EXTERNAL‘S REFLECTIONS

0.3 OREPA MOSIDI

A rare find, an architecture year group that engages with current socio-economic issues that face our society. However, the spatiality or the translation of these issues into space is more interesting. There is a sensitivity to space-making with this year‘s group that is beyond their years. I commend the team and the students for engaging with strong subject matter so well. The topic of the public closet and its association of it with African or rather South African cultures has brought a different understanding of the way space is made and engaged with. Thus, the student engages with a different culture, language, sexual orientation, and definition of self at each turn. This conservation is one not had enough in architecture, yet we design spaces for people to inhabit. It begs the question how dare we design a space without this notion of inclusion, though often hard to achieve but surely, we must try.

As an examiner at this university, as open-minded as I am, I have confronted binaries that I myself exist in as each student expressed their ideas. The impact has led me to be cognizant of my use of terminology and how to engage with each student beginning with using their correct pronouns. I commend the staff for not perpetuating this culture of avoidance, by avoiding topics that are current, challenging, and often deemed as “black topics”. My favorite moment was seeing a student so boldly and confidently presenting renders with naked people as he designed a bathhouse and tried to portray his message about the kind of space he was creating. It is that freedom to express themselves and their ideas responsibly but unapologetically that I wish for all students in architecture. My message to the students of this year and those to come next year is

“rise up fallen fighters unfetter the stars dance with the stars & make it ours”- Ntozake Shange

I encourage you all to be in the world and really live in it and challenge the role of architecture in all facets of life. Continue to “unfetter” yourselves from the constraints of society and the norm as you have this year. In essence, make this journey yours. I believe that the second year is an experimental year where students must explore everything from modes of communication in architecture to embodying social issues in architectural resolution technically and poetically. The inclusion of literature, art, and many more things outside of architecture has strengthened this class’s understanding of the topic and how one can draw from things outside of architecture to produce architecture. Thus, the student sees the link between the different subjects as they have been so carefully integrated. A lot of architecture schools speak of integration in this fashion, but I have yet to experience it as I have with the secondyear group at UJ.

As a lecturer, I always look forward to each moderation opportunity here as I am constantly inspired in exploring an architectural education that is current to its time. I want to end off by saying that often we underestimate the capabilities of our students but when challenged on all fronts the result is surprising and exciting. The current generation of architects cannot be the same as others. Thank you to the second-year lecturers and tutors for exploring this and being incredibly intentional about the role of architecture in our society as it stands.

University of Johannesburg Bachelor of Architecture second year programme touches on a unique diverse framework that embraces on a new way of teaching and learning architecture. Architecture as a discipline in the context of South Africa has a dynamic landscape which is influenced by political, social, and economical constructs. Johannesburg being the focus area study for the BArch programme, builds more on the complex nature of socio-economic fabric surrounding the built environment. The BArch programme not only examines Johannesburg as a transverse territory but further on interrogates nuance multiplex issues that are often considered sensitive. “A city is the place of availabilities. It is the place where a small boy, as he walks through it, may see something that will tell him what he wants to do his whole life. “~ Louis Kahn. The outline to tackle such issues only gives room for radical responses and acknowledging that spaces we navigate impact our roles in society thus placing the architectural response in our cities on reforming pressures.

The teaching of such a vastly transforming discipline such as architecture has bought upon new methodologies to unfasten tensions between race, gender inequalities, political dilemmas, and social classicism. These methodologies are comprehensively crossed examined through the BArch curriculum with multidisciplinary learning and multi-medium compounds, learners were exposed to a spectrum of various tools to respond on relevant well curated briefs. Briefs that draw on a transforming pedagogy and tests generic status quo’s that are often misinterpreted by society. A nonlinear and nonbinary output is propelled through a rigorous engagement process of constructive criticism which enables rich architectural designs that respond dy- namically to their intermediate context. The interrogation of public architecture with Queer politics as a theme brings interesting questions and alarms learners to current affairs evoking more design avenues with nuance responses. This framework not only stretches the thresholds of design but morphs unconventional social landscapes into a lens that is not so often discussed in the built environment fabric.

The course also maintains the general outputs that are required from the module, being to demonstrate the process of evolution of architectural design through exploration of site factors and context. The students are encouraged to have multiple ideas and concepts for design problems, develop design ideas with reference to the human as an individual that strongly responds to functional, technical, climatic and environmental requirements. This architectural module discourse enables an enriched foundation for learners to catapult from into third year phase where a more critical analysis will take place.

In no doubt we are seeing a transformation in the teaching of architecture which is vitally imperative as the world is consistently evolving and to draw parallel responses that are relevant, functional and creatively interesting. University of Johannesburg architectural school is challenging the conventional through theory and practical manifestation of diverse projects.