KA-BA-THI LEARNING CENTRE-Creating a sense of place in Kavango East, Namibia

Abstract

According to Pendleton, Crush and Nickanor (2014), Namibia’s problematic, increasing rate of rural- urban migration is caused by tangible aspects in the form of employment, housing conditions, food security, education and healthcare. This explains why researchers primarily focus on resolving the tangible aspects linked to the exodus. I would argue that intangible aspects (sense of place) also form an equally important connection to the exodus and need to be incorporated into buildings when exploring ways to reduce the rapid rate of rural-urban migration through architectural design. The dissertation represents the journey of designing the Ka-Ba-Thi Learning Centre by understanding and using four core aspects that create a sense of place and combining them with the tangible needs of the local, rural Kavango East community to inform future rural development schemes, aiming to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration and its associated problems.