Abstract:
This study is based on research undertaken in the context of a democratic, Post-Apartheid South
Africa, over 20 years into democracy. At the dawn of democracy, the nation was seeking a new
identity and for many South Africans it was to be an identity based on their African culture and
tradition. The nation’s politicians were also seeking ways to commemorate people who had lost
their lives in conflicts leading up to 1994, when South Africa held its first democratic elections. In
attempting to achieve this, the Department of Arts and Culture initiated a number of legacy
memorial and heritage projects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of
landscape architecture in communicating the intent and meaning of Isivivane, one of these
commemorative places, located in Freedom Park, Pretoria. To achieve this the study provides the
phenomenological context to clarify and recognise how people comprehend and experience
Isivivane; carries out an empirical analysis of Isivivane’s landscape features and their capacity to
amplify visitors’ experience and provoke an emotional response that unlocks the significance and
meaning of the place; draws on lessons gained from a literature review and a descriptive
presentation of the Isivivane case study. The data indicate that Isivivane’s landscape features create
a strong sense of place that intensify visitors’ experience and contribute significantly to their ability
to interpret and understand of the meaning of the place. The study confirms that the landscape is a
powerful tool in conveying meaning and commemoration and that it seems to have cross-cultural
significance in the context of post-apartheid South Africa. The study also enhances an
understanding of the conjunction between commemoration, identity and landscape design. It is
hoped that it will prompt further research into the relationship of national identity, nation building
and landscape architectural design at other Post-Apartheid projects, as well as research into the
power relations associated with commemorative places in South Africa.
