Academic literature on the topic 'Architecture, africa'

The amaNdzundza are a South African abaNtu people. This thesis sets forth to determine the role of their world (in the Heideggerian sense) as it impacts on their Architecture. First the evolutionary process of the amaNdzundza architecture is established. An infinite series of memes (much like genes) that function both on an intra- and inter-cultural level govern this process. Next, the cultural interaction of the amaNdzundza over a period of half a millenium are mapped (and a space-time matrix drawn up: ch.3), as to find the sources of introduction on an intercultural level. Finally, the architecture of the amaNdzundza milieu, both of their settlements and of the cultures with which they shared their environment, is analyzed and a sample of memes identified, which best illustrate the meme-exchange and evolution. This is done in a structure comprising the analysis of selected religious spatial incentives, and some aspects and elements of the settlement, the dwelling and the mural. A summary is given of the memes involved in the amaNdzundza architecture, and their evolutionary dynamics and origins. The researcher thus concludes that, rather than a singular factor such as the patronage of apartheid, the cultural 'memes' in the amaNdebele ya amaNdzundza milieu played the predominant role in the shaping of their existential, spatial and structural dwelling, through a process of 'loci meme' evolution.

This work involves the presentation of an original critical theory, termed the "script-analogue", for the discovery of significance in works of traditional architecture within their cultural contexts. The theory includes a set of related ideas about the relationship of architecture and culture, and uses these ideas as a method to analyze the relationship of African women to African traditional architecture. The use of the script as an analogue refers to the script as it is used in theater, and indicates that the relationship of the individual, culture, and the architectural environment is dynamic and interactive. The "script-analogue" derives from post-structural thought, and modifies and expands on some of its themes to make them directly applicable in the context of architecture. lt represents a dynamic analytical alternative to the reading of architecture as “text”. In the "script-analogue" theory, culture is represented through the actions of individuals, who are members simultaneously of a culture and overlapping and modifying sub-cultures. Who an individual is, culturally and sub-culturally, is important in the relationship of the individual to architecture. The theory offers a means by which gender differences, in terms of "who" builds and uses architecture, can be addressed in research, through the investigation of metaphors of significance to women, and thus it can facilitate research which focuses on women. The concept of architecture is expanded to include both the built environment, and the unbuilt environment which is <u>designated</u> to be of significance through language. <u>Memory</u> is the means by which significance in architecture is given continuity. The term <u>commemorative</u> is used to indicate the commemoration, through architectural forms, of the appropriate actions of individuals within culture. The term <u>orientative</u> indicates that the locations of architectural forms and spaces, and the orientations of people to architecture, are factors in the memory of architectural significance and propriety of actions. The "script-analogue" proposes that architectural significance can be discovered through investigations of the <u>metaphor</u> in language, and that metaphor is the means by which cultural themes exist in an inter-connected relationship to each other. <u>Ritual</u>, as metaphorical action which takes place in an architectural setting, activates the script, and connects it to other cultural and sub-cultural themes outside of the local and specific conditions. This inter-connectedness is termed in the "script-analogue", <u>transcendence through metaphor</u>. The substance of this dissertation comprises both an explanation of the ideas involved in the "script-analogue" theory, and examples of its application. In addition to the findings generated by the application of the "script-analogue" to the relationship of African women to African traditional architecture, this dissertation suggests other applications of the theory, such as evaluations of housing design in Africa, and it attempts to bridge the gap between architectural theory and practice.<br>Ph. D.

Thesis (MTech (Architectural Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2014.<br>The growth of Cape Town's northern suburbs during the first few decades of the twentieth century is closely related to the socio-economic history of local Afrikaners who, during this time, left the farms to seek employment in Cape Town's industrial areas. Most of them settled in or near these industrial areas, causing the expansion of the northern suburbs. The first railway line in Cape Town, which was inaugurated in 1862, passed through Bellville on its way from Cape Town station to its terminal point in Eersterivier. The first official station at Bellville was only built in 1882, however, and a stop in Parow only followed in 1903The first Bellville town council was established as recently as 1922 (Bergh, 2009: 5-6). This is an indication of how sparsely populated this area was at the time. The Dutch Reformed Church has traditionally played a central role in the cultural and spiritual life of Afrikaners, and consequently the establishment of Dutch Reformed churches in the northern suburbs stands in clear correlation to the growth of Afrikaner populations in these suburbs (see below). Because of the low population of the Parow and Bellville areas, Dutch Reformed Church members living there were initially part of the Cape Town congregation, and, from 1832 onward, part of the newly established Durbanville congregation. It is only in April 1900 when, in the Bellville area, numbers had increased considerably, that monthly services were held in a school building. By 1920 membership had grown so much that weekly services had to be held. In 1922 a church hall with 300 seats was inaugurated (Bergh, 2009: 7-8). Local services in Parow were only instituted in 1905, with the first church building, a Neo-Gothic structure, following in 1907. In 1917 a separate congregation was established in Parow (i.e. separate from the Durbanville mother congregation), with Bellville following suit in 1934. Goodwood congregation became independent in 1926, having separated from Parow (Van Lill, 1992: 6-9; Bergh, 2009: 8). In subsequent years, as numbers increased, numerous other congregations were established after separating from these three mother congregations, most of which built Modernist churches. The first Dutch Reformed church built in the Goodwood-Parow-Bellville area was the old Parow church. This building no longer exists, but it was built in the Neo-Gothic style which had been current throughout the 19th century, and which was still, at the beginning of the 20th century, the accepted traditional style (see Le Raux, 2008: 21). The Rondebosch Dutch Reformed church, for example, was built in this style during the last decade of the 19th century. (The southern suburbs, which include Rondebosch, had developed gradually over the previous three centuries, and by the early 20th century were well established, leaving relatively few prospects for working class Afrikaners to settle there). At the beginning of the 20th century, with the emergence of a nationalistic consciousness in the wake of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), there was a fervent search for a 'true' Afrikaans church architecture. This search was lead and directed by Gerhard Moerdijk (1890-1958) and Wynand Louw (1883-1967). They emphatically rejected the Gothic style for various reasons. Firstly, because it was designed around the Roman Catholic liturgy and was therefore unsuitable for Protestant worship, and secondly, because it is historically identified with the growth and expansion of the Catholic Church and therefore also with the persecution of Protestants, including that of the Huguenots who fled to the Cape to become ancestors of many Afrikaners (Le Roux, 2008: 22). However, if this style was indeed so offensive to Huguenots because of its Catholic associations, it would possibly not have become so popular during the 19th and zo= centuries. These Neo-Gothic churches are, in fact, unmistakably Protestant in the austerity of their interiors which could not be mistaken for a Catholic Gothic church interior with its abundantly rich ornamentation and sacred imagery. Likewise, the exteriors of these Neo-Gothic churches are distinctly Protestant in their reserved use of ornamentation. Nevertheless, Gothic churches were originally designed around the Catholic liturgy and consequently their layout does not serve the Protestant liturgy well. Here Moerdijk makes a very valid point, and one which would be taken up by subsequent architects as well as writers (see Chapter Seven below). Moerdijk, in his published writings, upholds Classicism and the Renaissance as examples worthy of following (Le Roux, 2008: 22). The resulting new style which he and Louw pursued from the 1920s onwards, and which became enormously popular, is generally referred to as sentraalbou (due to its centralised floor plan) (see Le Roux, 2008: 25-28). Later writers on Afrikaner Protestant church design tend to stress the supposed Byzantine ancestry of this type of church (see below).

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1988.<br>Includes bibliographical references.<br>This thesis is primarily based on three statements, the first a reality, the second a statement of policy and the third a declaration of intent. THE REALITY: In order to keep pace with the growth in population over the period 1980 to 2000, more than four million houses will need to be built. In addition, in 1983 the housing backlog was estimated to be approximately 700 000, with the major shortages being experienced by Blacks. (Sutcliffe, 1986). This amounts to approximately 550 houses per day for the twenty year period. At present the building rate is below 20 units per working day. (Kentridge, 1986). THE PRESENT POLICY:In 1982, the Minister of Community Development, Pen Kotze, announced that the state will no longer provide built housing units. Instead, our first priority will be to ensure that land and infrastructure is made available to all persons who can, with their own financial resources, those of their employers, financial institutions and other private means, accept responsibility for the construction or their own houses. (Dewar, 1983). Furthermore state- provided rented accommodation will, only be built for welfare cases and for people earning less than R150.00 a month. Even here a substantial cutback is implied. To quote the Minister, As far as housing for the poor is concerned, the Department will STILL CONSIDER making funds available for housing projects for people earning less than RlSO a month. [emphasis added) (Dewar, 1983). THE DECLARATION OF INTENT: Clause 9 of the Freedom Charter states, There Shall Be Houses, Security and Comfort All people shall have the right to live where they choose, to be decently housed and to bring up their families in comfort and security; Unused housing space to be made available to the people; Rent and prices shall be lowered, food plentiful and no one shall go hungry, ... Slums shall be demolished and new suburbs built where all have transport, roads, lighting, playing fields, creches and social centres; ... Fenced location and ghettos shall be abolished, and laws which break up families shall be repealed. Each of the above two statements in turn begs a related question: Of the present policy - how and why did it come about? What are the present responses and how effective are they? Of the declared intention - how can it be fulfilled? In essence, this thesis addresses these questions.<br>by Mohammed Saeed Jhatam.<br>M.S.

Customer profiling has recently gained much recognition in the e-commerce domain because of the benefits it is capable of bringing to online business. Customer profiling has been implemented in various systems development approaches such as in a client-server environment. Recently there has been an increase in the number of organisations adopting and implementing e-commerce systems using service-oriented architecture (SOA) principles. This research set out to determine how a customer profile can be implemented using open source SOA implementation tools, and how SOA-based customer profiles can be utilised to provide appropriate personalisation in an SOA environment. The research further endeavoured to complete a comparative study on customer profile implementation in two different architectures, namely SOA and client-server. An extensive literature review was conducted on SOA, customer profiling and e-commerce systems development. SOA enabling technologies, such as, web services, enterprise service bus (ESB) and open source Sun Java SOA implementation tools, for example, Open ESB, GlassFish application server and Netbeans IDE were analysed. A Java web services-based customer profiling system was prototyped following SOA design principles. An end-user evaluation survey was conducted using eye tracking with a sample of 30 participants. The evaluation was done on two e-commerce systems with the same interface but running on two different customer profile back-ends, SOA and client-server. The results show that participants did not experience significant difference between the two systems, however, eye tracking results showed a significant difference between the two systems. The research concluded that customer profiling using SOA offers more benefits than implementations using other architectures such as client-server. SOA component-based development proved to be easier to manage, develop, integrate and improves interoperability between different technologies. The research brought together necessary techniques and technologies that organisations can use to implement SOA. Using SOA, organisations can integrate and utilise different technologies seamlessly to achieve business goals.

At its core, this research project is a revision of how we conceptualise the role of international organisations. The concept of role is often invoked International Relations when discussing the function of institutions like the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), but its full meaning in this context has never been problematised, leading to varying perceptions of its meaning and a lack of common understanding in the discourse. In the case of the APSA, this lack of common understanding has led to a wide variance in how the role of the APSA is categorised, and a corresponding discrepancy in assessments of the institution’s success and utility, which has had a knock-on effect on policy recommendations, which also differ wildly from author to author. This thesis devises technical definitions for the various ways in which the word role is utilised in International Relations and related fields, and in so doing, aims to standardise our understanding of the role of institutions, using the APSA as a case study. After developing a new technical definition of role based on Role Theory, the thesis develops a research programme which sets out to investigate the true role of the APSA, based on an examination of how the APSA’s role has been shaped by key limiting and enabling factors, and how this role is shaped and influenced, and directed; all the while highlighting how it differs from the organisation’s stated role, and scholarly perceptions of that role.

A sample of 41 vernacular houses from the Verloenvlei and Lange Vlei valleys in the Sandveld on the Cape West coast, have been subjected to a structuralist analysis of their form. As elements of human material culture these houses represent the physical objectification of invisible culture. They are the products of a culturally dictated mental process of design, and in their form reflect the successful mediation by their creators of a set of binary oppositions common to all human experience. The mental rules that guide this process of design, and therefore account for the physical form of the object, are called the artifactual competence. Because, as a product of this competence, an artifact has implicit within its form the set of rules that account for its being, it is theoretically possible, through an inductive analysis of artifactual form, to isolate this set of relational rules. The houses in the sample were all carefully recorded and then compared and contrasted. This resulted in the creation of a statement of architectural competence for Verlorenvlei vernacular architecture, based upon which an explanation of its function as an element of human material culture, and a participant in human social relations was attempted.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Many rural areas in Africa still lack adequate electricity supply. This has been identified as a major obstacle to development in many African nations. The high costs associated with providing electricity through national grid systems prevent many governments from delivering electricity to remote rural areas. The purpose of this study is to define a strategic architecture and business model that can be used to provide solar energy to Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Africa. The desired outcome is a sustainable business model for solar energy provision that can be implemented in the African context. This study uses the strategic architecture framework developed by Ungerer, Pretorius and Herholdt (2011) to achieve this. Primary data was collected through interviews with industry experts and this was supplemented with a comprehensive review of current literature. An analysis of the PV market shows that solar PV has grown significantly over the past decade and the industry is already extremely competitive. The highest competitive pressures include substitute products, high buyer bargaining because of low product differentiation, and the threat of new entrants. The industry has a clearly defined value chain starting with the manufacturing of PV panels and other systems components, but goes as far as providing financing to customers. The profit potential in the industrial and commercial segments is highest and key competitors in this segment offer similar products and services. The customer analysis showed that small businesses vary considerably in the products and services they offer and that their energy needs also differ. Services that can be offered to these customers include energy efficiency assessments, system design, pre-project services, financing, system installation and system monitoring, operation and maintenance. The organisation that will implement the strategy is a company called Solshare. The organisation identified its vision and mission, and core values and defined the domain it will participate in. The commercial and industrial segments are regarded as the most appealing segments and the core product offering is energy efficiency assessments and solar installations. This will be offered through an innovative shared-solar model that also includes system financing, system monitoring and system optimisation, and will be implemented by carefully selected partners to minimise cost. Solshare’s objective is to develop a distinctive competence in financing and implementing shared-solar projects through strategic partnerships, while providing excellent customer service. It will employ is a focused low-cost strategy by providing solar energy to small businesses at the lowest cost possible, through a shared resource approach. Costs will be managed by focusing on a core set of activities and outsourcing non-core activities. The key value proposition is the development, installation and servicing of quality shared-solar solutions at the lowest cost. The cost drivers include the costs of solar system components procured from suppliers, the installation costs, salaries, marketing costs, system maintenance, and legal fees to draw up contracts and lease agreements. Income streams include energy assessments, fees charged for site selection and procurement, the installation of systems, and the monitoring and maintenance of installed systems. The capital mix consists of 30% equity and 70% debt and organisation aims to optimise resource velocity through completing new installations within a four month period and by employing a core team of professional sales and technical staff, while outsourcing non-core processes.

Bibliography: pages 221-235.<br>The main object of study in this thesis is the architectural tradition commonly known as "Cape Dutch". The aim is to make sense of this architecture by answering questions about its coming into being, the people who created it, and their reasons for doing so. Contrary to the suggestions of most existing works on Cape Dutch architecture, an earlier substantial form of domestic architecture, which resembled the town houses of the Netherlands, underlies the tradition. Analysis of existing literature, archaeological excavation, and inventories, indicates that gradual changes towards the basic traditional form during the first decades of the eighteenth century took a dramatic leap during the 1730s. Moving away from the shapes of the dwellings to the people who changed them involves a major theoretical shift, away from formalism towards poststructuralist theory: discourse theory, literary criticism, feminism. These frameworks enable me to identify contradictions underlying historical events; to deconstruct documents, thus revealing their rhetorical devices for constituting subjectivities and establishing social hierarchies; and to see the architecture as a body of works or texts - a discourse. From 1657 free burghers were given land to farm independently. These farmers were an anomalous group whose view of themselves no longer coincided with the lesser subjectivities structured for them by Dutch East India Company (VOC) documents. Together the latter constituted a discourse of domination against which the anomalous group, in the process of establishing new identities for themselves, developed a discourse of resistance. Since the VOC maintained a strict monopoly over the word, the discourse of discontent was manifested in other forms of inscription, most notably in free burgher architecture. Using a particular type of gender theory, it becomes possible to envisage the two discourses in conversation with each other. The theoretical component of the thesis involves, first, writing historical archaeology into the gaps of existing post-structuralist perspectives which were not designed for archaeology; second, demonstrating the two discourses at work in the practice of their everyday existence by the people concerned.