Recentering Alexandra
My project delves into the centrality of the police station within Alexandra. This exploration is rooted in a comprehensive analysis encompassing historical, social, and spatial dimensions while considering Alexandra’s political struggle. The ultimate goal of this project was to propose a radical recentering of the township, drawing on existing informal practices and building typologies.
My analysis began by examining the social implications of colonialism on territorial space and its inhabitants. The centrality of the police station evokes notions of the ‘panopticon gaze,’ which carries ideological and symbolic weight.
My proposition consists of a series of predefined spaces, each serving a unique purpose, including affirming one’s identity as human, raising awareness of oppression and its various forms, providing a dialogical space for open discussions and fostering cultural synthesis. These spaces are interconnected by an undefined area, emphasising a bottom-up approach to design that allows the community to define and shape its environment.
The proposal will be implemented in stages. In the first stage, the predefined spaces will be added to the existing police station. Slowly, the police station will be replaced by these spaces and relocated to various places around Alexandra.
