C E N T E R O F
H E A L I N G
DE JAGER BOOYSEN 213194429
DESIGN V
A B S T R A C T
For as long as man has walked the earth, we have looked for ways to extend and enrich our lives, to heal the sick and to make the strong even stronger. Over the centuries, as in all other fields, healing practices has developed into an official practice that we now know as the field of medicine.
As an institutionalized field, medicine has standards that needs to be adhered to, if not, the practice is seen as untrustworthy. This is a fair argument if one takes into consideration that medicine is there to alter the state of being, whether that by physical or mental. The argument does not challenge the method of recognition, but rather the line that separates medicine from “superficial” healing methods.
According to research, over 70% of the African population in
South Africa relies on traditional healing as their preferred choice of medicine, rather than officially recognized medicine.
Because of western medicine being almost universally recognized as the only “official” treatment method, research on traditional healing methods have largely been neglected. This provides a unique opportunity for further research and education on the subject matter.
This dissertation will aim to provide a platform for traditional healing to be re-searched and recognized as an official method of practice of medicine in South Africa. The proposed building aims to introduce a unique facility that focuses on two components. Firstly, on the researching of rituals and medicines used in traditional healing practices and secondly on the physical administering of treatment to patients through these alternative methods. To aid in the facilitating and inclusion of traditional healing in the field of medicine, the proposed site will be located inside the medical complex of Steve Biko, directly adjacent to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
The proposed Center of Healing will serve as a monument, stating the arrival of the alternative. A contemporary form of hospital making use of the traditional to lead the way for the future. The building will aim to celebrate traditional practices by placing it in a cathedral like space and making it the sole focus.
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T
C H A P T E R 1 : Introduction ( P4)
Traditional Healing ( P5-6)
C H A P T E R 2 : S i t e a n a l y s i s ( P 7 – 9 )
P r e c e d e n t s t u d y ( P 1 0 – 1 2 )
C H A P T E R 3 : C o n c e p t ( P 1 3 – 1 5 )
D e s i g n D e v e l o p m e n t ( P 1 6 – 2 0 ) M a t e r i a l P a l e t t e ( P 2 1 – 2 2 )
C H A P T E R 4 : F i n a l D e s i g n
C o n c l u s i o n
The dissertation entails the design of a research and treatment centre focusing on traditional healing methods. Located adjacent to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital and forming part of the Steve Biko educational precinct, The envisaged facility addresses the relationship between institutionalized healthcare and traditional healing in South Africa.
The design product could be described as a contemporary interpretation of an ancient cathedral, stating the arrival of a new alternative source of healthcare. It strives to act as a monument that symbolizes the shift into a new way forward in the field of medicine, using traditional methods to form the path into the future. This centre aims to become a place of ritual, research, and education serving as an alternative to what we know as western medicine.
The following matters will be investigated to help arrive at an appropriate design resolution:
• Traditional healing in South Africa
• Plant based medicines.
• Appropriate design resolutions for the climate and area.
T R A D I T I O N A L H E A L I N G
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2008), defines traditional medicine as: “The health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral-based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exZzercises, applied singularly or in combination to diagnose, treat and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being.”
Traditional can also be seen as the sum of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences unique to different cultures. Whether these practices are explicable or not, it is used in the maintenance of health as well as in the preventing, diagnosing, improving or treating of physical, mental or spiritual illness. (WHO, 2018)
In South Africa an estimated 72% of the African population rely on some form of traditional medicine for treatment, accounting for approximately 26.6 million consumers (Mander, Ntuli, Diederichs, & Mavundla, 2007). The value of the trade in traditional medicinal plants and products in South Africa is estimated to be worth around R2.9 billion Traditional healers in South Africa can be divided up into two groups namely: The herbalist and the diviner. The diviner is what we know as an Isangoma, and is the best known of the two. (Sobiecki, 2014)
In African societies there is an awareness of being. The belief is held that human beings are three-dimensional by nature. Petrus and Bogopa (2007, p. 7) explained that “there is an acute awareness, among African societies, of the three-dimensional nature of human beings, as simultaneously, biological, social and spiritual beings … and that humans exist in three interrelated worlds: the human, nature and supernatural worlds.
per year (In 2006) (Mander et al., 2007).
in the treatment process, the diviner will prescribe a medicine( plant, animal or mineral based) to be administered in a ritualized context to effect the physical and supernatural world. According to the belief system the process can effect the physical, psychological and spiritual. The process aims to rectify imbalances in these realms. (Sobiecki, 2014)
The process could be perceived to be quite similar to that of the practice of western medicine. The ritual of the client confiding in the specialist and the specialist administering the necessary treatments are constant in both western and traditional healing. The biggest difference is that one provides treatment only when the individual is ill in the physical, where the other treats the whole being of the individual in question. It could therefore be argued that traditional healing is the more thorough of the two professions.
The perception exists that traditional medicine is based on superstition alone and therefore it could not have sufficient healing effects that could be compared to that of western medicine. Although the people making use of traditional healing does have the belief that it could heal them, so does the people making use of western medicine. No individual that does not The proposed building aims to introduce a unique facility that focuses on two components. Firstly, on the researching of rituals and medicines used in traditional healing practices and secondly on the physical administering of treatment to patients through these alternative methods. .
Spatial orientation involved in traditional healing practices:
• Treatment area: an area where the pa tient can be diagnosed and treated ac-cordingly.
• Medicine: Because all traditional med icines are plant, mineral and animal based, facilities are needed for the growing of plants, keeping of livestock.
believe that a specialist could heal their condi- • tion will make the effort to go and receive treatment. Therefore It could be argued that western medicine needs an equal amount of belief for it to work, and can then also be seen in an equal light as traditional ritualized medicine
Figure 12: Natural slope(by
author,2018)
S I T E
The proposed site for development is located adjacent to the existing Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
The site is located on a steep slope falling to the northern side.
The demographic of the surrounding context is split into two building typologies.
In the South-eastern direction, commercial and educational buildings are the prominent type and fill the context, with the Steve Biko Academic complex situated here.
Directly South, on top of the hill, one will find low rise student accommodation.
Sprawling onward from the site into a north eastern direction one finds a suburban typography with mainly private residences located in the area.
Figure 15: Site context(by author, 2018)
For the proposed building to fulfill its role as a monument
the building will need to be able to compete with the Steve Biko academic hospital for spatial dominance. If the building i not sufficient in size, Steve Biko will overshadow it.
Figure 16: Site context(by author, 2018)
SLOPE
The natural ground line on site has a steep slope toward the northern side.
The steep slope naturally orientates the water run off on site in a singular direction.
This creates an opportunity for rain water collection.
ENTRANCE POINTS
There are two main access points to the site.
From the top, hill street, contained within the medical complex. The second is access from Malherebe st. at the foot of the hill.
Both entrance points will be made use of. The main access will be from the top with a secondary symbolic entrance from the bottom. The symbosim will represent the journey one takes to go see the Isangoma, that is usually located on top of a hill.
BUILDING FOOTPRINT
The building will be orientated directly north and will cover most of the site in question, similar to the way the Steve Biko hospital dominates its site.
A reception will be situated on the street edge, connected to the main massing by a bridge structure, floating above the natural hillside slope.
Figure 17: Site diagram(by author, 2018)
Figure 18: Site diagram(by author, 2018)
Figure 19: Site diagram(by author, 2018)
P R E C E D E N T S T U D I E S
Robert Smithson
Rocks and Mirror Square 11 1971
Abstract expressionism + minimalism = Post-minimalism
Smithson finds his identity as an artist not in the artwork itself, but in the perception of that artwork. In Rock and Mirror Square II, Smithson places a natural material, rocks,in an alien context where one will not usually find it. He combines it with a mirror square. This alters the physical appearance of the sculpture by reflecting the surrounding context, this then becoming the sculpture itself.
The way Smithson combines elements foreign to one another to create something new, or rather the impression of something new, influenced the design proposal in question.
Greenhouse as a home
BIAS Architects
Taoyuan City, Taiwan 2018
Conceptually the design intertwines human living space within greenhouses,
Combining the needs of different plants in different climates with different functions in the occupation of space by daily human life. The design will influence the plantation section of the proposed design in the way the proposed spaces will be orientated and facilitate be able to accommodate program suitable for human use.
Figure 21: ( BIAS Architects, 2018) Green House
Shigeru Ban
Naked House
Saitama, Japan
2000 The client brief requested a house with the least amount of privacy possible but still remain a functioning home, this request was made with the intention to prevent isolation within the home environment.
The solution was to design the house as one large, double volume, communal space with moveable boxes containing the more private rooms in the house.
Shigeru Ban
Curtain Wall House
Tokyo, Japan
1995
Figure 25: (Shigeru Ban Architects, 2014), Naked House.
In the project , The Curtain Wall house, Shigeru Ban Architects challenges the very idea of an enclosure and the make up there of. A curtain wall is a familiar concept in contemporary architecture and usually verbally represents a glass wall. In the curtainwall house this understanding is challenged. The “curtain wall” is represented as a physical curtain, on the exterior, that can be used to control spatial dimensions and environmental conditions by opening and closing the curtain. The conceptual idea used in the design can be of great value. The idea that a common item found in most residential structures, a curtain, used to regulate the visual connection from one side of a window to another, can have such a dramatic impact on how a building is perceived, when the dimensions of the object are altered. Dimension and function.
Figure 26: (Emily Pilloton, (2007), Curtain Wall House.
CONCEPTConceptually the design aims to take two opposites and combine them through a hybridization process. This process takes place symbolically and physically. Symbolically the proposal will be composed of the very traditional, merged with high-tech. The old combined with the new to form a hybrid version that is neither one or the other, but both at once.
Juxtaposing nature and the man made structure, the building will merge with the existing typology of the hillside instead of displacing it. The physical hillside will form the ground floor plane of the proposed structure. Programmatically a hybridization will take place between a hospital (treatment and research) and a plantation (A greenhouse producing natural medicinal plants). The proposed building will form an envelope, enclosing volume, rather that creating. Most of the building will have no roof or floor but will be open to the ground plane and sky. the surrounding envelope will be translucent, so that the natural hillside is perceived to continue, not restricted by the envelope.
Reminiscent of ancient cathedrals, the building aims to place a disproportionate amount of volume between the user/viewer and the subject matter, dramatizing the experience one feels when using the building.
In cathedrals the object in view is usually the spiritual scenes and figures on the ceiling, orientating the viewers gaze upward, giving a sense of scale by the realization Figure 30: Conceptual diagram(by author, 2018)
of how small we are. The proposed development will aim to achieve a similar feeing by using a similar strategy, but rather than creating a god sense by looking upward, the viewers gaze will be orientated downward, down a shear drop towards the natural ground, covered in rows of vegetation used for traditional medicines.
The void contained in the space becomes just as important as the actual built form, as it is used to dramatize and place emphasis on the subject in view.
The new development will challenge the perception of the tectonic and the steriotomic by not describing it as lightweight and heavy, but rather as translucent and solid. A tectonic polycarbonate skin surrounding the plantations and treatment platforms will be anchored by a steriocomic cube, containing the rest of the program, placed steadfast close to the peak of the hill.
The development will focus on three key areas:
MEDICINE: the planting and processing of medicinal plants into medicine. this will take place on the slope of the hillside still intact inside the building.
RITUAL: The practice of traditional healing. facilitated on a platform that will appear to be floating in the sky. this places the ritual on a pedestal amplifying its importance.
RESEARCH: Laboratories and educational areas will facilitate the research and education of and on the subject.
D E S I G N D E V E L O P M E N T
The proposed built form will be divided into two distinct sections. A lightweight translucent section, facilitating the plantation and a heavy concrete section, facilitation the formal program. Bridging the gap between the two one will find a linear platform, extruded from the steriotomic section, that will facilitate the treatment areas. This platform will act as the binding agent, connecting the two sections of the building.
Figure 33: Form transformation diagram(by author, 2018)
Figure 39:Medicine harvesting process.(by author, 2018)
The ground floor will facilitate the entire preparation process for the formulation and research of traditional medicines that will be facilitated on the first floor. Along with this, open air educational facilities will be present, as well as an exhibition hall.
Movement routes through thew plantation, up the hill will be manifested in the form of a long singular ramp, connecting just about the entire ground floor, and staircases, seone main, one secondary, serving as “shortcuts” up the hill.
Figure 42: Conceptual diagram(by author, 2018)
Figure 45: Conceptual diagram(by author, 2018)
M AT E R I A L PA L E T T E
The proposed development will be composed from two distinct materiality palettes:
The steriotomic, represented by concrete.
The tectonic, represented by translucent materials.
Symbolically the steriotomic will act as an anchor, placing the structure firmly on the hillside slope. The tectonic will represent a structure that has landed on top of the existing, wrapping around an existing volume. The tectonic will seem as if it was born out of the steriotomic.
The main program, including office spaces, processing spaces and treatment areas, will be facilitated around the steriotomic.
The natural section of the building, the plantation, will be situated within the tectonic structure.
Figure 48: Polycarbonate sheeting(, 2018)
F I N A L D E S I G N
Figure 48: Birds eye-view render(by author, 2018)
Figure 52: West elevation(by author, 2018)
Figure 53: North Elevation(by author, 2018)
E N V I R O N M E N TA L S T R AT E G Y
Because of the slope of the proposed site, rainwater run off will be directed automatically in a mutual direction, creating a ideal scenario for harvesting.
The proposed development will facilitate a rainwater collection system where water will be collected, filtered and stored. The stored water can then be used for irrigation for the proposed plantations, contributing to a reduction in municipal water consumption as well as a reduction in cost.
Figure 56: Rain water collection (by author, 2018)
C O N C L U S I O N
The purpose of this dissertation was to design a research and treatment center focusing on traditional healing methods.
The proposed design will serve as a symbolic beacon moving forward into the future of medicine. Taking inspiration from pre-colonial South Africa to help to shed light on a way forward.
The proposal focused on a multitude of aspects surrounding the subject matter ,but most important of all, the proposed development will assist in the expansion of knowledge and help to provide a service to improve the quality of life for the people of South Africa.
L I S T O F F I G U R E S
Figure 1: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, party diagram hand render.
Figure2: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Night time render.
Figure3: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Naked structure render.
Figure4: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Steve Biko Hospital.
Figure5: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Hybridization diagram.
Figure6: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, 3-D Human diagram.
Figure7: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Plant sketch.
Figure8: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Plant sketch.
Figure9: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Plant sketch.
Figure10: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Plant sketch.
Figure11: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, traditional healing diagram.
Figure12: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Natural slope sketch.
Figure13: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Site context.
Figure15: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Site context perspective sketch.
Figure16: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Site context.
Figure17: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Slope site diagram.
Figure18: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Entrance points diagram.
Figure19: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Building Footprint diagram.
Figure20: Robert Smithson, (1971), Rocks and Mirror Square II [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// artguide.com.au/assets/files/2018/03/144161_Smithson_Single-use_-987×740.jpg [Accessed 19 October 2018]
Figure21: BIAS Architects, (2018), _Featured_Image (1) [ONLINE]. Available at: https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b9a/5767/f197/cc3a/da00/0271/slideshow/_Featured_Image. jpg?1536841532 [Accessed 19 October 2018].
BIAS Architects, (2018), G07_Environmental_control_system (1) [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// images.adsttc.com/media/images/5b9a/5767/f197/cc3a/da00/0271/slideshow/_Featured_Image. jpg?1536841532 [Accessed 19 October 2018].
Figure22: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, precedent hand render.
Figure23: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, precedent hand render.
Figure24: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, preceent hand render.
Figure25: Shigeru Ban Architects, (2014), Naked House1 (1) [ONLINE]. Available at: http://2. bp.blogspot.com/-qf5_WamXumg/VFk7QW90AhI/AAAAAAAAARM/pxdjZs1ALhs/s1600/Naked%2BHouse1.jpg [Accessed 19 October 2018].
Figure26: Emily Pilloton, (2007), shigerubancurtainwallhouse1 (1) [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// inhabitat.com/files/shigerubancurtainwallhouse1.jpg [Accessed 19 October 2018].
Figure27: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual diagram.
Figure28: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual diagram.
Figure29: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual diagram.
Figure30: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual diagram.
Figure31: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, architecture relationship diagram.
Figure32: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Plantation program diagram.
Figure33: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Form transformation diagram.
Figure34: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual sketch of entrance.
Figure35: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual sketch of entrance.
Figure36: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual diagram of program orientation.
Figure37: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, development sketch.
Figure38: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, development sketch.
Figure39: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, medicine harvesting process.
Figure40: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal,vegetation irrigation concept sketch.
Figre41: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Movement routes.
Figure42: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, floor plan sketch.
Figure43: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual sketch.
Figure44: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, conceptual sketch.
Figure45: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, view of climate chamber.
Figure46: buybuildingsupplies, (2018), img-polycarbonate-mwall-clear-700 [ONLINE]. Available at: https://buybuildingsupplies.com.au/images/img-polycarbonate-mwall-clear-700.jpg [Accessed 21 October 2018].
Figure48: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Birds eye view render.
Figure49: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Ground Floor Plan.
Figure50: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, First Floor Plan.
Figure51: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Section A-A.
Figure52: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, West Elevation.
Figure53: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, North Elevation.
Figure54: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Climatic chamber.
Figure55: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Climatc chamber detail.
Figure56: De Jager Booysen, 2018, mini-thesis proposal, Rain water collection.
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
1. Department: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA. 2013. Medicinal plants of South Africa. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.daff.gov.za/Daffweb3/Portals/0/
Brochures%20and%20Production%20guidelines/Brochure%20Medical%20Plants%20Of%20 South%20Africa.pdf. [Accessed 10 October 2018].
2. “Greenhouse as a Home / BIAS Architects” 19 Sep 2018. ArchDaily. Accessed 21 Oct 2018.
<https://www.archdaily.com/902060/greenhouse-as-a-home-bias-architects/> ISSN 0719-8884
3. SHIGERU BAN CURTAIN WALL HOUSE | Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture,
Green Building. 2018. SHIGERU BAN CURTAIN WALL HOUSE | Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building. [ONLINE] Available at: https://inhabitat.com/shigeruban-curtain-wall-house/. [Accessed 21 October 2018].
4. ArchEyes. 2018. Naked House / Shigeru Ban .ArchEyes. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// archeyes.com/naked-house-shigeru-ban/. [Accessed 21 October 2018].
5. Smithson , Robert | Rocks and mirror square II . 2018. Smithson , Robert | Rocks and mirror square II . [ONLINE] Available at: https://artsearch.nga.gov.au/detail.cfm?irn=14990. [Accessed 21 October 2018].
6. Petrus, T. S., & D. L. Bogopa. (2007). Natural and supernatural: Intersections between the spiritual and natural worlds in African witchcraft and healing in reference to Southern Africa. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 7(1), pp. 10. [Accessed 21 October 2018]
7. World Health Organization (2008). Fact sheet no. 134: Traditional medicine. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_medicine. [Accessed 21 October 2018].
8. World Health Organization. 2018. WHO | About us. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.who.int/ traditional-complementary-integrative-medicine/about/en/. [Accessed 21 October 2018].
9. Mander, M., Ntuli, L., Diederichs, N., & Mavundla, K. (2007). Economics of the traditional medicine trade in South Africa. In S. Harrison, R. Bhana, & A. Ntuli (Eds.), South African Health Review (pp 189–199). Durban, South Africa: Health Systems Trust.
10. Jean-Francois Sobiecki (2014) The Intersection of Culture and Science in
11. South African Traditional Medicine, Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 14:1, 1-10, DOI:10.2989/IPJP.2014.14.1.6.1238
END