1 A Memory Exchange Hub ENCAPSULATING MEMORY THROUGH AN ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTION. Nico Janse van Rensburg 2015050038 2 This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree M.Arch (Prof) 2021 Department of Architecture, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of the Free State. Nico Janse van Rensburg | 2015050038 | nico.marchprof@gmail.com | +27786167368 Supervisors Prof J.D Smit, Mrs P. Smit, Mr H. Raubenheimer and Mr P. Mabe DECLARATION AND ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work that is contained in this document has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge, this document contains no material that has been previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made. I, Nico Janse van Rensburg, hereby declare that I am aware that the copyright is vested in the University of the Free State. The graphic images have been generated by me unless- referenced otherwise. I Nico Janse van Rensburg, hereby declare that all royalties as regards intellectual property that was developed during the course of and/ in connection with the study at the University of the Free State, will accrue to the University. 2 3 Aknowledgements, Thank you to my parents Marius Janse van Rensburg and Linque Janse van Rensburg for the opportunities they have created for me, if it was not for them I would not be the first of my extended family to reach a university qualification, let alone pursue a masters degree! I owe you all that I am and so much more. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their support, patience and mostly their understanding throughout this chapter in my life. Dedication and Thanks This dissertation is dedicated to all the educators who had a positive impact on my journey of internal, spiritual, emotion- al and academic growth. Most of all, it is dedicated to the first person in my family who obtained a matric certificate, a man who impacted a large number of the Lephalale community, someone who passed on way too soon; my Oupa Rooi. Words teach and examples reach! Thank you Oupa for the lessons you will forever live on as a testimony of academic excellence. 3 4 W Odendaal 0847711428 Wverster1@gmail.com Bloemfontein Bloemfontein 2022 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I, Wanda Odendaal, hereby confirm that I have edited A Memory Exchange Hub: Encapsulating Memory through an Architectural Intervention for Nico Janse van Rensburg to the best of my ability, during 2021 and January 2022. I strive to consistently maintain the highest quality in respect of document editing and academic writing advice. However, as I have no way of ensuring that source documents are indeed replaced with my edited version, and also have no control over changes subsequently made to documents, the final responsibility for documents always rests with the commissioning author. HEIL DIE LESER Ek, Wanda Odendaal, bevestig hiermee dat ek in 2021 en Januarie 2022 die taalversorging van A Memory Exchange Hub: Encapsulating Memory through an Architectural Intervention vir Nico Janse van Rensburg na die beste van my vermoë gedoen het. Ek poog om altyd die hoogste gehalte te handhaaf ten opsigte van dokumente wat taalversorg word. Aangesien ek egter op geen wyse kan verseker dat brondokumente wel met die taalversorgde weergawes vervang word nie, en ook geen beheer het oor veranderinge wat agterna op dokumente aangebring word nie, rus die finale verantwoordelikheid vir dokumente altyd op die opdraggewer. 18/01/2022 W Odendaal M. Arch (Professional) UFS M.Arch (Research) UFS BA (Hons) (Art History and Visual Culture) UFS cum laude Registered professional architect with South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) Cultural Historian Grade II (Architecture) with the South African Society for Cultural History (SASCH) 5 AbstrAct This dissertation is an exploration and design of a Memory Exchange Hub in Lephalale in between the Maroela Old Age Home and the local Lephalale Library. Lephalale is situated in Limpopo where the EXXARO coal mine is crucial to South Africa’s energy production and in being so offers a resource for the community at large, but the question is what this industry offers to Lephalale in return. The community is need of an intervention which contributes to their daily routines in community engagement. The reason for this study is to provide a central space in Lephalale for the community to expand their knowledge on different topics and be closely exposed to different types of people in Lephalale. A variety of trees surround the Bushveld landscape and the most important to the people is what is known as the big five South- African trees. These trees forms part of the way Lephalale treatsThis project introduces the formulation of a theoretical approach through an ancestral dream of the author. This evokes a study on the history of the people of Lephalale and ultimately formulates forms of memory to be introduces as physical realness. A culmination of conceptual approaches like preservation, interweaving and transience influences the design approach. The main theoretical stance is based on the theme of different forms of memory and how memory relates to space and time. A contribution to sustainable building design in a hot interior area is designed using the primary structural use of eucalyptus poles, secondary use of steel and an introduction of an alternate use of material. Thatch roofs evolve into thatch walls as a new morphological element. The main theme of the project introduces a space where the people of Lephalale can engage in different forms of narrative and be reminded of the connection they have with each other, their set of skills and the history of Lephalale. Key Words: Gathering, Memory, Hermeneutics, Historic, Sustainable and Design 6 Preamble The proposed project takes the form of a memory exchange hub in the centre of Lephalale in the Onverwacht region of Limpopo. The aim of this project is to promote engagement, skill development, education and story telling between members of small town Lephalale. A space where the community can exchange memories on a central site and be able to learn from a diverse range of people with a diverse set of skills and experiences. The project combines the arts, technology, knowledge and conversations in all its spaces of gathering. My interest in this typology arose from a dream I had of my ancestors who lived here and my own upbringing in the town. The memory of my late grandfather and the even greater impact he and so many others could have made if there was a space like this in town. A space to uplift the education and arts sectors, as they have been regressing due to the lack of community engagement over the past 15 years. The community gathers within their own groups of association, this limits the influence one may have on another group. People are limited to either their social groups or colleagues at work. The people often gather under trees before they go to work, some gather for religious events and in schools when temperatures in town are at its peak, pupils gather under trees to learn. The research in this document offers an historical understanding of the place, its people and overall the ethics of memory and the hermeneutic paradigm of Paul Ricouer. The research is focused on Lephalale and the way memories are linked to spaces of gathering; under trees. The delimination of the study is linked to the typology as well as location- the study is based in a specific place and this implies a context that requires a specific response. To avoid creating just a community or skill development or education centre, the theme of past, present and future memory connects the people and ecology in one architectural intervention. The proposal is aimed at improving the community engagement and to allow a space that offers a form of ritual, cultural and knowledge exchange. Thus providing a space where people can freely express their knowledge in the arts, exhibit their work, discuss experiences, improve their education and feel connected to people they never thought they would. 7 8 Table of contents Abstract Preamble Introduction Document Framework Orientating the Project Project Programme Summary Problem Statement Research Methodology Part 1: Orientating the Project 1.1.1. The Genesis: Ancestral Dreams 1.1.2. Historical Impact 1.1.3. Theorising Memory Exchange 1.1.4. Narratives of the People of Lephalale: Interviews 1.1.5. Mapping of Trees 1.1.6. Precedent Exploration 1.2. Typology 1.2.1. The Client 1.2.2. The User 1.3. Topology 1.3.1. Introduction to site and context 1.3.2. Macro Site Analysis 1.3.3. Meso Site Analysis 1.3.4. Micro Site Analysis 1.4. Morphology 1.4.1. Influences on the design resolution 1.5. Research Question 5 6 11 13 14 15 16 22 14 18 23 32 43 50 52 56 56 56 58 59 60 69 72 74 75 79 8 9 Part 2: Exploration and Grounding 2.1. Conceptual Development 2.1.1. Touchstone 2.1.2. Concepts 2.3. Typology 2.3.1. Precedent Exploration 2.3.2. Design Progress 2.3.3. [re]Figure Process 2.4. Tectonics 2.4.1. Precedent and Case Study 2.4.2. Structural Touchstones 2.4.3. Structural Philosophy 80 82 82 84 90 91 93 111 133 134 137 140 9 10 Part 3: Design Development and Technical Synthesis 3.1. The Building 3.2. Tectonics 3.2.1. Technical Report 3.2.3. Conclusion Part 4 4.1. Reflection 4.2. Reference List Appendix 145 145 163 164 174 175 175 176 185 10 11 Introduction Lephalale has a great history of using trees as gathering destinations, either for narrative, knowledge, skill or ritual exchange. These spaces often develop into permanent outdoor living spaces, mostly formed cohesively by nature and human activity. Starting as a game farming community in the early 1900s, the first plan of action from one of the pioneers, Mr. J. L. Lee, revolved around education. The town is located near the South Africa/Botswana border, with the closest border post at Groblersbrug, thus existing schools were too far. Therefore, the community had to establish successful education facilities through its multiple levels of schooling and contributing facililities like a library, additional accommodation for students and sporting grounds. However, this focus started to change when coal was discovered and the town started expanding its industrial sector in 1974. This too was good for the schools, but it did alter the focus from education to projects of industrial growth. Due to this growth there was an expansion of people in town to assist the construction of the mine and power stations. Once construction started reaching completion, many of those workers left town and, mostly, it is the original inhabitants who remain. The town is occupied by 17000 people, but now has many vacant spaces due to the efflux of people. This has changed the culture of the people in town as the people are separated now, but they have the potential to regroup their connection through an external intervention. For many years the people of the community did as much as possible to promote community engagement through hosting festivals, specific sport and cultural events, as well as community service projects. Currently the sport sector is still celebrated a bit, but most other engagements are too spread out and thus not easily accessible to all shool learners. The community is definitely in need of reinstating these rituals. Locating a space in the town’s central hub, where the people of the three main regions may meet on one central site to engage with each other on a daily basis, will improve community engagement and restore similar past engagement projects. 11 12 In order to achieve an architectural exploration, the history, the community, the ecological framework and the rituals need to be understood first as the theoretical framework of memory is built around these factors. The exchanging of memories from past to future and Ricouer’s five steps in his hermeneutic paradigm of memory is explored, as explained by Richard Kearney in ‘Architecture, ethics and the personhood of place’ (2007), analysed and applied to an architectural design exploration. An investigation on the use of Eucalyptus timber construction as a super structure is investigated, along with lightweight steel construction. The hot interior area becomes one of the main challenges and leads to the investigation of thatch as a wall element. 12 13 Document Framework This document is set out in four parts. Part 1- Orienting the Project This section demarcates the project rationale and background, through situating the reader relating to the ecological and memory preservation of the Lephalale community. The theory relating to memory (Bastea, 2004; Ricoeur, 1913- 2005 and Kearney, 2007) and showing the influence of these theories on the design and how they are addressed. Part 2- Exploration and Grounding This section, through an in depth interrogation of the macro and micro site, the influence of the site, context and parametres are explored. Precedents and suitable case studies are analysed which serve to inform the design. Part 3- Design Development This section delves into the design process and synthesis of the research conducted as well as the project aims concerning typology, morphology and topology, and tectonics. Through documenting every design, sketch, iteration and idea that serves to summate the final design, the entire design process is presented. Part 4- Reflection This section includes a personal reflection on the project. I interrogate whether the initial intent in terms of the initial aims and objectives of the project were fulfilled, where shortcomings exist and how solutions were incorporated. This section also includes the conclusion. 13 14 Part 1: Orientating the project This section starts off with the historical premise relating to the growth and decline in engagement of the community and a timeline summary of events in Lephalale. This will then introduce the discourse to the design, refering to memory, education, gathering and community engagement. Lastly, the challenges and aims will be investigated in terms of topology, morphology and typology. Part 1 1.1.1. The Genesis: Ancestral Dreams 1.1.2. Historical Impact 1.1.3. Theorising Memory Exchange 1.1.4. Narratives of the People of Lephalale: Interviews 1.1.5. Mapping of Trees 1.1.6. Precedent Exploration 1.2. Typology 1.2.1. The Client 1.2.2. The User 1.3. Topology 1.3.1. Introduction to site and context 1.4. Morphology 1.4.1. Influences on the design resolution 1.5. Research Question Figure 1: Photographs of Site View Collated (Author, 2021). 14 18 23 32 43 50 52 56 56 56 58 59 74 75 79 14 15 Site Description: Location: 1 Douwater Way, Onverwacht, Lephalale, South-Africa. Site coordinates: -23.68774192323029, 27.69725266572486 Client: The Limpopo Department of Sports Arts and Culture; Department of Higher Education and Training. Evergreen Arts Centre. Users: The Lephalale Community: Sculptors, painters, singers, musicians, students, elderly and entrepeneurs. Architectural Theoretical Premise: Investigating the ke kopano of inside and outside gathering spaces and how memory is exchanged. Architectural Approach: Creating a building which harmonises with the ecological preservation culture of the Lephalale community, where members may freely visit to explore their artistic expression and delve deeper into who they are as a community. A central, accessible space where community engagement is pivotal and where gaining knowledge can be magnetised, or in other words be absorbed through various forms of interactions. A celebration of Lephalale, its people and ecology. Project Programme Summary Private: Study Rooms- 10m2 Offices- 75m2 Boardroom- 30m2 Printing room- 20m2 Public: Coffee Shop- 50m2 Exhibition hall- 295m2 Discussion hall- 200m2 Gallery of capsules- 166m2 Semi-Public: Creative hall- 112m2 Adaptable hall- 100m2 Music Room- 20m2 Computer hall- 220m2 15 Figure 2: Site location in Onverwacht, Lephalale. (Google Earth, 2021: online adapted by author). 16 Problem Statement Lephalale is regressing since the construction of the two main power stations started in 1981 for Matimba and 2007 for Medupi. Given that Lephalale accommodates the worlds largest dry cooled power station in the world, it is fundamental to keep its memory and heritage alive. The people of Lephalale are disconnected from one another, yet most are still connected to the ecology. The community tends to create nesting or feeding spaces for the wildife in the area, some cultivate their backyards to grow fruits and vegetables, others go beyond with cleaning up the area they inhabit. The people have a great sense of pride for the bushveld, which resonates from the community’s past in how the environment has impacted their identity. A site-specific commemorative building aims to keep the memory and heritage of Lephalale alive. The town has historical graves placed at odd spaces in town, all far from one another. This evoked a question of how we can gather the past, present and future of Lephalale and allow these moments in time to be accommodated in one building that has an impact on the whole community. Lephalale has a rich history of community engagement with projects that connected a diverse of people in multi-faceted ways. So many events come to mind, most of which were hosted by Exxaro and Iscor, understandably so since they had the largest impact on the town’s development after the discovery of coal. This building that acts as a passageway for the exchange of memories can be a reminder to the people that their engagements are crucial to the growth of the community. 16 17 Project aim The bushveld environment allows for conversation, gathering, growth and engagement. The study aims to reconnect the people of Lephalale and allow them to be influenced by members they never knew would have an impact on them. These influencers are members of the past, present and future. Architecture that engages with both the metaphysical and physical calls for spaces that can allow one to discuss, reflect, replace, remember and react to moments in time. The building should allow each person who visits it to be marked as a member of the identity of Lephalale and engage with different exchanges of memory. 17 18 The Genesis: Ancestral Dreams This section touches on the first thoughts and experiences prior to the start of the project. The aim of this section is to not only pay a tribute to the author’s family, but also to enlighten the reader on how a thought can evoke the theoretical input. 18 19 The decision to start with this particular study was initially to honour the memory of the late people of Lephalale and it is based on a personal spiritual experience, where I dreamt of my late grandfather, Johannes Nicolaas Jacobus Steyn (1942-2012) as well my late aunt Magret Marie Steyn (1967- 2020). At the start of 2020 I was still very conflicted as to what my research topic for the year should be. That was until my grandfather visited me in a dream early January. I could see him in detail and were were enjoying a memorable conversation, I described everything my grandfather said in the dream to my mother, his eldest daughter. My mother was shaken at the spaces and events I described from my dream. It was all accurate events she remembers, but I’ve never experienced. In one particualr moment, he was sitting on a brown couch where the room had carpet flooring and horrible green curtains- a scene I can’t recall, but my mother mentioned they always had carpets and definitely had green curtains and couches. There was a lady on the couch next to him, I had assumed this was my grandmother as she passed away when I was only thirteen, when my grandfather passed away and at this age we didn’t socialise as much as my older siblings did with him. In the dream he was drinking a whiskey on the rocks and I had a whiskey with soda water, my mother claimed he would only drink whiskey on the rocks if it was a really good one and that he only started drinking whiskey during his last few years alive. 191919 19 Figure 3: Photograph of Oupa Rooi and Busveld Trees (A. Steenberg, 2011: edited by author). 20 Exactly one week later I dreamt of my late aunt who passed during the 2020 pandemic, she was my mother’s sister in-law. She and I had a unique bond, I will always remember the all-nighters we spent watching horrors and thrillers together, we started doing this when I was only five! No matter my age, I would always sit on her lap during family events, I truly loved her. She left us too soon, but she came to ask me something in my dream. She was sitting on the back of a white bakkie, something I never saw them with; My uncle claimed that they did have one long ago and that they also used it to travel and visit the Mogol river in Lephalale. In the dream she was sitting surrounded by people who’s faces I could not recognise, I am hoping that this is her birth family. The scene in the dream felt like she faked her own death and came back to apologise, but she looked at me and asked in Afrikaans: “Jou ma is seker kwaad Figure 4: Tannie Meisie (D. Steyn, 2018: edited by author) two parts as the felt or feeling, an intuitive experience where most of the decision making in the dissertation stems from. The felt highlights the events before my grandfather’s death as the felt is linked to physical experiences. The second is the real, linked to the metaphysical experiences and accentuates the events after his life. The dream I experienced is linked to physical and emotional memory that connected me to a spiritual memory and relates to his real, lived, ongoing life. The dream guided me to my grandfather’s grave and we shared a moment together at the grave. I spoke to him, and I know he was listening, I am sure I heard him talk back to me. I started walking through the graveyard and also visited my dad’s parents’ grave. I told them the same thing I told my mom’s parents, that I am uncertain with what I need to do. They needed to hear that I am here and I’m listening to them as well, in this moment I’m calling onto my ancestors to guide me. I have so many stories I needed to share with them, they passed on too soon! Our conversation didn’t make sense for the most part, I specifically remember him exclaiming “…stelligmiete, stelligtiete…”, my mother truly laughed at this as she said my grandfather loved explaining what stalagmites and stalactites are. I did not know any of this. The strangest thing is that was I could hear a child in the background, but I couldn’t see the child, I can only assume that this might be my mother’s late sister who had passed away at the age of two and whom I’ve never met. Perhaps the cognitave awareness of this knowledge of my mother’s sister and mother, allowed me to metaphysically paint a frame of the event in my consiousness. Carel Bertman writes of the experiential realism, known as the “felt-real” of anima (2004: 165-186). Extracting the term in 21 vir my?”; which translates to “Your mom is probably mad at me?” After I retold this story to my mom, she said she was mad at my aunt in an odd way, because her “Squeeza” left her without warning. I visited the site where my uncle scattered her ashes, it overlooks the bushveld, where one can see Lephalale in the distance. The view is green, blue, and beautiful! I spoke to her, and I could feel her presence, but I wasn’t sure if it was her or if it was just the wind. I got in my car, ready to leave, and a group of dragonflies surrounded my car even though there was no water nearby and then I remembered, she had a dragon tattoo- this moment reoccurred at various times in 2021. These two dreams are the legacies of positive people in my life with whom I felt a spiritual wholeness and their memories remain part of my lived world. Their images remain powerful guidelines of familiarity throughout the process of the project in the bushveld landscape. I did imagine that maybe these dreams were only vivid memories from my childhood, but I believe that my spiritual connection to my ancestors is what linked me to visions of them. These visions are spiritual memories of experiences of the deceased, where my mind adjusts, edits, and realises it. These types of experiences are narrated by the departed through my mind separated from my body, because my body can only experience physical moment in lived space. The dreams allowed me to ponder on what long term effects memory of people, places, ecology and experiences can have on people, specifically the people of Lephalale and the ecology. The chapters that follow is not about honouring the memory of the late people of Lephalale, but rather instills different forms of memory as a tool for creating architectural space for Lephalale. Figure 5: Oupa Rooi (M.C.J. Janse van Rensburg, 2012: edited by author). 22 RESEARCH METHOD RESEARCH DESIGN PART 1 ORIENTING THE PROJECT PART 2 EXPLORATION AND GROUNDING PART 3 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND SYNTHESIS PART 4 Siting the investigation: Rationalising Memory and Spaces of Gathering. DISCOURSE The Lephalale Narrative Preservation of Memory and Ecology with a Hermeneutic Paradigm Mapping of Trees TOPOLOGY Macro Site Analysis Meso Site Analysis Micro Site Analysis Client & User Challenges and Aims TYPOLOGY Challenges and Aims MORPHOLOGY Challenges and Aims CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT Touchstone Concepts Conceptual Framework TYPOLOGY Precedent Exploration Accommodation List TECTONICS Structural Touchstone Technical Report REFLECTION REFERENCE LIST ADENDUM APPENDIX SYNTHESIS concept - form- structural Implications DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FINAL DESIGN RESOLUTION TECHNICAL RESOLUTION 22 23 The past offers information that we can use to alter the methods and processes we follow today. This section delves into the development of Lephalale and how the history has an impact on the user and the design of the building. Historical impact 23 24 History of Lephalale The History of Lephalale. “…dorpstigting met die omgewing te harmonieer.”- J.P.W. Erasmus. The above translates to ‘harmonising town development with the ecology’ (Algemene Inligtig Ellisras, 1990: 27). The Development of the Town The town is located at 23.6665° S, 27.7448° E in the Limpopo province of South Africa, west of the Mogol river at a height of 900m above sea level (Algemene Inligting Ellisras, 1990: 28). The area is known for its Bushveld landscape and scenery (Engelbrech, n.d: 4). Boere around the Waterberg area, visited the area mostly in Winter, due to the wild animals frolicking during this time. The animal that was in most abundance was the wildebeest. The boere enjoyed hunting during that time and still do today, this hunting culture expanded greatly as they regularly receive foreigners visiting the game farms (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 5). A large amount of coal was discovered and excavated east of Ellisras. The Exxaro mine, was essentially the birth of the town as it created a lot of job opportunities. The town was unmapped, until Exxaro decided to start the mine in 1974. This development changed the quite small town into a town that flourished and was seen by many (Bylaag tot Die Noord-Transvaler. 1983: 4-5). The Grootegeluk Colliery is situated approximately 17km west of Onverwacht on the Grootfontein farm. The mine is the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Lephalale’s population expanded from 6489 in 1985 to 12332 in 1990 (1990: 1). The total population of people in town, estimated after the last census is 17000. The mine currently employs over 2000 people and is the largest of its kind in RSA (Algemene Inligting Ellisras, 1990: 29). Exxaro provides metal coal to its centra for the production of steel and metal. The lower grade coal is delivered to Eskom’s Matimba Power Station for electricity. Thus, the entire coal production benefits the economy and is logically used. Exxaro also provided homes, jobs and relaxing facilities (1990: 29). “Natuurbewaring en Kultuurbedrywighede is eweneens belangrike prioriteite” YSKOR & EVKOM (1990: 29-30). This quote emphasises how important the eco system and community projects used to be to the people of Lephalale, but this is not as evident as it used to be. Exxaro obtained the land rights to six farms in 1957, this includes Grootegeluk. They can supply coal for agriculture as well as domestic and metallurgical use. They supply coal to both power stations in Lephalale and the steelworks of Iscor. Tobacco farmers use their coal as well where they run a depot at Rustenburg. 2424 Figure 6: Limpopo Province (Google images, 2021: edited by author) 25 Matimba means Power in Tsonga and thus the name is suitable for the Matimba Power Station. The power station is the biggest of its kind in the world with a generating capacity of 4000MW (Algemene Inligting Ellisras, 1990: 30). The power station functions on the so-called direct dry cooling system which saves millions of fresh water daily, which is a good recommendation in the Waterberg district in the Limpopo province where water is relatively scarce. This water saving system only makes use of 0.8 litres for every kilowat per hour as compared to regular wet-cool power stations, which uses 2,5 litres of water for every kilowatt per hour. The planning of the powerstation started in 1978 and the construction started in mid 1981. The first unit was placed on commercial load in September 1987. The Lephalale Municipal area is made up of three farms; Grootfontein; which is largely in blue on the locality plan to the right, Onverwacht (in red) and Waterkloof (in green); and the area accumulates to 2500 ha (Algemene Inligting Ellisras, 1990: 2). The three developed living regions are each situated on one of these farms. Most people live in the Onverwacht (in red) and Marapong (in blue) regions, however the first develpments started in the Ellisras (in green) area (Algemene Inligting Ellisras, 1990: 4-5). The 3 farms are not outlined on the locality plan, but merely indicated with colour as to give an idea of where most of the farm ground is covered. The two sketches on the right are inspired by the shape of the town and how the main historical nodes connect. The base of the piece represents the river, along which the town was built on and the top point is the road to Botswana. The circles along the shaft are where the mine, power stations, Marapong and Onverwacht developed. Grootfontein Waterkloof Onverwacht Figure 8 & 9: Lephalale as a model (Author. 2021: own illustrations) Figure 7: Site View (Google Earth, 2021: edited by author) Marapong Ellisras marapong coal mine onverwacht ellisras EXXARO Medupi Matimba Site Mogol River 26 The earliest known history of the area is mostly built around African travelers. One of the most powerful Af- rican tribes was that of the Seleka tribe. The legendary Mzilikaze settled in this area and after whom the Sele- ka area was named (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 5). Shongoane was another tribe and they were always under attack by other tribes. Evidence of the boulders they threw at their attackers can still be seen at the bottom of Tafelkop. A large population of the Shongoane tribe is believed to have committed suicide, as described by PJ Schoeman, hundreds of tribe members jumped from the steep cliffs. “Beska se Kop” was named after the Besha tribe, who was located between the traditional grounds of the Seleka and Shongoane tribes. These tribes lived in the North East part of the area (Pelser, 2012: 13). The Lephalale River is also surrounded by some 200 late iron age sites (van Vollenhoven, 2008: 9). The Late Iron Age lasts between 1300-1840 CE (common era). The town is habitable for people, as it has good grazing (van Vollenhoven, 2008: 10). Cattle posts of the Letsibogo ce- ramic vaces have been located in the Lephalale area. During the 19th century; a.k.a the historical age; was when the first white travellers moved through the area, the first of which was Dr. Andrew Cowan and lt. Dono- van in 1808. Their expedition was followed by Coenraad de Buys in 1821 & 1825, wherafter David Hume explored the area in 1825 and again in 1830. William Cornwallis Harris moved through the area in 1836 (Bergh, 1999: 12- 15, 117-118). Some sites during this age can still be found in the Lephalale area. A Brief history (MSA-1899) The Middle Stone ages (MSA), take place in South Africa between 150 000 - 30 000 years ago (van Vollenhoven, 2008: 9). The sur- rounding area of the Lephalale River is in abundance with rock art to the east and south of Lephalale (Bergh, 1999: 4-5). These artworks were painted by the Basarwa and are mostly located at Nelsonskop and the “Oliekranse” (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 5). This particular group of travelers were hunters and gatherers who left traces over the Waterberg area. They were of mixed descent of the San and Negroid. They inhabited the area around 1875, and pos- sibly sooner (Pelser, 2012: 13). The “Nelson’s Kop” is also known as a Stone Age site, within the area (Pelser, 2012: 12). The area also has signs of agricultural activities, such as cattle grazing and the growing of crops. The grazing has resulted in the difficulty to scout the area, due to the highly dense vegetation (Pelser, 2012: 6-7). Figure 10: Lephalale Cave paintings 1 (Go Limpopo, n.d: online). Figure 11: Lephalale Cave paintings 2 (Go Limpopo, n.d: online).262626 27 A Brief History (1900-1999) The first white person to settle on the Waterkloof farm was Pieter Ernestus Jo- hannes Kruger (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 5). After his service to the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek, he was awarded The Waterkloof farm that was later named Ellisras (Meiring, 1989). Later, Marthinus Philippus van Staden, settled on the Groot- fontein farm. During this time, most of the white settlers moved to the area for the great game in the area, especially during winter. The town was located very far away from other larger settlements and transport in the 1920s and -30’s was a big problem for the boere community. They used to travel with a wagon usually pulled by a donkey, ox or horse. Vaalwater, a very small town located approximately 90km from Lephalale , was the nearest place where mills were located to grind corn (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 10-11). The South African railways installed a bus service bus stop on the Wa- terkloof farm in April of 1929, travelling from Vaalwater to Stockpoort. Stockpoort is located 76km from Lephalale next to the Limpopo river and houses the current border post to Botswana. During the movement of splitting farms into smaller units, especially on riverbanks, the farm Waterkloof already had a number of different owners in the 1930s. Thus, there was a reasonable amount of people in the Ellisras area that a shop, known as Whelpton se Winkel was also erected and later a post office was installed on the stoep of the shop. Waterkloof was known as the central point of the farming community at the time (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 25). Figure 12 & 13: Wildlife Photographs around Lephalale (M. Janse van Rensburg, 2020). 27 28 part of the education foundation in the town’s first school (Engel- brecht, [n.d.]: 9). Thomas Kavari, a cow herd to the pioneers, played a vital role in their community development and the lives of the pi- oneer’s families, so much so that he was buried amongst them in the pioneers graveyard; one of many burial sites in and around the town (Meiring, 1989). This fact is very unique as Kavari was a non-white person buried amongst white people during an era where it was so- cially considered taboo. The post office on the stoep of Whelpton se Winkel, expanded so much that surrounding post offices like Ons Hoop, Woudend and Monte Christo were shut down. At first there was only one telephone available in town at the call office and after a while the system ex- panded in such a way that almost every farm had a land line avail- able. It was only in 1986 that the entire area made use of an automatic telephone service. The post office expanded so much though, that a new post office was erected in the Onverwacht area in 1987. A few other post offices opened up and the one on Whelpton se Winkel closed down (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 25-26). Education The first development and growth that occurred in Ellisras (Leph- alale) was based on education. There was quite a number of farm schools in the area of Ellisras at the time. The education of the town started with a small school which was erected by Jan Lee. The first class room consisted of six long desks, big enough for 30 learners inside an old barn owned by Mr. MP van Staden. The school with 16 students was opened by the school principal, Mr. JP van der Walt on 7 October 1925 on the Grootfontein farm, next to Waterkloof. Once the school moved to Waterkloof in 1934, the school grew and even accommodated private hostels. The first official school was built on 11 November 1926 and was lo- cated on the Ellisras Primary School grounds. It was only in 1947 that Ellisras Primary was completed on the Waterkloof farm, the ad- dition of hostels was only complete in the following year. The school The developer of the town was Marthinus Frederik Loots, he moved to the Waterkloof farm in 1929, after one of the first pioneers, Jo- hannes Lodiwikus Lee. Lee was a hunter who moved to the area from Marico with his wife in 1886 as tenants (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 5) and only later in 1902 owned property. When a name was to be selected for the post office at Whelpton se Winkel, the name Ellis- ras was chosen. Marthinus Loots named the town “Ellis-Ras” and he named it after Pieter Barend Erasmus and Patrick Henry Ellis (Meiring, A. 1989). Ellis and Erasmus were both the owners of farm Waterkloof 498 in the 1930s (Algemene Inligting Ellisras, [n.d]: 28). Ellis was the second cousin to Marthinus and was famous for his actions in the army and his vegetable garden along the Mogol riv- er. Erasmus was the husband of Jan Lee’s widow, Martha Magdale- na Lee. He was also known for his actions in the Anglo-Boer war (South African War 1899-1902) against the British and for forming Figure 14: Pioneers engraved stone (Mering, 1989: photographed by author). 2828 29 became the main school, to attend in the area, thanks to the hostels. However, the school has often been impacted by the annual floods since the school is built along the flood line and have adapted to these impacts via water channels etc. to keep the water at bay. Many other farm schools shut down since Laerskool Ellisras opened. Education from levels grade 1-8 was available, but stu- dents were required to travel to a different area like Nylstroom (Modimolle), to further their education. Modimolle is located 152km from Lephalale. The school’s population grew to 105 and in January of 1959 it was proclaimed a Group II school which included the high- Figure 15: Lephalale Narratives Illustration (Author, 2021). school. Since then the school was expanded and accommodated highschool students as well, of which the first class matriculated in 1962. The School was split in two in 1964 and High School Ellisras was established across the road. Fortunately, in 1966, Ellisras High School was completed with its own hostels. In 1986, Bosveld Primary opened in Onverwacht, making it the sec- ond primary school in town, but the first in Onverwacht. This school also still functions. The first pre-school was Fort Asjas and by 1990 three pre-schools were established with the names of Tambotie (Ellisras preschool), Fort Asjas and Klein Duimpie (Hansie & Grietjie pre-school) all of these schools are still exist (Algemene inligting Ellisras, 1990: 6). Hansie & Grietjie is now owned by Linque Janse van Rensburg; my mother. Most English speaking students went to school at Settlers. In 1990 the total students in each school was 1000 for Bosveld Primary, 400 for Ellisras Primary and 850 for Ellisras High School indicating the growth that occured in Onverwacht. Marapong currently has one primary school, Onverwacht has 2 primary schools and a high school and Ellisras only has one high school and one primary school (Algemene Inligtig Ellisras, 1990: 30). Health and Wellness Medical assistance was difficult to find before the year 1936, thus the town’s people mostly relied on Boererate (home remedies); which is remedies unique to their culture; and their own at home pharmacies. Dr. Dekemah and Dr. Palm, from Nylstroom would occasionally vis- it the town where they would stay for a week and host pop-up clinics. The district nurses also contributed the health, as they would trav- el to people’s homes to deliver medication (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 15). Many well known people made lasting contributions, that ensured a healthy town. 30 and discovered large coal deposits on the Grootegeluk farm. This discovery became the pivot to the growth of the town. The geological survey devision of the department of mining in 1941 launched an exploratory programme. The country’s largest steel producer at the time, ISCOR was an active partici- pant in the programme. The drilling was complete in 1952, and in 1957 ISCOR bought the surface rights on 6 farms in total. It was only in 1973 that ISCOR decided to undertake an ex- tensive drilling programme in the potention open-pit area on Grootegeluk and the five adjoining farms. The first trial blast in the box-cut was detonated during December of the following year, and this was to lead the development of the Grootegeluk coal mine. The town has become the regional centre of the Noord- wes-Transvaal (Waterberg region), in a relatively short period since the development of the coal mine and Matimba power station. The town was only announced and approved as an of- ficial town on 7 December 1960 and according to the article in Munisipale en openbare dienste (1991: 48) and algemene inligting Ellisras (1990: 28-29), a local committee for the town was only established on 4 November 1965 It was only on the first of July 1986 that the town reached a fully functioning city council according to the administrative act 35 of 1986, howev- er the town has had municipal status of level 7 since 1 January 1990. Thus, the town is officially 61 years old in 2021. Nobel Peace prize winner, F.W. de Klerk and current President Ceril Ramaphosa used to meet at the D’Nyala Nature Reserve for peace talks in the 1990s before South-Africa’s first dem- ocratic election. The farm is known as the bush conference centre, mainly because of the amount of meetings it hosted for the apartheid government of South-Africa. President F.W de Klerk was the last president of the apartheid government and he made the effort to host meetings at D’Nyala from the beginning of his reign in 1989 where the main topic on the agenda was about the development of the country and strat- egies for change. It is here where he announced the release of The town didn’t have any delivery facilities as woman who were in labour were required to make use of a nurse from the Waterkloof farm either at their own homes or ath the nurse’s house. It was only in 1946 that the S.A.V.F opened a facility to accommodate woman in labour. The building started off as a shack made of corrugated sheeting, fortunately though, a stone building was constructed and completed on 17 October 1958. On 30 January 1985, the labour facility accommodated a tem- porary hospital. Business The first shop in town, as mentioned earlier, was Whelpton se Winkel and in 1946 a new shop was opened by Mr. Bell. That specific shop still existing and currently houses the Pica shop in the Ellisras area (Engelbrecht, [n.d.]: 25-26). The business sector grew gradually and soon the town housed Motor dealer- ships, a hotel, a hardware shop, a bakery, a café, and two other general stores, one of which was known as Waterkloof kon- tantwinkel and which fulfilled the needs of the people for a long time. A bank service was initially delivered through asso- ciates from Nylstroom (Modimolle). The first branch opened in town was Standard Bank, followed by Nedbank and later Volkskas. The influence of ISKOR and ESCOM had a large im- pact in the development of the business sector, since they are the reason the population of the town grew exponentially in a limited period of time. The town completed an OK-branch, a shopping centre, in 1987 and a large Supermarket was erected soon after in Onverwacht. Mining It took a while for people (both white and other groups) to ac- tually migrate to the area, due to the warm climate. The exten- sive herding of cows contributed to the accumulation of people in the town (Algemene beskrywing van die Ellisras Kaartvel). The area was inhabited by a few cattle herders and game hunt- ers before the year 1920. During 1920 however, the communi- ty’s government drilling programme started drilling for water 3030 31 hundreds of prisoners, whom included the first post-apartheid president, Nelson Mandela. On this day, 2 February 1990, he legal- ised the outlawed black liberation organisations, after 30 years of them being labelled illegal. This is also where he announced that his government wants to put an end to the apartheid era and ne- gotiate a constitution that will benefit all citizens of South-Africa. The D’Nyala had since been considered the meeting destination to discuss the matters on change and to prepare for the birth of the new South-Africa. Apartheid ended in April 1994 and the govern- ment officials of the African National Congress (ANC) still make an effort to visit the D’Nyala Nature Reserve for meetings. Municipality The centre houses the library (Figures 16 and 17) and city council, as well as where the proposed site for the project is located. The River and dams Ellisras was renamed to Lephalale in 2002 by the Municipality. The name Lephalale means “to flow” and is derived from the Setswana language. Hans Strijdom Dam (Mokolo dam) in the Mogol river supplies the town, mine and powerstation with water (Engelbrech, [n.d]: 4). The Mokolo dam was constructed between 1979 and 1980 on the Mogol river, the dam formerly known as the Hans Strijdom dam. The purpose of the dam is to serve as a form of water control for the municipality and other industrial purposes. Exxaro controls a water purifying network that is distributed by the municipality (Algemene inligting Ellisras, 1990: 30). All rivers flow north to the Limpopo river and of these the Magol river and Palala river are the most prominent (Algemene Inligting Ellisras, 1990: 28). The Limpopo river is suitable for canoos, rubberducks and small boats, except when flood season is near. In 2008, Hennie Lee took arial photos of the Mogol river and Tam- botie river flowing as one (1990: 5). The Mogol river had an urban influence on the town’s development especially during the 1930’s. Figure 16 & 17: Onverwacht local library (Author, 2021: own photographs). Figure 18: Mogol river and the Mogol flood line. (Author, 2021: own photographs). 32 Theorising Memory Exchange This section considers a variety of theoretical positions pertaining to different kinds of memory, how they are linked to a time line and how memory connects the ecology, the people and design on this timeline of felt- real. 32 33 THEORY DESIGN CONCEPT FELT Input Genesis of hermeneutic paradigm REAL Output [re]LIVE Built Space [re]PLACE 1. Tree 2. Preservation 3. Re-rooting 4. Spiritual Memory 5. History [re]MEMBER 1. Community 2. Interweaving 3. The Self 4. Emotional & Collective Memory 5. Present [re]ACT 1. Education 2. In-Between 3. Through Acting 4. Action Memory 5. Mystery HOSPITALITY FLEXIBILITY PLURALITY TRANSFIGURING OF THE PAST PARDON 3333333333 33 34 Revisit Memory: Time capsules of the Lephalale narrative. Transforming a core feeling or an idea that can only be seen through personal introspection, into a physical realness requires a series of memory exchanges and interactive processes. Irish philosopher Richard Kearney (2007) summarises French philosopher, Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutic model of “exchanging memories” where the reading focuses on memorials and how the traumatic or dramatic past experiences can allow for a different type of engagement between people today. Our memories and narratives are interwoven at different phases and thus create a platform for shared experience in a place. This section will mainly discuss the application of Ricoeur’s (1913-2005) latest work on memory, history, forgetting, as well as narrative identity and the turn to selfhood through the exchange of different types of memory. Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutic paradigm of memory exchange outlines Five steps to achieve the exchange of memories namely: ethic of narrative hospitality, ethic of narrative flexibility, narrative plurality, transfiguring of the past and finally pardon (Kearney, R. 2007: 99-101). Kearney (2007: 91-92) postulates that separated moments in time can provoke a sense of disorientation, which at the same time does not allow memory to “flow” as the past is what Ricoeur refers to as “blocked memory”. I question Ricoeur’s stance, as blocked memory is connected to the present, which is still a period of time, but blocked memory is not the past. The past consists of spiritual memory and place memory, whereas the present embodies emotional and collective memory. Figure 19: Watercolour Series (Author, 2021). Figure 20: Capsulating oneself; illustration (Author, 2021). 343434 35 In the animated series, Avatar the last air bender, Guru Pathik guides the Avatar to achieve the avatar state through opening his chakras. Guru Pathik is a century old nomadic supercentenarian in this episode and has accumulated a vast knowledge base of the spirit world and how people can be affected by it, especially when it comes to the Avatar who is the bridge between the human and the spiritual worlds (Konietzko and DiMartino, 2013: film). The human body possesses seven chakras and is believed to remain in a flowing state, if not then it can affect the physical and emotional well-being of the individual. Thus, if the individual’s memory is blocked, it does not allow for an emotional flow which affects your present state. The Avatar is connected to his past lives especially when in the avatar state, meaning he can communicate with his past spiritual selves and learn about the places they lived in; for the average human it is about connecting with one’s inner-self. This connection is a metaphysical experience and contributes to a spiriutual awakening in oneself. The history of a place is known as spiritual memory; in some instances, we can refer to spiritual memory as place memory, which in essence is the ethics of narrative hospitality and refers to the spirit of the place, thus spirit-place memory. The respect one has for the ecology contributes to the ethics of narrative hospitality in a spiritual sense. Perhaps a culmination of the two forms of memory is the product of subsequential memory, which in essence is the loss of memory; memory that has passed away. Avatar the last airbender teaches one about balance, and being hospitable towards the spirit of the place which is, in essence, what the 35 36 the “through” is the felt memory, and conjoining the two is that of history, present and mystery. Therefore, the felt-real is a culmination of spirit-place memory, emotional memory, collective memory, and action memory. Pardon refers to a forgiving process, however, when we create memories as a community no fogiveness is required, unless the memories are linked to the pains of the past. This fifth step in a memory exchange hub would not be focused on forgiveness, but rather keeping an open mind. Allowing onself to share memories; to engage and relive moments in new memories. Greek architect, Eleni Bastea is the editor of the book, Memory and Architecture and she collaborated with many others like Thomas Fisher, Sabir Kahn and Eric Sandweiss. They write on memory and its changing role in spaces that reveals the layers of imagination and enacting. The typology of the building is that of a memory exchange hub, it aims to allow for community engagements and a form of cultural, ritual and narrative exchange. Lephalale is a small coal mining town in Limpopo and in a bushveld landscape with a rich opportunity for hunting game. The first phase of the town’s development revolved around education, but the core focus shifted after the discovery of coal on the Grootfontein farm. The site-specific project commemorates the hybrid construct between generations of community members and the Lephalale local library, where a diverse community have tales to share and the capacity to learn and teach Laphalalians do for the environment. Hospitality (Caring/Preserving) towards the trees and the ecology is in fact preserving history, which is spiritual-place memory. The present embodies emotional and collective memory through the living members of the spirit of the place, which emphasises the ethics of narrative flexibility and narrative plurality. Most gathering spaces are where people tend to connect; where emotional and collective memory are mostly at play. Narrative flexibility is navigated by the ability to integrate the experience of processing an emotion and determining what the feeling meant, “more specifically, a person’s ability to switch between these modes” (Angus cited in Boritz, 2016: 2). Collective memory is a form of communicative memory and it has no fixed point which would bind it to the ever expanding past in the passing of time. Such fixity can only be achieved through a cultural formation and therefore lies outside of informal everyday memory (Warburg cited in Assman and Czaplicka, 1995: 126-127). The transfiguring of the past is a mystery, it emphasises acting on the past and influencing the future, which is action memory. The action memory consists mostly of a learning spectrum where one can make use of subject-performed tasks or verbal task to act on (Engelkamp and Cohen, 1991: 175-182). When an occasion for performing a task occurs, like an artist creating a piece of work or a miner is minig coal, that instruction is translated into action or visual schemes (Koriat, Ben-Zur and Nussbaum, 1990: 568). Ricoeur’s fifth step to achieve the full exchange of memories highlights the essence of the project. Pardon is the physical realness of the project, the built space. Ricouer refers to this stage as a stage of “working- through” whereas Kearney emphasises the mourning and the letting go in this stage, it was because Kearney (2007) focused on memorial spaces. These memorial spaces are still commemorative space, but the building typology of this dissertation is not that of a memorial space. The focus on “work” in working-through, presents a physical act whereas “through” is that of the metaphysical. The “work” is the real memory and 37 skills in a community hungry to learn. Memory of Tree: [Re]placing. The spiritual memory of this place, this bushveld landscape, is that of hunting, gathering and ecological respect. When the first Basarwa travelled through the bushveld, they treated the area with care and left their markings through paintings at “Jors se Koppie”/ Nelsonskop and the “Oliekranse” in Lephalale, Limpopo. The Mogol River, on which most of the initial farm lands and infrastructure is located, is also where a few ceramics have been located that was created by this nomadic tribe. The historical and present day contextual layout and setting is to be respected by all living organisms of the bushveld so ethics of narrative hospitality may be achieved. The place has changed in many ways from the middle stone ages to the 21st century. Irish Professor of history, Eric Sandwiess (2004: 25) writes that “Change is… one of the few constants of… life.” The only thing in the bushveld that has never changed is the respect that the people and the ecosystem have for the trees in the area. The trees form part of the greater memory of the place as they have achieved a place of permanence here and preserve an image of the past. Trees act as structures that allow spaces for exchange between different members’ histories and via welcoming the narratives of the outsider, the affected and the forgotten members. The trees are in essence the place, and as such, they are what American historian, Carel Bertram, refers to as the spiritual aspects of the history (2004: 182-186). Lephalale’s experiential inception by vehicle is dominated by vegetation and trees, one need to venture on foot to pause and witness the intensities of the thresholds in between the trees and realise specific building typologies. The trees act as an architectural framework and even with the change of seasons, it is often difficult to tell the passing of time; that is if the temperatures don’t change a bit. Time is experienced as a continuum rather than a progression; thus memory of the trees is fixed, they’ve always just been there, they are phenomenological beacons and therefore the spiritual memory Figure 21: [re]Place; illustration (Author, 2021). 38 of the place. The memory that the trees have of the people and the biodiversity are ever changing. Portugeuse chemical engineer ans politician, Maria de Lourdes Luz and Brazilian architect Ana Lucia Viera Dos Santos stipulates that there is no human presence or even future without memory (2004: 99). The biodiversity and trees hold memory, thus they encapsulate the spirit of the place. People tend to care for the bushveld landscape, almost as if the biodiversity is a guest the community’s living space. The truth is that the people are guests of the bushveld and are treated with a welcoming hospitality, and for the most part people practice the same care onto the environment. When a tree collapses, due to heavy annual rainfall, the lived members of the community notice this change and almost suddenly a moment of mourning or remembrance takes place, especially to those to whom that specific tree had more value to; either for cooling, fruit, gathering or play. These moments for every tree that falls can create what Kearny explains as an “ongoing drama of semantic and symbolic reinvention” (2007: 96). The trees are spiritual values of the site and at the same time used as markers of remembered spirituality, as explained by Bertram (2004: 182-186). If a tree is removed, then that would mean memory is removed, but the act of remembering the tree can be honoured through an external intervention and a positive emotional charge. The empty space where particular rituals used to occur now becomes a place of remembering, linked to the lived members’ memories as emotional charge. These moments are where lived members, who are the bearers of memory of the place, take action to remove the dead member of the community and plant a sapling nearby. This highlights the ethic of narrative hospitality as the living takes an open minded responsibility and acts out of sympathy for the dead, learning from the stories which concern another. Figure 22: Photograph of a nest: Physical memory attached to tree (Author, 2021). 39 Figure 22: Photograph of a nest: Physical memory attached to tree (Author, 2021). “Space and the Collective Memory: The great majority [of a city’s inhabitants] may well be more sensitive to a certain street being torn up, or a certain building or home being razed, than to the gravest national, political, or religious events. That is why great upheavals may severely shake society without altering the appearance of the city. Their effects are blunted as they filter down to those people who are closer to the stones than to men—the shoemaker in his shop; the artisan at his bench; the merchant in his store; the people in the market; the walker strolling about the streets, idling at the wharf, or visiting the garden terraces; the children playing on the corner; the old man enjoying the sunny wall or sitting on a stone bench; the beggar squatting by a city landmark.” (Halbwachs, 1950: 128-156) Memory of Community: [Re]membering. The two main cultural groups in Lephalale are that of the Afrikaner and the Bapedi. The proposed building thus becomes a space for multiple narratives and their intertextual interactive actions. Celebrating only one metanarrative in the community can lead to the challenge of competing narratives, thus celebrating one person and not the specific community at large can be liberated when loosened, which highlights the ethic of narrative flexibility and the narrative plurality. Different narratives can be conflicting, and it is thus vital to allow spaces that invite empathy to ‘outsiders’ of Lephalale and in return gain a “plurality of narrative perspectives” as explained by Kearney (2007: 99-100). Figure 23: [re]Member; illustration (Author, 2021). 40 Memory of Knowledge: [Re]acting. People come to Lephalale to celebrate and transform things: raw resources into finished products, new beginnings into bitter-sweet endings, action experiences into metaphysical experiences. The community exchanges memories and keep the narratives and teachings of past lives intact by practising and improving their methods, thus transfiguring the past. The act of learning is an ethical context of responsibility to the people in the community which achieves to offer a new future to past methods, whilst allowing the reciprocal exchange between members. Lephalale is a town built around industry, and the culture of craft is multi- faceted people that make up a larger part of the community. Nearly every member of the community has the skill to create something by hand: carpentry, welding, tanning, or wiring. Only the skills that are used at the mines for electrical and mechanical purposes are catered for in town through GROVOS, the training and development centre for future EXXARO coal mine employees. The community needs a creative intervention that would enable them to improve their knowledge base through means of a building that would enable them to enact their required field of expertise which may include moulding, weaving, baking, brewing, painting or singing. Methods of teaching and learning change, but the way it was done in the past can’t be changed as it is already fixed in time. Therefore people can practice fixed memory, thus follow instructions when performing a method to a specific task. Practicing memory requires the mentor to enact and improve the methods of learning and creating. The process may become easier by including improved methods of learning or being skilled in the making, but the tradition of making remains intact. Some ancient methods of creation may remain hidden if not exchanged amongst the living, thus it is vital to celebrate the methods in the present, so the past may live on in the future. The readings on methods can be discovered at the local library to the north of the site and the practical teachings from past lived experience can be taught by the elderly living at the old age home south of the site. Other An individual who has the lived experience of the bushveld landscape is confronted by their awareness of their role and cultural meaning when attempting to regenerate latent memory within the ecological environment. Every being of the place is on a venture to discover an “irrecoverable elsewhere”, Kearny explains it as every life being possessed by the feeling of absence and loss (2007: 97). The essence of creating a space for the community of the bushveld is to [re]member the metaphysical memory within the lived members: [Re]living an experience, a symbol. The space is to ensure that narratives of the members are exchanged; Kearney writes that German philosopher, Gadamer, refers to it as a “fusion of horizons” (2007: 99). When cultural memories are exchanged between the members, they empower the town’s local history and gain the ability to recount and reconfigure past actions: extracting coal, community transformation, the past of oneself. Lephalale experienced a rapid cultural change in 1974 when ISCOR developed what is known as EXXARO coal mine today. The town experienced an influx of ‘outsiders’ and this changed the cultural set up of Lephalale. The new inhabitants needed to learn about the way of living in the town and the original inhabitants needed to accommodate this experience. This new narrative plurality allowed for a celebration of different people, from different backgrounds, working together to achieve transformation of raw resources, new beginnings, and action experiences. The interwoven memories of the insiders and outsiders of the community in a shared narrative signify the expansion of memory and the embraced history as place. The identity of the diverse people in Lephalale is based on the recounted stories in the same past and the poetical ethics of memory is achieved after the remembering, retelling, and reciprocating of the members’ memories. The poetical ethics of memory refers to when the members exchange memories that might be foreign to another, the members enhance their own sense of self-awareness, in experiencing “oneself as another” which is also the title of Ricoeur’s book (1994). 41 members of the community with the necessary skill set can also partake in teaching the members who wish to learn and develop their skills and honour the specific craft. Johannes Nicholaas Jakobus Steyn was a local craftsman in Lephalale, and this project honours his memory as well. Sabir Kahn (2004) refers to the act of making as the “figuration into memory” and that it requires the live teachings and practices of the craft also referred to as memory-work or what Bertram calls memory as construction. That memory’s “transmutation” as Kahn explains, is that of a coherent narrative (2004: 118, 183). Thus the art of performance and the art of making is the “figuration into memory” which Kahn talks about. French architect, Jean-Louis Cohen and German archiect, Johannes Engelkamp uses simpler terms where action memory is either subject-performed tasks or verbal tasks. The items Steyn made is an autobiography of a memory, thus the object referred to as constructed memory is an assemblage of collective memory and offers a strong connection to the “tangled web of memory and space” (2004: 124, 182-184). A memorial space, as Kahn (2004) explains, allows for the process of letting go and putting to rest, but then that would mean that a community centre for learning takes the memory and puts it to action. The end product is a result of the working memory that can be exchanged again. Figure 24: [re]Acting; illustartion (Author. 2021). 4242 To conclude A Memory exchange hub as built space lays the foundation for the larger narrative which respects the unique characteristics of the people of Lephalale, as well as accepting and utilising the ecological reality. “Our histories are bound in space, just as they are bound in time” (Bastea, E. 2004 :7). It is thus the duty of the community of the bushveld to continue creating representational spaces for the history of the ecology over mere obscure lived spaces for just themselves. Ricouer’s hermeneutic model elaborates that people are living entities of the ecology and those members should treat the environment with that respect. The building is an expressive indicator of Lephalale’s living members’ agreement to co-exist peacefully, Maria de Lourdes Luz and Ana Lucia Viera Dos Santos refers to this act as Modus Vendi, which allows for an improved comprehension understanding of the diverse social dynamics of the community (2004: 99). The building serves as an innovative exchange of memories that involves the ecology and the people. The exchange of raw material for end products is core to the building’s typology and the memory of the place. All buildings have an element of symbolizing narrative and memory, thus it is the essence of the community’s identity and the lived members can link meaning to the spaces. Carel Bertram (2004) writes this place is “comprehensible” and therefore the creations on site are symbolic memory (2004: 165). In order to make the place memorable to the self, the building should allow for the act of poetic ethics of memory. An exchange of memories of creation requires the Ricouer’s fifth ethical principle known as pardon, where reliving, remembering, and reacting requires a series of feeling, understanding and continuity. The aim of the building is thus to become a space where nature, community and knowledge is celebrated by motivating the reliving an exchange of memories. When people visit the abundantly tree filled site, they are all, for a fleeting moment, members of the site and eternally engraved in the memories of the trees. The memory exchange hub forms part of subsequential, emotional, collective and action memory as it is intact with a knowledge base value where people can learn from one another and this act of learning encapsulate real memory, and it is therefore a space that allows for a shared architectural past. Figure 25: JNJ Steyn; illustration (Author, 2021). 43 Narratives of the People of Lephalale: Interviews and Tree Comparisson The narratives of community members in Lephalale are just as important as the trees in the area. This section aims to highlight the connection between community members and indigenous trees on the site. The understanding of how people and trees are part of one spirit of the place, will lead to how gath- ering spaces can be created to celebrate the Knob- thorn, Boabab and Marula trees. The section introduces the inspiration for the differ- ent spaces designed in the project. 43 44 The Knob Thorn tree (Senegalia nigrescens) Elephants make use of this particular tree in the wild to smooth out their horns. It is evident how the tree received its name, the knob thorns along its mark is visibly unique to this tree. Bafedile, Rene and Ben all have one characteristic in common; bringing people together to perform and stand out. Just as the thorns become more visible as time passes, as does the talent of people when they grow the skill. Bafedile Abraham Masasa Evergreen is an organisation which aims to improve and restore the arts sector in Lephalale. The chairperson of the organisation is 34 year old Bafedile, an artist, director, writer and active member in his community. The spiritual Tswana performer was raised in the Marapong area where he currently resides. As a young boy he loved wearing dresses, which is so very rare and never embraced in Lephalale. He was bullied for being a proud LGBTQ+ member in society, but since the age of 13 that didn’t phase him anymore as he learned how to fend for himself. Artists like Jim Alley, Sello Maake and Nambitha Mpumwana inspired him to go study Industrial and Musical theatre at PRIDA in Polokwane and was lectured by Mahuma Paul Rapetsoa from Get down Productions. Ben & Rene Eloff Growing up in Lephalale I was taught singing tecniques by Ben and painting tecniques by his wife Rene. They both travel every Wednesday from Pretoria to teach the people of the town these two skills. Rene also teaches her students how to play instruments. They are not originally from Lephalale, but they have become part of the artistic community. Music can have an impact on triggering memories of the past or even memories of specific people. My late aunt really loved the music of Juanita du Plessis and playing her music on my aunt’s first birthday in heaven on 1 June 2021, proved to me that music does trigger memory. The emotions, the shared experiences and the dances on Juanita’s music sparked a spiritual connection and it was as if my aunt was listening to it with me. I remember how she used to react when the song Jessica of Ray Dylan would play, as the song starts she would scream from the top of her lungs! I can’t listen to that song without hearing that screaming or rather cheering in my head. Figure 26: Bafedile A Masasa; illustration (Author, 2021). 4444 45 Figure 27: Photograph of Knob Thorn Tree on site (Author, 2021). 45 46 Figure 28: Photograph of Boabab Tree on Site (Author, 2021). 46 47 Boabab Tree (Adansonia digitata) The tree has a high nutritious and medicinal value and can be cultivated very easily (Sanchez, 2009:199). There is a Boabab tree not too far from Lephalale that has a bar built inside of its trunk. These trees hold magnificent qualities and are known for its enduring lifespan. Delsinia Ngwepe The 25 year old Bapedi traditional healer studied at Mbmabali in Hermans Kraal, where she learned to help people with their health and personal problems presented in past, present and future. She grew up in Lephalale on Blinkwater and currently resides in Marapong area. She received an acestral calling through visons she received since the age of 13. The pot she uses to make medicine is made of mud/clay and she uses common plant like Monapari, Sponyopa, Mpesu, Tshikadithatha, Tjhikwani and Moshoanwanuku. Both Delsinia and the Boabab tree are known in the Lephalale context for differnt reasons by the members of the community. They both encapsulate the trait of healing and engagement with multiple individuals, spiritually and physically. Claris Dreyer Exxaro coal mine’s former local geoligist, Mr. C. Dreyer have been part of the Lephalale community for many years. His children all live overseas and he has no other descendants in South-Africa. Claris and his wife live in Lephalale, in one of the few houses without a single fence where they chose to retire. Claris spent his life gathering objects like stones, fossils and even ceramics througout his years of traveling and involvement in projects. His narrative evokes the question of where his founding might end up one day, since transporting it overseas to his children will be a big challenge. Figure 29: Delsinia Ngwepe; illustration (Author, 2021). 47 48 The Marula Tree in town (Scelerocarya birrea) Lephalale has an abundance of Marula trees. People traveling by foot can easily pick up the fruit that has fallen from the tall tree and eat it on their way. Locals in Lephalale use the fruit to make mampoer or traditional beer. The tree is high in vitamin C writes Beijing Forestry University (2011: 38), they mention that the Vitamin C content of the fruit surpasses that of orange, lemon and mango per 100g fresh weight. Most of the trees are located more in the Onverwacht area and other North West areas. The tree has multiple uses and different indigenous practices across Africa. In Botswana; the border is aproximately 40km from Lephalale; their practises involves using the bark of the tree and a powdered or infusion made from the male or female plant can influence the gender of an unborn child. South African indigenous practices use parts of the tree and/or fruit to treat asthma, arthritus, cramps, kidney pain, fever, malaria, burns boils diarrhea and the plant is also used as an anti-aging product or moisturiser (2011: 40). Marula has been a protected species in South Africa since 1962 (2011: 37). Just like Mari and Maymowrei, the tree creates opportunities for entrepeneurship. Freezing time: Marulas In January 2021 I gathered some Marula fruit in town from the sidewalks as I used to do as a child, I then stored these fruit in a freezer to see if they would still be usable and edible after defrosting them. The fruit could be defrosted and did not lose its quality, the contents of the fruit was well preserved and did not lose its taste. Maymowrei Nyama The 27 year old Bapedi & Northern Ndebele entrepeneur is a WITS Business management graduate from Onverwacht, Lephalale who currently resides in Johannesburg. She started her own clothing brand, Maylux Swimwear. The library was a home for her, she spent many hours there. She was part of the children who painted Christmas decorations on the library windows. She never wants to leave Lephalale, so she is hoping to return to town soon and impact the youth. Mari van Lingen Barnard During my adolesence I worked at a coffee shop, Innovation which was owned by Mari and known by many. The coffee shop is where a lot of senior citizens and mostly women went to break away from their daily routines. The spirit of the place is left empty when her soul left her body in 2021. Figure 30: Mari van Lingen illustration (Author, 2021). 4848 49 Figure 31: Photograph of Marula Tree on Site (Author, 2021). 49 50 Trees plotted on Site: Boabab (Adansonia Digitata) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Nigrescens) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Mopane (Colosphospermum Mopane) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) White-Stinkwood (Celtis Africana) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Figure 32: Edited Photographs: Knowledge of Site (Author, 2021).5050 51 Figure 33: Trees plotted on site; Illustration (Author, 2021). G S E d u c a ti o n a lV e rs io n Boabab (Adansonia Digitata) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) White-Stinkwood (Celtis Africana) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Hybrid Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Acacia Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia)Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Acacia Boabab (Adansonia Digitata) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Knob-thorn (Acacia nigrescens) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea)Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) White-Stinkwood (Celtis Africana) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Mopane (Colophospermu m mopane) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia)Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Marula (Scelerocarya Birrea) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Boabab (Adansonia Digitata) Mopane (Colosphosperm um Mopane) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) White-Stinkwood (Celtis Africana) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Russet Bushwillow (Combretum Hereroense) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Boabab (Adansonia Digitata) Acacia Acacia Acacia Acacia Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Wrock-False Thorn (Albizia Brevifolia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum Molle) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Red Bushwillow (Combretum Apicalatum) Boabab (Adansonia Digitata) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) Knob-Thorn (Senegalia Acacia) S -0 1 S -0 1 S -0 3 S -0 3 S -0 4 S -0 4 S-05S-05 S-06 S-06 S -0 8 S -0 8 W e s t E le v a ti o n South Elevation E a s t E le v a ti o n North Elevation 5252 Precedent Exploration Three theoretical precedent studies are discussed on the next few pages, two of which are international and one in the Waterberg area; the same region as the choice of site for the design proposal. Each one of these have impacted the design of the memory exchange hub. 5252 53 Nid Vu, Nid Connu (The Nest) Muttersholtz, France FIRM Studio 1984 TYPE Cultural › Pavilion YEAR 2012 SIZE 20 square-metre This particular design in France makes use of natural material that was located on site. An old den stacked with unused hay was used to create this cultural pavilion. The repurposing of materials has given the elements new play and uplifted the use of the site. The agricultural vernacular construction method offers a typical form of the traditional barns and attempts at restoring their discreet charm. The structure’s environmental impact is almost zero, thus resulting in the structure caringly fitting in with the environment. The use of hay sparks the possibilty of using a local South-African material, thatch, generally used as a roof material, to use them as walls instead in the hot interior climate of Lephalale. Figure 34: The Nest before (Studio 1984, 2011: online). Figure 35&36: The Nest after (Studio 1984, 2012: online). 53 54 Ring around a Tree Tachikawa, Tokyo Japan FIRM Tezuka Architects TYPE Kindergarten YEAR 2007 SIZE 145 square-metre A typhoon impacted the area where a Zelkova tree was partially uprooted, survived and se- lected as the site to honour the past with this building project. The tree acts as a memory of the traumatic nat- ural disaster that impacted the city, and creates a structure that protects the tree honours that memory in new forms. The children will now remember the tree as one that offers a space for play, where older generations it is a reminder of the past. The contrasting creation of mem- ory and subsequential memory live harmoni- ously in this space. The play space protects the tree, but this ap- proach could hinder the trees maximum limits to growth if not executed appropriately. In the Lep- halale area one has to also consider animal life. This precedent sparked the notion of creating singing spaces on platforms at the same height that birds sing to. Thus connecting to nature in a new way and also allow the people who play sports to notice the sound of people singing, and actually spot them singing on the site. Thus, re- sulting in another approach to attract the Lepha- lale community to site. Figure 37: Ring around the Tree; illustration (Author, 2021). Figure 38: Ring around the Tree (Unknown. 2011: online). 55 House of the Big Arch Waterberg, South-Africa ARCHITECT Frankie Papas TYPE Home YEAR 2019 SIZE 120-square-metre Frankie Pappas built an “incred- ibly” narrow brick residence that disappears in the waterberg moun- tains The building was designed for an elderly couple who has great knowledge and love for the bush- feld. The aim of the project was to not cut down any trees, which also evokes the notion that bushvelders (this includes people of Lephalale) care for the environment and want to protect it as much as possible. The memory exchange hub, just like the House of the Big Arch is located in the Waterbeg area. Frankie Papas made use of a 3D scanner and Printers to aid in lo- cating where the trees on site are, thus resulting in locating a narrow open corridor for the construction of the home (2019: online). The first image to the left shows inspiration for the tower of knowl- edge, which houses an archive of irreplacable books, articles, photo- graphs and news papers of Lepha- lale and her history. Figure 39: Wine cellar (Pappas, 2019: online). Figure 41: House of the Big Arch Plan; illustration (Author, 2021). Figure 40: Arial view (Pappas, 2019: online). Figure 42: House of the Big Arch Exterior; illustration (Author, 2021). Figure 43: House of the Big Arch Entrance; illustration (Author, 2021). 56 Typology The typology is that of a public building open to the Lephalale community, which offers facilities to be educated, to socialise, to teach and to be creative. Clients The site is located on the premises of the Lephalale Municipality and the building will connect to the existing library linked to the municipality building. The building accommodates arts, culture and edu- cation facilities where the departments in Limpopo would be actively involved along with community established organisations: Lephalale Community Arts Centre, Lephalale the Musical and Evergreen. Users Students of all ages ( Especially those who require computer facilities), Parents (Who may drop off their children at af- ter school extra curicular activities or who need a break away), Elderly (Mostly from the SAVF Marula oord old age home South of the site), Educators like Rene, Ben and Bafedile (Singing, dancing, acting, art) Entrepeneurs like Maymowrei and Mari (Clothing, 57 Figure 44: Photograph of Lephalale Municipality North facade (Author, 2021). 58 The bushveld’s obstacles are unpredictable, the aim is to accommodate and simplify these issues through compart- mentalization under the different groups of typology, topology, morphology and tectonics. This investigation will serve as a means to inform the topic further. Figure 45 : Photograph of Boabab Tree on Site (Author, 2021). 58585858 59 USE- THE FUNCTION The typology of a building pertains to the type of functions the building has to offer as well as the type of people that would regularly be making use of the building. The typology of this particular building is theoreti- cal and thus is catagorised as a-typical since no clear typology could be found catagorised as a memory exchange hub. Community and cultur- al centres, as well as social space, creative spaces and exhibition spaces need to be examined to locate a more clear understanding of sizing and how the functions would fit into the building. PROBLEM STATEMENT RELATING TO TYPOLOGY The typology of the building is hybrid and focuses on spaces that pro- mote the art sector as well as community engagement and education through narrative and skill building. Thus main spaces to be inluded are creation spaces for art (art studio, exhibition hall, backstage music room and main stage performance space); social spaces for the share of narrative (Discussion hall, restaurant and multi-functional space); as well as spaces to improve learning (Computer facilities, play area and gallery of capsules). This building aims to allow for the exchange of memories in a past, present and future framework amongst the Leph- alale community. AIMS RELATING TO TYPOLOGY The building aims to offer a central space in town for community mem- bers to gather and reinvent new forms of community engagement. To avoid the building being unnoticed behind dense trees on site by the community, an approach of building on the edges of the site should allow the building to also engage with the external surroundings. The inclusion of a tower as hierarchial point can evoke curiosity and attract more users or visitors. DELIMINATIONS OF THE STUDY This project is not just another educational or cultural or social build- ing. This building aims to encapsulate memory, not only between indi- viduals, but physically as well; through the art of exchange. The focus on preservation of environment, memories and engagement is a coher- ant factor which should remain constant. DESIGN CHALLENGES INCLUDE: 1. Preservation of the ecological makeup of the site and context. 2. Activating a road that has not been fully utilised in years. 3. Achieving a way to invite a diverse people to the building on a daily basis. 4. Ensuring that the art sector grows through the use of this building. 5. Creating spaces where conversation and other forms of exchanges may occur. 6. Minimising the carbon footprint since the mines already have a neg- ative impact. PROJECT AIM The bushveld environment allows for conversation, gathering, growth and engagement. The study aims to reconnect the people of Lephalale and allow them to be influenced by members they never knew would have an impact on them. These influencers are members of past, present and future. Architecture that engages with both the metaphys- ical and physical calls for spaces that can allow one to discuss, reflect, replace, remember and react to moments in time. The building should allow each person who visits it to be marked as a member of the identity of Lephalale and engage with different ex- changes of memory. 59 60 Macro Context Lephalale is located in Limpopo, South-Africa and has a population of 17000 people. A majoroty of visitors access the town via the entrance on the Ellisras farm, which is where the Mogol river flows. Heavy rainfal is the cause of this river flooding this area of the town, sometimes prohibiting access to the town, especially for people who live on farms along the river. The town was built along this river until coal was discoverd. The town expanded since the discovery of coal and now has 3 living regions: Marapong, Onverwacht and Ellisras. Figure 46 : Lephalale in Limpopo (Google images, 2021: online). 6060 61 Vegetation, Soil and Ecosystem Aside from the climate, the town has beautiful living areas thanks to its abundance in indigenous bushveld trees like Maroela, Hard- ekool, Wilde Sering and Rooibos to name a few of the most well known in the area. The area is a great plains landscape starting in the North-Western part of Limpopo and reaches the foothills of the Waterberg in the South-East (Algemene Beskrywing van die Ellisras Kaartvel) The town also has a variety of farming, such as cattle, game, citrus and crop irrigation. The area is a popular sought after game hunting area. Kudus (Tragelaphus strepssiceros), Warthogs, reedbucks (Aepyceros melampus) and “vlaktewild” can be found mostly on farms. Crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) and Hippos (Hippopota- mus amphibius) are mostly located in the Mogol River and Mokolo Dam. A variation of plantlife can be seen in town, from “suur bosveld” in the south-east with Trasvaalboekenhout (Faurea saligna) as an a-typical specimen. The central area is more of a “mixed bosveld” with rooiboswilg (Cornbretum apiculatum) as the dominant specie. “Soetbosveld” covers the Limpopo valley (1990: 34). Figure 47 : Macro view of Lephalale (1Map, 2021: online). 61 Marapong 62 ELLISRAS Ellisras is located on the farm Waterk- loof During 1970’s the Ellisras area, along the Mogol river was mostly used for commercial use and still hosts many of the first retail stores open in town. ONVERWACHT Onverwacht is on the farm Onver- wacht and houses the Iscor em- ployees’ residential area, known toe locals as “blikkiesdorp”. All the homes were constructed in a simi- lar manner, from asbestos. Onverwacht houses a majority of the town’s activities. In 1990 the Mogolclub, to the east of the project site, was maintained by ISCOR and ESCOM. Figure 48: Compilation of 3 regions (Google maps, 2021: online adapted by author). 626262 63 MARAPONG Marapong is located on Grootfon- tein. This area is located close to the mines and power station and wasn’t part of the Municipality until 1994. The area was established for ES- COM and ISCOR’s black employees at the time. This region of the town still houses many members of the town’s population. Phase 1 of the town had 812 erven and the total area provided for de- velopment at first was 324,6291 hectar (Algemene Inligting El- lisras: 7). The Marapong area was run by their own munic- ipality, separate from Onver- wacht and Ellisras regions. The town’s only railway track connects Thabazimbi to Exx- aro and the Matimba power station. Thousands of hitchikers travel from Mokerong Lebowa to the town daily. Figure 49 Compilation of 3 regions (Google maps, 2021: online adapted by author). 63 64 Choosing a site Three potential sites were initially investigated at the start of the research to ensure that the most suitable solu- tion can be selected. The building requires the site to be easily accessible by the public, however it should embody some hidden quality. The entirety of Lephalale is filled with bushveld scenery, meaning a lot of trees, grass and small creatures like monkeys, warthogs, mongooses and guiney fowls can be spotted in the area. The first investigated site is located right next to the up- town shopping centre on Nelson Mandela drive and Wells Street. The site is located east of Lephalale, and has immediate access to the main road leading through mid- town known as the Onverwacht area, all the way to the coal mines near the Marapong area. The site is surround- ed by retail, accommodation and has a small family grave yard. The graveyard, however is an obstacle that can hin- der the building process in multiple ways. Especially con- sidering white painted stones located around the grave site, that might be possible nameless graves. Relocating the graves will be a big process, as some are not identified Figure 51: Signal Tower (Janse van Rensburg, M., 2021: photograph). Figure 50: Guinea fowl in a tree (Janse van Rensburg, M., 2021: photograph). 6464 65 and others are older than sixty years. The site is also in abundance with wild fruits and homeless people have occupied hidden areas on the site. Uptown is where most Zimbabweans live, even illegally sometimes, because it is closer to farming lands and where they can locate jobs easier. Onverwacht has a large and mostly unutilised fenced off site, right across the town’s first mall. This second option site is located on the intersec- tion of Walter Sisulu drive and Chris Hani Ave- nue. The mall, local garage, car wash, food corner, taxi stop, local vendors and retail form part of the meso context around the site. This site is current- ly used as a walkthrough site and might develop into a further extension of the mall, if the town’s population allows it. The Mogol river has had a large impact in the lives of the community and the town as a living entity. The third site is located on the banks of the river as one enters town from Modimolle. The site is on the R33 and R510 intersection and can experience flooding every other year. The highest recorded flooding of the river was in 1955. Figure 52: Photographs of Site Option 1 (Author, 2021). Figure 53: Site Option 1 (1 map,