Levels and Lizzy

This morning we all met at Wits really early to start drilling holes in our steel balustrade uprights. Mr Kelsey, the workshop manager was very quick to warn us of the problems associated with design and builds, but I think he respected our work ethic and softened his demeanour to hand us some invaluable advice. We assembled a production line, with Catherine marking out the holes on the steel, I drilled pilot holes in the c-sections and then Gareth drilled the final 13mm holes. Robyn helped Gareth and made sure the process ran smoothly – and it did, we were finished with our 40 odd steel uprights in less than 2.5 hrs. We then packed up and sped off to Kwa Thema.

Our ANC Youth League assistants have been working on the west side’s rubble pile while we were in the architecture school’s workshop. They had really made some headway into the clearance of the rubbish around the structure. It’s beginning to look fantastic. We had no time to waste, so began setting out the holes for the balustrade uprights. My father, a land surveyor, had lent us a laser level which helped us immensely. In no time the bolts were marked out. Gareth then started edging his way around the structure with the heavy duty drill which Fischer lent us. He had a great number of problems with the drills batteries not being charged enough. Robyn and I visited Dennis, the headmaster of Sakhelwe Primary School, just down the road. He was more than enthusiastic about supplying children for our waste paper recycling drive, the abacus / kite workshop and the collection of beer bottle tops. We are also very excited about their award winning choir, which will now be performing at the launch.

Catherine and I had already purchased some lunch snacks for our group, and after a short break it was back to work again. Hannah, Bernt and Christopher arrived a bit later. We were anticipating their arrival with some reserve, we weren’t sure what kind of dialogue we would have, what it would include and what angle it would come from. Our group had a successful talk with Hannah. We have been having some strong fears about the project, and how late in the game it was being rethought. This was dealt with sufficiently, and I left the chat feeling as though all was achievable, malleable and includable. The fluid, reactive design or in this case, redesign process which Hannah now advocates is something quite exciting, and I’m happy to confront it – I think we all are, just perhaps more rationally. At the end of the day, the reason the community is on our side, and is working so hard with us, is because they all have a vested interest in the success of this place. Everyone has an idea of what it could be, and I’m sure envisions their idea implemented in the not too distant future. We have given them an image of what we will create and the beer hall group feels strongly about supplying that vision in a complete form. The new ideas which have been communicated to us can definitely be accommodated, in a more ethereal, event based way.

I spent a part of the late afternoon interviewing Lizzy, in her take away shop around the corner. She is not a Kwa Thema resident, but saw an opportunity in opening a business in the township. She’s an extremely helpful, happy woman, who seems to be very excited about the beer hall. She saw it becoming a shopping centre.

I find it amazing how a structurally suspect, historically important skeleton like the beer hall can provoke such a creative response from its onlookers. The structure is a bare statement, a provocation to the community. I am a frame – make me something that benefits you (although I might fall down in ten years if you don’t fix me first).

Interview Sound Clips:

http://web.omnidrive.com/APIServer/public/z6wuGYW3nhTkLJbpd8agz2yP

Lizzy Dubeko Part 1

Lizzy Dubeko Part 2

ANC Youth League discussion