Legoga:
Centring motherhood in Johannesburg
My project draws extensively from the birthing rituals of the BaPedi cosmology, their culture, and architectures. I began by looking at the Bapedi homestead and how the spaces are configured to filter certain auras. I studied the history of Johannesburg’s infrastructure and how it accommodates mothers generally. I went on to document the racialised history of hospitals in the city.
Through a series of sketches, models, architectural drawings and detailed cartographic studies of BaPedi birthing practices mapped from my discussions with my grandmother and the rituals performed for her during her maternity leave, I looked at how cultural birthing practices are spatialised in the city.
My final architectural proposition is an urban motherhood centre. It draws on BaPedi culture, spatial, and material practices to create a centre for all South African mothers. It establishes Johannesburg’s inner city as a host for motherhood as a culture and a way of living. It centres motherhood and all its embodied experiences, pregnancy, birth, babies, and emotional well-being.
