research & a little bit more research ...

The past few weeks have been all about research, research on the feasibility of the design with regards to location and target market as well as four different design theories accompanied by relevant precedent studies that will be implemented into the design proposal of the Abantu Community centre.

Target market

In-house research done by St. Christopher’s private school as well as independent research carried out by NMMU and funded by the GM Foundation, that was done in February of 2015 amongst 100 households in the Walmer Township, showed that 99% of the homes had children. 42.8% of the children were between ages 6 to 12 years of age, 21.24% were between the ages 0 to 6 years of age and the another 21.24% were between 13 to 16 years of age and only 13.3% were 17 years and older (GM, 2015).

The community centre will provide beneficial facilities for all members of the community throughout the course of the day. The 42.8% of children ages 6 to 12 year, being the majority of the population in the Walmer Township, thus would benefit tremendously from educational facilities. Skills and craftsmanship workshops would be carried throughout the day for those currently unemployed and wish to develop additional skills.

The four theories that I have chosen to research are :

1. PERMACULTURE

2. SENSE OF PLACE

3. SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

4. CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN CRAFT

(the next few blog posts will dive a little deeper into each theory)

" a research document in progress"

I have really enjoyed researching these particular theories and I can definitely say I have learnt a lot of useful information not only to influence my design but knowledge that I could potentially make use of for years to come.

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