The following thesis endeavours to document and portray the lifespan of a single site in Stone Town,
Zanzibar. It sits in the shadow of the old Palace and on the brink of the sea. Its date of inception and
architect of record are unknown.
The site is divided into four distinct parts. One of which is further divided into two less distinct parts.
01. THE BUILDING
01.1 THE EMBASSY
01.2 THE HOTEL
02. THE WAREHOUSE
03. THE FORTIFIED GARDEN
04. THE CEMETERY
The diagrams herein presented are merely one possibility of the sites past and probable future. Remnants
of eras past and fragments with the potential to influence eras future have been embellished,
their intricacies and complexities restored for the sake of better clarity.
Zanzibar. It sits in the shadow of the old Palace and on the brink of the sea. Its date of inception and
architect of record are unknown.
The site is divided into four distinct parts. One of which is further divided into two less distinct parts.
01. THE BUILDING
01.1 THE EMBASSY
01.2 THE HOTEL
02. THE WAREHOUSE
03. THE FORTIFIED GARDEN
04. THE CEMETERY
The diagrams herein presented are merely one possibility of the sites past and probable future. Remnants
of eras past and fragments with the potential to influence eras future have been embellished,
their intricacies and complexities restored for the sake of better clarity.
THE GOVERNMENT
THE GOVERNMENT'S intervention:
the construction of woven, rubber, elevated bridges that puncture the ruined facade.
the construction of woven, rubber, elevated bridges that puncture the ruined facade.
These woven bridges serve as links between the two government establishments - the ministry of culture and the customs house.
THE LANDLORD
THE LANDLORD'S mausoleum.
Twenty conical forms soar skyward, honouring those of the same number that lie beneath them.
Twenty conical forms soar skyward, honouring those of the same number that lie beneath them.
After some years of neglect, the first signs of the buildings degradation starts to show.
The bricks are a precious commodity - the community feels they should serve the living rather than the dead.
The bricks are a precious commodity - the community feels they should serve the living rather than the dead.
THE CLOVE MERCHANT
Using a series of cogs and levers the roof is able to retract and expand, thereby doubling the available drying area for the merchant’s cloves.
THE CLOVE MERCHANT was influenced by extendable roofs he witnessed in the slums of Colombia during his stint as a cabin boy on a trade vessel in the Caribbean.
THE BANKER
Inspired by the bird cages of THE AVICULTURIST the banker sets about enveloping the room itself with steel
bars, paying greater attention to the areas of greater vulnerability.
He deems it to be - “ Architecture dictated by theft ”
bars, paying greater attention to the areas of greater vulnerability.
He deems it to be - “ Architecture dictated by theft ”
THE ARBORIST
She sees the potential in the disheveled and decaying walls that once upon a time were exemplary archetypes of Omani minimalism, now a fertile landscape for
her experiments with ornament.
her experiments with ornament.
When the time comes for the tree to die, then the wall shall be left with the intricate strangled striations of their parasitic guest.
A visible inscription of the plants life.
A visible inscription of the plants life.
THE AVICULTURIST
THE AVICULTURIST has a profound fascination with the disregarded things of this word.
Through her craft these neglected objects inherit a new role; to house the birds of the island.
Through her craft these neglected objects inherit a new role; to house the birds of the island.
THE AGRONOMIST
THE AGRONOMIST inhabits the fortified garden.
Combining a mixture of hemp, resin and pigment she formed bricks. Bricks that would find a home in the eroded holes carved by time in the coral walls.
Combining a mixture of hemp, resin and pigment she formed bricks. Bricks that would find a home in the eroded holes carved by time in the coral walls.
THE CARPENTER
THE CARPENTER inhabits the periphery of the main courtyard.
His role is to defend the integrity of the structure. His wooden scaffolds seek to preserve the space that THE ARBORISTS experiments put in jeopardy.
His role is to defend the integrity of the structure. His wooden scaffolds seek to preserve the space that THE ARBORISTS experiments put in jeopardy.
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