The Byre: Nguni Cattle Research and Training Institute

Abstract

The initial topic of this thesis was an enquiry into the abattoir. As meat is at the heart of the every meal in most South African households, the question of where our meat comes seldom arises. What is the journey that our food takes before reaching it reaches our plates? How is the animal treated before it is slaughtered? Surely ,what the animal is fed, how it is treated and the life it has led affects the meat product which we ultimately ingest.

The initial expected outcome was to design a facility that would expose the process of the abattoir, attaching a public component to allow the public an opportunity to trace their food and potentially view the various processes involved. The key ideas and were to find sensitive points of cruelty in the abattoir and animal farms which address animal-related ethics; to deal with the high rate of meat consumption and production in the global economy; to understanding the relationship between meat and culture ,shedding light on the negative connotations of the abattoir and the celebration associated with ritual slaughtering and lastly, to deal with the environmental impact caused by abattoirs.

The above themes taken on were conflicting with the expected outcome of the abattoir. The abattoir did not provide the optimum solution to these concerns. The cow and other animals in an abattoir face an inevitable end...death. No matter how ‘humane’ the process of the abattoir could strive to be, death is still the outcome. If members of the public were exposed to the process, would they still want to continue eat meat ? If the answer is no, which would probably be the case in most situations, what would be the point of the abattoir other than to convert meat eaters to a vegetarian lifestyle?

The issues being dealt with were relevant and valid, yet the solution contradictory. Through the process, the focus on the abattoir shifted to trying to find a solution to deal with the issues and not adding to the existing problems.

After a long journey it became apparent that the crux of the research was not that of meat consumption and animal cruelty but about the animal themselves. It was eliminating the ‘meat’ and ‘death’ we associate with the cow and creating a symbiotic relationship as shared with the Zulu and their herd. The role of the animal and how it has formed part of our lives, culture is unexplored in literature, but plays a huge part for many South Africans. How do we create and develop a relationship with these animal through architecture?

The Nguni, a breed indigenous to South Africa was chosen as the main actors and agents of this thesis.

The document is divided into three main chapters:

Preservation - This section examines the relationship shared between man and cows and focuses on the history of the Nguni cattle and why they are a breed worth preserving.

Awareness - This section covers the theoretical component of the thesis, examining perception, it looks at the cow in terms of production, culture and currency and lastly the associated architecture of abattoirs and farms.

Celebration - The final section of the book addresses at the architectural aspects and design informants that has lead to The Byre.