Architectural Hybridity In Democracy : Reactivating Pretoria City Hall as a political civic center

Abstract

In this paper commentary is offered on the role of architecture in a democratic society, as manifested in its use as a tool in the creation of spaces through which the public has equal opportunities for expression and interaction, at both the micro and macro scales. How the public connects to the city is questioned, and the value of politicized South African architectural symbols to the current political environment, in which a higher level of transparency is being sought, is considered. The value of a localised platform acting as a mediator between architecture, the public and the political powers is argued for. Consideration is given to the greater continuum of architectural thinking by discussing modern examples of political ‘democratic’ architecture and comparing them to those seen in the South African context. Furthermore, an understanding of democracy in both the social and spatial realms becomes an important informant in establishing value to society.

The intention with the paper is to contribute to a way of thinking when designing within the confines of buildings that have past or present political value, such as the Pretoria City Hall, by addressing the question of how politics shapes architecture and how architecture, through politics, shapes the political environment. The focus is on how architecture is able to change meaning by inverting past symbols, so that the existing is enabled to become more representative of and responsive to the current socio-political environment.

In hierdie referaat word kommentaar gelewer op die rol van argitektuur in ‘n demokratiese samelewing, waar dit gebruik kan word as ‘n instrument vir die skep van ruimtes wat aan die publiek gelyke geleenthede vir uitdrukking en interaksie verskaf, op beide die mikro- en makroskale. Hoe die publiek met die stad konnekteer word bevraagteken, en die waarde van verpolitiseerde Suid-Afrikaanse argitektoaniese simbole vir die huidige politiese omgewing, waarin ‘n hoër vlak van deursigtigheid nagestreef word, word oorweeg. Daar word ten gunste van die waarde van ‘n gelokaliseerde platform wat as bemiddelaar tussen argitektuur, die publiek en die politieke magte kan optree, geargumenteer. Die groter kontinuum van argitektoniese denke word oorweeg deur moderne voorbeelde van politiese ‘demokratiese’ argitektuur te bespreek en met dié binne Suid-Afrikaanse konteks te vergelyk. Verder word ‘n begrip van demokrasie op beide die sosiale en ruimtelike terreine ‘n belangrike informant in die vaslegging van waarde vir die samelewing.

Met die referaat word daar beoog om by te dra tot ‘n manier van dink wanneer daar ontwerp word binne die grense van geboue met teenswoordige of geskiedkundige politieke waarde, soos die Pretoria Stadsaal, deur die vraag aan te spreek oor hoe politiek die argitektuur vorm en hoe argitektuur, deur politiek, die politiese omgewing vorm. Die fokus word geplaas op hoe betekenis deur middel van argitektuur verander kan word deur simbole van die verlede om te keer, sodat die bestaande meer verteenwoordigend van en responsief tot die huidige sosio-politiese omgewing kan word.