Home away from home: a community centre for the experience and exchange of Congolese culture in Yeoville

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2021

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Bokoko, Priscillia

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Abstract

“Home sweet home”; “Make yourself at home”; “There’s no place like home”; “Home is where the heart is”. ‘Home’ has a different meaning to everyone. The term is complex and multifaceted and can represent a place or an idea. It can represent something that is lived-in, to which a plethora of joyous memories are attached. It is an indicator of the manner and place where people feel a sense of belonging. Home can refer to physical access, domestic inhabitation, psychological connections, and the cultural meaning of our living spaces, where cultural patterns enforce our understanding and sense of home (Gieseking et al., 2014). The term “diasporas” describes those who identify with a “homeland” but live far from it. It is defined as migrants or their descendants, “whose identity and sense of belonging have been shaped by their migration experience and background.” (Glossary on Migration (2019), 2016). Issues of migration and homelessness; power and class; culture and gender, change the impact of the term and the way it is understood as the standard experiences of home cannot be true for every individual, especially when one does not have access to it. Overall, home is a concept which stems from the question of one’s identity and belonging (Elmo Raj, 2014). Therefore, what does it mean to be at home and how can a migrant community still feel at home away from home?

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A design project submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) July 2021

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