9.4. Travelled

9.4. Travelled The intervention contains a primary path one can walk to have the user experience the intervention as a journey through healing using African social practices and exposure. This is to pay homage to the multiple layers of metaphor and intent encompassed in the spaces. It is a sequence, with the spaces laid out so that the user, whether looking for healing or simply to experience African social practices, can be guided by the built form and those who are custodians of it through the journey. This also speaks to the temporal elements of African beliefs, life is a journey that one must walk, chosen by self, guided by the past, to better the present, and fulfil the purpose that defines one’s future. The dominant path through the site caters for two types of users of the site. The first user would be the seeker, who requires social healing and thus needs to access the spaces and people who will guide them through this process. The second user would be the ‘Explorer’, who was brought by curiosity to experience the spaces that allow them to bear witness. These users will tread upon the same ground, the main difference being their exposure to different guides. This path challenges the exclusion that is apparent in all post-apartheid cities and spaces. It has no stairs. Vertical movement is done through ramps for universal access while still maintaining the path’s nature as a path. In addition, all forms of transitions are placed by using guides to facilitate movement to avoid confusing the user.

Figure 62: Segment of ground floor