"To a land of priests and petrol-heads": the Jeppestown motor ministry
Date
2011-10-19
Authors
Duarte, Sergio Fernando
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Abstract
The new motor-car has acquired systems that give it memory, intelligence and senses. Modern motorcars are taking on
human attributes and have a religion and following all to themselves. In parallel, Jules Street, in Johannesburg’s original
motor district is the place where the motor car goes to, post motor-plan. It is far departed from the glistening showrooms
that are scattered over the rest of JHB- it is a place of vacant lots, workshops and passionate petrol-heads. Jules Street
is however not a place of the past, the industry of this place is the future of every brand
new car being built today. It is a place of necessary after-market vehicle service, although
it is struggling to adapt to the evolving technology of the modern motorcar. Jules
Street is also the home of a diverse, growing community. This new public has inspired
the refurbishment of disused workshops into religious institutions, 11 on the Jules Street
motor strip alone. These adapted places of worship provide an opportunity to view this fragile industry from a new
perspective; that of a soul. The motor car, from a pristine assembly line to a filthy scrap-yard, has one continuing relationship,
with people. This becomes the point of inquiry for this thesis, the life long relationship between cars and drivers, machines
and people, industry and culture, beyond the assembly line and showrooms that it is often associated with. The people who
design, build, drive, fix, recycle, pimp, admire and inspire cars over their lifespan are the basis for designing the architecture
of the ever-enduring motorcar. The conflict between the hi-tech and low-tech, the sophisticated and the raw, define the challenges
associated with automobility today, and the opportunities in investigating the auto-tecture that it requires.