Abstract:
A key debate in architecture revolves around two opposing ideas: On the one hand,
architecture is seen as a project of a-political formalism made for the sake of aesthetics. On
the other side architecture is expected to engage with the social, political and economic
impacts architecture can have. The aim of this dissertation is to advocate for the importance
of Public Interest Design (PID), which follows the second idea, by illustrating a change in the
architectural role that Collectif Saga underwent during their process-driven approach and
how that resulted in socio- economic change for the communities their projects are situated
in. It is argued that there is an indirect link between the role of the architect and the
socio-economic impact of the project. The resulting research question this dissertations aims
to answer asks: How did Collectif Saga, a French Architecture firm’s role, facilitate social
change in the Silindokuhle Preschool and Silindokuhle community hall in Joe Slovo,
Gqeberha and the Lim'uhphile Co-op in Walmer Park, Gqeberha? This research follows a
qualitative research method that is situated within the constructivist research paradigm and
uses a qualitative research methodology. The data collection was done by doing desktop
research of secondary data, site visits and semi structured interviews. The findings and
discussion are structured around four key roles that the architect takes on during the process
of participation with the community. They take on the role of interpreter, mediator, enabler
and facilitator. The findings show that, while this change in the role of the architect is quite
complex, it improves the community's capability for socio-economic change. Additionally, a
big factor in the longevity of the project seems to be ownership from the community. It can
be concluded that, if architects choose to engage with PID in the manner of questioning their
own role, architecture can be a powerful instrument of social change.