Abstract

Stories root a people’s sense of belonging in a place and frame what is real, acceptable and possible (Malpas 1999; Atlee 2007; Pallasmaa 2015). Architecture makes stories legible through form, material and use, transforming them into catalysts for socio-spatial change (Mang et al 2012). Architects should discover the Story of Place and allow a design to emerge from that cultural continuum.

Situated at the interface between land and sea, people and nature, past and future, this project tells the story of a shoreline between two forests. These are the forests of the mountains of Hout Bay, and the kelp forests of the sea. The continuous change and exchange between various systems and stakeholders in such a place makes it a catalytic point where the Story of Place can be experienced and evolved.

Hout Bay’s dominant story has produced socio-spatial narratives which have depleted the natural environment and destroyed the ability of the shoreline to act as a territory of exchange. This has resulted in the loss of livelihoods in the fishing community of Hangberg and an urban condition that forms barriers between land and sea. However, a series of alternative stories speak of a reawakening cultural and material indigenism which is evolving into a sense of pride and symbiosis with the environment. It is these stories that drive the development of this project.

In response to these emerging regenerative stories, the site is reinterpreted not as an industrial wasteland, but a dynamic tidal territory of exchange. Extending from the fishing village, through the industrial barriers and into the sea, the project forms a lifeline, reconnecting and reawakening dormant regenerative social and ecological systems. An aquaculture farm and eco-cultural urban park will reconnect the Hangberg community with the harbour and shoreline spatially, economically and socially. 

The project engages with three historically conflicting stakeholders, the community of Hangberg, the fishermen in Hout Bay Harbour and conservationists working with Table Mountain National Park. By crossprogramming (Tschumi 1994) associated users and activities, interactions between these stakeholders establish newly formed relations. These relationships, within the context of a legible Story of Place, generate a story that speaks of mutuality and care. The shoreline is reinhabited as a place of socio-ecological potential.