A contemporary African architectural response to maternal healthcare facilities: towards a maternity care centre for KwaMashu.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
The built environment has always had the power to have a positive or negative impact on its
users. Whether it is a home, office, or public space, the architecture articulates its
intentions. Healthcare spaces specifically require an architecture that is highly responsive to
the needs of its inhabitants. The subject of maternity is seldom discussed within the built
environment, therefore, making it vital to conduct and initiate as an architect who is well
experienced in the process of maternity. The social issue of maternal mortalities has been
confronted through cultural and medical interventions as this has been assumed as the only
cause. As a result, the following dissertation research is driven towards confronting maternal
mortalities through the built environment by answering the question, “How can the principles
of contemporary African architecture inform the design process of maternal healthcare facilities
in a historically segregated community ?” with the objective of developing a successful
healing architecture respondent to maternal healthcare facilitating that resembles
contemporary African architecture constituents.
The dissertation at hand aims to explore how contemporary African architecture, in the
context of maternity healthcare facilities, can enhance healing and care through its
fundamental design strategies specific to the user within historically segregated communities.
One has identified a built environment problem in healthcare facilities designed for the
purpose of maternity care; there is a lack of facilities as well as facilities designed with a
regard to healing design constituents that could eliminate much of the psychological and
social issues affecting maternal mortalities. Literature research, interviews and questionnaires
with professionals and community leaders will be conducted to gain further knowledge into
the maternity care facilitating gaps experienced by the women and their families. Primary
healthcare facilities have become highly congested which has eliminated the nurturing aspect
caregivers used to provide. This is vital in ensuring that beyond the physical health, the
psychological health is well to ensure a healthy pregnancy, labour, mother and child.
The dissertation explores the range of cultural, health, and educational influences upon
maternity care facilitating in Africa and South Africa itself, through the concept of
maternal healthcare. These influences are identified and questioned in their effect upon
women in maternity facilities. Within the local context, the choice some women take in
utilizing the facilities provided is largely influenced by external factors such as insensitive
medical staff, lack of access to facilities, and national healthcare system discrepancies. The
dissertation directs one to examine the phenomenology theory of placemaking, that can be
implemented within the built environment. The theory looks into the significance of ‘genius
loci’ thus exercising the need for healing architecture within healthcare facilities. Lastly, the
concept of contemporary African architecture is explored through the lens of agency in
maternity care centre facilities and eco-sustainability within historically segregated
community spaces. The design confronts the need for a healing space that services the most
marginalised African women with healthcare and education in adhering to dignified basic
health needs, therefore, enabling a positive well-being for women.
These concepts and theories direct the paper towards establishing the guidelines that will
support the architectural design of a maternity care centre within KwaMashu. This aligns
with the aims and objectives to solve the research problem of a lack of adequately
designed healthcare facilities that could eliminate the high maternal mortalities social issue
within South Africa and Africa.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.