Place, ritual and narrative: a coffee roastery and mushola in the Bo-Kaap

Abstract

The Bo-Kaap, previously known as the Cape Malay Quarters, is a vibrant place full of rich history and cultural significance. Tourists flock to the area from all around the world. This has inevitably led to forms of gentrification taking root, and some now see the Bo-Kaap as a kind of exhibition space where the insiders can be viewed by the outsiders. If this continues the Bo-Kaap runs the risk of losing its essence and unique voice within the ever-expanding global society. The possibility of facilitating more dignified interactions between insiders and outsiders needs to be investigated. The proposed design intervention, envisioned as a place born from architectural re-telling, aims to provide a space where insiders and outsiders may find common ground amid overlapping rituals and narratives. In this shared space, a coffee roastery, new empathic connections are encouraged without undermining the established voice of the place, since the proposal also offers a space where the insiders may continue to practice their own sacred rituals. As such, the proposed architectural intervention provides an in-between space for empathetic relationships to be built on the common ground sprouting from overlapping rituals and narratives. The goal is to move from ‘exhibition’ to ‘empathy’ while honouring existing ways of life and being sensitive to the historical urban surroundings.