CHAPTER 6 CIVIC ARCHITECTURE IN A DEMOCRATIC SETTING
8.3 ROLE OF MEMORY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
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its spatial composition must appeal to the users and relate to other spaces, and lastly, the space’s practical and emotional meaning must be recognized by the observer and user. Public spaces should be accessible visually, symbolically and physically. People should be able to see into the space, determine whether the symbols represented by the space are compatible with their personal beliefs and be able to physically access the space. The visual access into the space improves surveillance therefore safety in and around the space. Sensitively designed spaces can give people a sense of identity and territoriality whereas failure to provide these basic needs will result in the underuse or non-use of these spaces.
In the pursuit successful civic spaces, it is important to understand the needs of those who will be using the space because the spaces should be a response to the need of those who will be using them. Therefore, when designing public, the spaces should be people oriented, politically, socially, economically and environmentally feasible. Civic spaces should be based on sound planning principles and must be relevant to people and time. Successful spaces are judged by whether they understand and address the issues inferred by the relationship between the physical design of the space and the function the space is intended to serve. Therefore, a civic space should not be pragmatic or super imposed on an area but must be designed and built taking into consideration the issues raised by those who will be using it. If the human dimension is omitted during the design and planning stages, then the spaces are likely to become misused if used at all.
Hence, it is important to design spaces compatible with the people’s socio-economic needs.
These spaces should be multifunctional thus ensuring variety and richness of experience to cater to the diverse and changing needs of the users as well as being adaptable to dual or multiple uses and/or activities.
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Therefore, the challenge lies in proving that a historic form is relevant to the present society as well as how to adapt such forms into modern societies without imitation, subsequently diluting the symbolic meaning and losing the symbolic value. Preservation and restoration in most cases is not the ideal solution because in a sense it is preserving of a meaningless past. The simple reproduction of historical forms becomes meaningless if the cultural context at the time and place in which they are created is not understood. Therefore, the repetition of a particular form over centuries loses its cultural and traditional symbolic meaning hence; the symbolic meaning associated with a form will not necessarily always be associated with that symbol. Symbolic systems are best understood in a particular time and not over time.
Romantic regionalism in the context of memory created a sense of emotional familiarization. The occupant or visitor in turn becomes aware of the past, the region and even their ancestors.
Ultimately, the viewer becomes aware of their identity prior to external influences.
Architecture is a vehicle for memory, encapsulating the past in the present where the presence of the past in the present create a sense of continuity. The built environment is a time-space
formation where the past and present are interwoven and organised to create a rich urban fabric because places without a history, are empty. Places of memory are generally created to glorify the past of a nation and an attempt at reconciliation although it displays clues of a sometimes undesirable past. Ultimately, places are not continually under interpretation but are haunted by structures and the presence of past meaning. Therefore, places of memory narrate national pasts and future aspirations through space and time.
Preserving artifacts and ruins of historical significance through the creation of museums and memorials is still a sensitive matter especially if the nation is emerging from a socially and politically unstable landscape. As a result, commemorative initiatives evoke conflicting social desires- to mourn and commemorate past events.
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The viewers of the building(s), and city planning patterns also need to be aware of the historical and social context under which the design decisions were made. The questionnaire revealed that the foreigners regard the urban planning of South Africa to be acceptable, a view that can be accredited to their lack or limited knowledge of the context and factors that brought them into being. The locals on the other hand see the landscape as still being divided along racial lines.
However, there is mutual consensus that certain aspects of the Apartheid planning should be preserved as it is a part of our history and ultimately the identity of the nation.
There is however, a longing for an identity to define the post-Apartheid nation. The concern is that a majority of political institutions both old and new are a reflection of Western and foreign influence and devoid of a local and national identity. Similarly, such institutions are an expression of power, often intimidating to the ordinary man. The robust and classical style of parliament buildings often placed on a hill or on a platform and approached by ceremonial steps do little to create a dialogue between the public and the building. The solid masses of masonry promote neither a transparent nor accessible architecture, subconsciously reinforcing the power and intangibility of the building and the government.
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CHAPTER NINE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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