Bridging the divide between Primary Health Acre and Community

164 Pages·2016·11.22 MB·English

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BRIDGING THE DIVIDE Luët Schraader Buys
BETWEEN PRIMARY
Masters Thesis
HEALTH CARE
Space of Good Hope
AND COMMUNITY Research Studio 2016
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The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No
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quotation from it or information derived from it is to be

published without full acknowledgeement of the source.
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The thesis is to be used for private study or non-
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commercial research purposes only.

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Published by the Universit y of Cape Town (UCT) in terms
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of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author.
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The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best
shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and
where the other begins?
Edgar Allan Poe
Healing is a matter of time, but it is
sometimes also a matter of opportunity.
Hippocrates

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE
BETWEEN
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
AND COMMUNITY
Luët Schraader Buys
As part of the Space of Good Hope
Research Studio 2016
Supervisors:
Melinda Silverman
Mike Louw
Fadly Isaacs
Conveners:
Associate Professor Nicholas Coetzer
This dissertation is presented as part fulfilment of
the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) in
the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics,
University of Cape Town
November 2016
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“I hereby:
a. Grant the University free license to reproduce the above dissertation in
whole or in part, for the purpose of research.
b. Declare that:
(i) The above dissertation is my own unaided work, both in conception and
execution, and that apart from the normal guidance of my supervisors.
(ii) Except as stated below, neither the substance or any part of the
dissertation has been submitted for a degree in the University or any
other university.
(iii) I am now presenting the dissertation for examination for the degree
of Master of Architecture (Professional)”
Plagiarism Declaration:
1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use an other’s work
and pretend that it is one’s own.
2. I have used the Chicago convention for citation and referencing. Each
contribution to, and quotation in, this report from the work(s) of other
people has been attributed, and has been cited and referenced.
3. This report is my own work.
4. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with
the intention of passing it off as his or her own work.
Signature ______________________________
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ABSTRACT
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ABSTRACT
South African cities have a complex social and physical post-Apartheid layering. The
historical legacy, referring here specifically to the inadequate roll-out of public facilities
in areas and uprooting as well as separating of communities, have resulted in under
serviced environments that can lack social cohesion and often struggle with poverty.
Public institutions play a catalytic role within a community. To this end, health care
portrays the government in a legible ‘provider’ role and is, in some ways, an obvious way
to make citizens feel valued in comparison with other public institutions. Health care
institutions impact the community in a unique way due to the combination of specificity
of service and the emotive way it is experienced by the individual.
This dissertation aims to research, define (and ultimately) test a strategy that aims to
stitch together the fissure between community and institutions, by rethinking the urban
interface of generic primary health care facilities.
This research is structured around themes of theory, policy, the continuum of care
and physical environments; each in order to better understand what and how the ‘gap’
between health care institution and community is constructed. Programmatic and/or
spatial ideas that inform the architectural design.
This dissertation asserts that providing ‘traditional’ generic institutions sustains rather
than improves the life of the community. The research suggests that existing health
care facilities can be more effective as public spaces by introducing new programmes,
disaggregating the formal interface, redefining and activating a new urban threshold and
providing meaningful open space. The design ultimately aims to act as a new skin or
threshold through which institutions relate to the community.
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