Trans-programming the student, the university and the community: an architectural response to changing social structures and systems in universities through negotiating boundaries

• Main Author: Mabote, Keabetswe Karen
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/10983

Issues such as diversity and inclusion are highlighted in the developing world due to their post colonization. Education is deemed to be the key to attaining equal citizenship in a global economy. Architecture has to function in a political, physical and social landscape that is hybrid and diverse, a space in which multiple publics exist and compete for resources and opportunities(Murray-Blank). This paper investigates how spatial and programmatic organizations promote internal knowledge transfer and social interaction, while simultaneously integrating with surrounding urban environments. The thesis focuses on University students in developing countries through understanding their diverse backgrounds which include a rural urban divide. It focuses its investigation at the University of the Western Cape. History shows the power of the University as an institution in society, its architecture should adapt rapidly to its environment. Given the situation of a new genre of economically challenged people coming into Universities in developing countries, trans-programming in the University is a necessity. The concept is explored through a review of current literature on the postcolonial theory of hybridity, the impact of globalization on the local identity, creating an inclusive built environment for diverse cultures and constructing a learning environment that addresses the immediate needs of students. Interviews and literature reinforce the need for architecture to function in a political, physical and social landscape that is hybrid and diverse. Our environment effects our development and this thesis suggests a trans-programming of facilities that will assist in the development of students, the communities they come from and those they reside in. This new spatial order will also evoke awareness, security, participation, a sense of inclusion and therefore bring about a possibility of narrowing the rural/township urban divide.