape which the local community associate as part of their identity and heritage. The buildings also possess academic and historical potential as they have the potential through further archaeological and vernacular architectural research, to provide more information on the northern frontier during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a time that is not well recorded or documented. The buildings were built in 19th century along the ‘open’ northern frontier where there was intermingling and creolisation of people from different economic and social groups. As a result, they cannot be claimed by a single group of people in the present. The vast range in types and styles of corbelled buildings indicate that they were built by most people living in the area. They can therefore, be claimed by everyone who lives in the area today. They can also be claimed as national heritage as they possess values that are common to the whole country.
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    Nostalgia and heritage in Korsten, Port Elizabeth, 1956 to 1990
    (2015) Wintermeyer, Bryan; Townsend, Stephen S
    This study centres on interdisciplinary notions of 'place’ (and its structures), the attachment to place, their ordinary and everyday potential heritage resources and the value of nostalgia as a method for engaging with these marginal heritages. The case is a set of values of a group of past users of a series of entertainment structures in Korsten, Port Elizabeth, from 1956 to 1990. Their everyday experience of living in Korsten, together with the trauma of displacement (as a consequence of forced removals) and the nostalgia associated with the joy of an 'era of entertainment’ they experienced as young adults in new structures such as grand cinemas and dance halls, is central to addressing the argument of this study. Three themes were explored through interviews with eight people. These were: the user experience, responses to nostalgia and the nature of the potential heritage resource. The interviews were initiated by open-ended questions that allowed for diversion and storytelling.
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    The use of Cape vernacular architecture in gated communities in the Stellenbosch area
    (2018) Havenga, Christine; Townsend, Stephen
    This dissertation contributes to the conversation about gated communities, which has become the fastest growing development sector in the post-apartheid South African city. It is a controversial form of development, due to the country’s history of residential segregation, and is regarded by many to contribute to a new form of segregated landscape causing social division and polarisation in the built environment. The study includes a discussion of the use of vernacular architecture in gated communities, a field largely unstudied by scholars of the built environment. This is explored by looking at some gated communities in the Stellenbosch area where Cape vernacular architecture is used. Stellenbosch is a historical student and tourist town with a townscape that reflects various colonial architectural styles. It is especially well known for its Cape Dutch architecture. It is also a town strongly associated with enduring white Afrikaner privilege and economic power. The history of the use and revival of Cape vernacular architecture—and specifically Cape Dutch architecture—during various periods in South African history has been well studied, as has its association with white supremacy and with later Afrikaner power. This study explores whether the use of this architectural style contributes to the perception of exclusion created by gated communities. The study could find no direct proof that this is the case, although there is some suggestion that the use of Cape vernacular architecture is promoted by various parties to enhance and protect a certain townscape, which is associated with a former and, for many, still-existing power base. However, the findings reveal that there are other factors at play in the use of this style of architecture in gated communities. These include a wider nostalgia for a former era, one considered to be a better period in time, as is reflected in New Urbanism developments. Also, developers and their architects believe that its use will enhance their chances of obtaining approval for an often-controversial type of development. They hope that the social status associated with Cape vernacular, and especially Cape Dutch architecture, will attract residents to these developments, which now include members of all racial groups of the South African society.