Food, place & people : towards a spatial experience inspired by Marabastad's food culture

Abstract

This study is an investigation into the links between food, place and people and how the resulting exchange influences the production of an interior artefact. Marabastad as the immediate physical context of the selected site of intervention, plays an important role by being presented as a place where Southern African food culture is present, characterised by specific food practices and techniques. Although a distinct character, it often goes unacknowledged and underappreciated which can be attributed to emotional and physical barriers hindering its celebration.

In an effort to address current concerns within Marabastad’s food cycle, an architectural proposal was put forward for an MArch (Prof) dissertation in 2018, proposing to use the latent potential of an adjacent site by introducing a building complex that facilitates for a hybrid interaction of nature, culture and industry. This resulted in a site that accommodates for the full food cycle focusing on an integrated natural and productive landscape (Renton, 2018: IV). This is therefore used as a virtual site for this study.

The focus, however, is on one building within the complex which presents the opportunity to investigate adjacent Marabastad’s food practices and how factors such as people and place can influence its transposition onto the new site. The aim of the design project, therefore, is to investigate how space can be used to represent and enable intangible rituals as ingrained in Marabastad’s food culture thus providing a tangible spatial and sensorial experience.

Design development is focused on the potential of food spaces to serve as facilitators for social interaction, this including specificity of the kitchen layout to support individual ritual relating to food interaction. This is dependent on tools such as flexibility and craftsmanship to allow for appropriation of space to support ritual. Therefore, the technical investigation is an inquiry into how methods of flexibility and craftsmanship can support multiple kitchen typologies to facilitate different rituals of food preparation and interaction. This will be presented to include an introduction of two vendors, their menus and specific rituals relating to their menus. This will be followed by an illustration of how the stalls can be appropriated to function as desired by individuals. In its completion, the study proposes to provide an interior space that embodies the food culture of Marabastad thus becoming a place where people can make meaningful connections