Ghosts of the former, re-using Kempton Park Hospital as a longer-term mental health care facility

Abstract

Ghosts of the Former is about the reuse of the abandoned hospital in Kempton Park. It seeks to provide a new approach to treating chronic mental health patients in order to educate and prevent the Life Esidemeni tragedy from occurring again. This research report investigates themes of adaptive reuse principles, mental health and memorialisation through the narratives of the Building, the Patient and the Ghost. This project manifests the Kempton Park Hospital as a memorial that becomes a healing space for mental health patients all over South Africa. Beyond this, the proposal captures a sense of therapy by not only offering unconventional forms of treatment that uplifts and empowers chronic mental health patients; but also gives them a sense of place within today’s society – asking the question: How can the adaptive reuse of the abandoned Kempton Park Hospital memorialise the Life Esidimeni Tragedy to re-envision new ways that chronic mental health patients can be treated?