The ephemeral aroma of the mysterious beauty plant: a hyacinth aroma and incense market at Rooidam, Lourier Park, Bloemfontein

Abstract

Rooidam is located on the outskirts of Bloemfontein and is a forgotten terrain indicative of what Edward Relph, a Canadian geographer, would state as a non-place. The inexplicable landscape consists of a floral wonder [hyacinth] which has the potential to be transformed into an ephemeral yet tangible body of experiential aroma. The main research question is: How can we reactivate the Rooidam through an aroma and incense market conceptualised through an interpretation of metamorphosis of the hyacinth plant? Past efforts to reactivate the area have not succeeded, due to the lack of care; it was simply left to become a dystopian landscape. By introducing a project that will propel commercial viability, create haptic experiences, enhance communal enclaves and attract people to interact with the neglected landscape, past failures can be rectified. The proposed design intervention will be guided by haptic senses, how experiences are created in spaces together with the production of space as memories. The intervention proposed argues that a hyacinth aroma and incense market has the power to reactivate and reinvigorate the landscape, unify the community while changing the perceptions of Rooidam.