Nurturing Mamelodi

Abstract

The Khalambazo Buffer Zone is a natural buffer, formed along the banks of the Pienaarspruit. The apartheid government strategically used this landscape condition to divide the communities of Mamelodi into different ethnic zones, and thereby encourage tribalism. Despite a change in political regime, the effects of this urban planning strategy persist in the communities of Khalambazo and Selbourne & Site where the majority Tsonga and Pedi groups are in ethnic conflict with one another.

The intention of the dissertation is to create a socially cohesive space for multiple tribes of Mamelodi. The research employs a participatory design approach in order to generate an informed understanding of the site. A precedent analysis is used to generate a theoretical toolkit to guide and test the iterations of the design process.

As a design response, the dissertation proposes a new landscape condition- a cultural centre that can be reviewed as a constructed landscape which interrogates the natural and vernacular landforms of the site. The cultural landscape explores indigenous food making as a means to express cultural heritage and bring different ethnic groups together. Through this programme and design approach, the dissertation questions the typological understanding of cultural centres in a democratic South Africa.

Keywords: Tribalism, social cohesion, cultural centre, indigenous food making, constructed landscape.