Discovering nature’s flux: a riparian research and discovery center along the Sabie River
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Date
2021
Authors
Mukhtar, Mohammed F. A.
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Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
This design dissertation investigates the proposal of a Riparian Research and Discovery Centre on the bank of the Sabie River neighbouring the Kruger National Park. Riparian zones do not function independently from other ecotones and biomes, but they play a complex role in the integration of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The project aims to establish a centre that focuses on riparian observation (long term monitoring) which serves as a base camp for conservationists (researchers and students) to conduct necessary fieldwork for ecological research in the region as well as to educate the commercial and subsistence agricultural communities to encourage healthier forms of interaction with the river and finally to create an awareness of this volatile and fragile biome within the eco-tourism industry. Environmental experiences and the relationship we have with the natural environment can be subjective and a personal question of how we perceive ourselves in relation to it. In order to mediate ventures of discovery, the environment is seen as a locus of meaningful interpretation which evokes an environmental identity where we see ourselves as part of the natural environment. This dissertation aims to interpret this biome conceptually into the proposed design that enhances and aids the experience of the riparian zone on the Sabie River. The proposed design is a result of an ecologically ethical consideration that stems from the establishment of an environmental identity. The building, therefore, responds to the site in a way that evokes a narrative between the user and the surrounding landscape where architecture features as the mediator.
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Keywords
Dissertation (M.Arch. (Architecture))--University of the Free State, 2021, Riparian research, Conservation, Agricultural communities, Eco-tourism, Riparian zone, Environmental identity, Ecological ethics, Environmental narrative