Spithipithing
Aobakwe Mathlaku- 3rd Year Diploma
Alexandra is a township where the locals are united by two common factors; their undying love for football and social gatherings (Parties). Looking at this social study as my backbone, my brief was then to design a place of gathering that is both sensitive to its context and local cultures while bringing about social cohesion economically and socially. The name “United Alex” was the main drive in this project but making a further study on what actually happens in these “social gatherings” that take place in the community, I fell deeper and deeper in love with the culture of my context. Spithipithing is a project that looks to gradually decrease the main causes of xenophobia within Alexandra. The main concept is Tlhakanya which is derived from a Tswana word meaning unity/ togetherness and whenever people come together in Alex, there is unique liveliness that takes place, we call it “Sphithiphithi”. This word means “chaos/ fun/ busy” it’s a breathtaking action that is well associated with Alexandra. Through this project, I seek to bring the foreign shop-owners and local community together by enhancing the culture of the locals and the interest of the foreigners within one space. Spithipithing is a space that is sensitive to the needs and lifestyles of its people. The inhabitants of this space come from various backgrounds and different cultures therefore uniting and making them one was to core function of this space. The space acts as a link, breaking the buffer zone between the rural on the west and the urban on the east end side of the Roosevelt Street. Due to the information gathered from the mapping I saw that adults, teens and children have creating their own gathering spaces, we further magnify these spaces in respect to the street. 21
