THE ROLE OF THE DESIGNER IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY
Franco Frescura
It is an accepted truism in South Africa today that our current economic standing represents the strange conglomerate of a modern urbanised infrastructure living cheek by jowl with the problems and realities of an urbanising community. Its uniqueness is emphasised by the fact that, since the 1860s, such development has only been made possible by the collaboration of two groups, the one contributing its land and labour resources, the other its material wealth and technological know-how. This has led some people to mistakenly equate economic development with the importation of Western technology to the subcontinent. One of the last bastions of such thinking in this country lies in the field of architectural and environmental design where, it is claimed, the role of the professional is to "educate" those less advantaged and "inspire" them to a "better" way of life. Quite apart from the fact that such thinking is openly paternalistic and racist-orientated, it is also fallacious for it ignores the fact that Western technology has caused more problems than it has resolved, such as environmental pollution, the over-exploitation of natural resources and the current worldwide crisis of a diminishing ozone layer. It should also be borne in mind that few technological solutions developed in either Europe or North America have found direct application in an African context: most have either been derived locally or amended to meet local conditions.
As a result the role of the designer and his or her relevance to the needs, realities and aspirations of a future southern African society are open to some debate. This is unfortunate for, once stripped of his professional elitism, an architect has much to offer to the community as a whole. Let us examine some of these potential strengths.
- The Architect is an interpreter of our culture and a custodian of our historical heritage. At a time when our rural communities, both black and white, are undergoing drastic and often traumatic changes, many of their architectural traditions, building customs and historical forms are being lost through neglect, bigotry or simply a desire by the people concerned for an improved quality of life. However, instead of replacing this with a faceless uniformity brought about by current international styles and modern building techniques, it is the task of the architect to preserve and, in most cases, reinterpret the textures, patterns and forms so characteristic of the southern African landscape. It is but a matter of time before the resurgent concern for our predominantly (white) architectural heritage spreads to embrace the historical buildings of all South Africans.
- The Architect is a facilitator. Being part artist, part engineer, part builder and anthropologist, and sociologist, and businessman, he occupies a crucial and pivotal role in the production process of a building project. He is the organiser who brings and holds together the team which makes a structure possible. However in the normal course of events the client body is usually excluded from the production process to a greater or lesser degree. This, more than any other reason, is why designers have become alienated from the community as a whole. In view of the cooperative and consultative nature of greater southern African society this appears to be the one area where architects will have to explore new methods of communicating their ideas and discussing their implications at a basic community level.
- The Architect is a manager of resources. This is probably his greatest asset - the fact that he not only administers resources but is also legally liable for their efficient distribution during the course of a project.
In these terms it will be seen that a professional designer will have much to offer a future southern African society and, given the opportunity, may do much to promote its economic development, the efficient management of resources and the creation of buildings which best reflect our concerns, values and realities as a nation. The hallmarks of a future South African architectural practice will be a concern for the environment, whether it be natural, cultural or historical; an ability to work and consult at a basic community level; a willingness to be guided by group decisions; a rejection of architectural statements motivated by ego and self; and an understanding of the social processes which bring about a built environment. Such a designer shall also have the strength of character to be able to decline briefs to erect buildings which serve the needs of one group to the detriment of others or which glorify sectarian political aspirations.
POSTSCRIPT
This paper began as a talk to the Society of Designers in South Africa, in Port Elizabeth on 10 March 1986, on the subject of A Community of Designers - The Realities and Processes of Design in a Developing Society. It was then commissioned as an article for Black Enterprise. (FRESCURA, Franco. 1989. The Role of the Designer in a Developing Country". BLACK ENTERPRISE, Vol 22, 1989. 52-53)
CAPTIONS TO PHOTOGRAPHS
- The Strydom Monument, in Pretoria, perches uneasily on its pedestal, a symbol perhaps of this country's precarious social and economic equilibrium.
- Bisho, the Ciskei's new capital city, presents a pastiche of architectural post-modernist styles which rise starkly out of a wind-swept and barren landscape.
- Pretoria, perhaps more than any other South African city, seems to specialise in irrelevance. This is a roadhouse whose architectural humour, derived from effete American styles, succeeds only in being heavy-handed.
- Peter Rich's shopping centre at Elim has received much (justifiable) coverage in the architectural press. It is one of the few examples of buildings in South Africa which are both pleasing and the result of a consultative process between the client and the designer.