Maverick : an architecture of refuge from the margins, in anticipation of a disastrous event in a hostile South African context

Abstract

Survival is bound to conditions of safety (now) and preservation (future). The places that marginal people inhabit are either permanent familiar places, or temporary unfamiliar places. These places however are also bound to time. When circumstances are unpredictable survival instincts are heightened, and when circumstances are predictable survival instincts are at a neutral level (or in in a state of homeostasis). If a place is undergoing change such as societal and political change, the change in mental state of a person occurs as this affects the survival of that person. The dissertation explores ideas of identity (valued, strong, useful), perception (how other people see the marginal) and marginalisation of specific groups of people. This will be investigated in terms of the preservation of the marginalised people through programmatic devices and activities (what can the marginal offer). The proposed programme (and supporting programmes) allow for the development of marginalised people in a hostile society in which survival and refuge are the first instincts. The intent of the architecture seeks to explore the relationship between a marginal person and place on a conceptual and physical level. Moreover the architecture seeks to negotiate the margins that society has placed between those who are approved within society (the norm) and those who are different than the norm. A consciousness of this difference or 'margin area' exists throughout the investigation which allows for an alternative approach to create thought-provoking architecture rather than an aesthetically pleasing architecture. It is the belief of the author that even though something might be 'broken', it remains more useful and is more valuable than something that was perfect in the first place. The project moves beyond monotony and strives for unity in difference (the marginal unite). Difference as a strength creates an opportunity to emphasise those who are different and finds a way to strengthen the alternative identities in a future spatial condition. The proposed programme facilitates the development of these identities to become stronger in time in order to withstand struggle and unpredictability.