Reconciling the monumental and the everyday : reconsidering monumentality, memory, and identity in the City of Tshwane's transient urban landscape

Abstract

Monumental space plays an important role in the reification and celebration of history, memory, and identity in the built fabric. A continuum of monumental architecture and spaces within the City of Tshwane represents its complex social, political, and spatial development over time, a dialogue which the current national government seeks to contribute to. However, the most prominent monumental schemes completed in the city, since the advent of democracy, exist as static objects with little relation to history or the needs of the city’s current inhabitants. This dissonance between the city’s “real” identity, and the identity represented by monumental architecture, has resulted in the development of stagnant edifices which contribute little to the urban environment. In order to realise the potential of monumental architecture to express an inclusive identity, and contribute meaningfully to urban space in the City of Tshwane, the representation of complexity and heterogeneity must be achieved in monumental spaces. A more inclusive form of monumental architecture, which integrates the complexities of history, memory, identity, and everyday urban need, is explored through the reconsideration of monumental form, representation, and user relationships.