Write here: a writers' retreat in the Swartberg mountains

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i Leigh-Anne Carlisle

2015025949 Masters Design Dissertation M. Arch ( Prof)

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_{, .} • • • • Acknowledgements • • • •

: : : : : Acknowledgement of editorial and proofreading services: : : : : :

• • • • • The work contained in this thesis has been submitted for •• • • •

• • • • • proof-reading and editing to Fr V.D. Meyer. ' • • • •

• I • • I I I • • I

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Dedication and Thanks 1 • •

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This thesis is dedicated to my parents Glen and Liesl, ,: :

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• • : • • • •• • . proof-reading and typing, the mamma-pakkies and many 1, •• • . • : • •

• : • • : • tearful phonecalls.

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Thank you to Jason and Kobus for taking care of me and :• •

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• • • • • , always encouraging me when this journey would get too much. • • • •

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• • • •, • Thank you to Prof Jan and Petria for dealing with all my , • •,

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• • t ••I Thank you to Hein for all the help and sarcastic commentary • t • •

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(7)

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(9)

ix

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.Preface

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The Swartberg Pass , part of t he ma j e s t i c Swartberg mountain range which links t he Little and Great Karoo, holds a special place in my heart . From t he memory of building my very f i r s t snowman as a preschooler to teenager picnics and tea- baskets on a Sunday drive and now my Mas ters Dissertation . The pass is a place of

• magni fice n t beauty, a place of wide

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_{• .} _{open spaces and crisp} _Karoo _{aromas of}

•• veldplants and vygies , where i t feels

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• as t hough you can breathe again .

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_• _Bu_t _, _alas _, _{i t} _is _so _te _rribly

•. unapprecia ted and has so much

• underexploi ted potential . This is

: what drove me to the decision of

e selecting the Swartberg Pass as t he

• s i t e fo r my dissertation .

/ This dissertation has brought a l l t he

. • memories , feelings , passion and love

• fo r the pass to ligh t in a way that I

• • • had not previously experienced . I~

. • is hoped that this envisaged wri ~ers

• . • • ret rea t will ignite a spar'k.l in t he

' reader, and coa x a flame of r~sire to

experience the awe of this

resplenden t feat of nature with i t s synergy of awesome rock format

1io\.is ,

breath taking views , and harmony wi t h

nat ure whilst experiencing ttte

(10)

(11)

xi

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Abstract

This investigation explores how to mitigate the

lack of inspirat ion and the distraction of

everyday life that writers struggle wit h, by

experiencing a writers' ret reat in the

Swartberg Mountai n range in the Western Cape

Province. The proposed design for the retreat

explores the relationship between the writer ' s

deep and self-conscious minds. The dissertation

considers the question: How can a designed

place of isolation in nature stimulate the

awareness wi thin the self in order to promote the engagement of the deep and self-conscious minds during the wri t ing process? During the

writing process the awareness of the self, of

nature and of the self i n nature i s important.

Few other buildings show this awareness

specific for wri ters in nature whi le exploring

the deep and self-conscious mi nds. Thi s dissertation aims to propose a place with spatial awareness to create various experiences

and interactions between man and nature, the

self and the self-less, isolation and

integration. This study engaged with

theoretical constructs of; the deep mind and

the self conscious mind a theory devised by

Maggie Ross as well as The Art of Travel

-written by Alain De Botton, the self and the

awareness of the sel f as well as the concept of

being-in-the-world theories by Mart in

Heidegger. It also made use of case studies and

precedents during the investigation into the

writing process, and how architecture caey

enhance the writing process. The prop ~

design can demystify the writing

through an enhanced spatial experience in

(12)

xii

C

ontent

s

Chapter 1 Introduction and Orientation

Introduction

The Swartberg Pass

His

tor

y

of

t

he Swartberg

The Site

Theoretical Discourse

The Landscape

Macro analysis

The Concept of Arrival

Chapter 2 Concept Development

The Touchstone

Ou Tol

Site analysis

The Concepts

The Essence

Why Writers Write

Architecture

and Writers

Writing as a Ritual

The Proposal

Research

Question

Chapter 3 Design Development

Design Attempt #1

Design

In

spiration

Design

itl

The CONSeption

Design

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xiii The Structural Design At tempt

Design #3

•

Touchstone #3

Taking a Step Back

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List

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Bigwood Reside

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Resort

Teitipac

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Coromandel Estate

Design Attempt # 4

Design #4

inspiration

Design #4 development

Attempt #1

and

#2

C

hapter 4

Design Synthesis

Vernacular Architecture

The

Writer

'

s Experience

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In this chapter, the landscape, surrounding context and site will be i ntroduced and discussed as i t originally was the site that i nfluenced the function and program of the project. This chapter takes an indepth

look at the Swartberg Pass, the history thereof, how i t came to be and how it may have an influence on design decisions made in this dissertation. It also introduces the theoretical discourse on which the dissertation is based by discussing the concept of arrival.

figure 2: Ou 7'ol in ehe distance (author, 2020)

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3

In

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"No artist tolerates reality" (Nietzsche, 1909-1915: 74).

It seems to be safe to say that Nietzsche may be correct in saying

this, but i t might be more apt to say that no artist tolerates

reality well, or for very long. When i t comes to writers it is no

different.

Writers live in a world where realit ies are abundant and thus

compl exities are ever present. 'f'hi s document is to be an exploration

of the writer, the self and the influence of the environment on these

entities. The experimental aspect would be to remove the writer from

their reality, their everyday life, and to have them i n a place of

i nspirational beauty, thought provoki ng solitude and self-reflective

silence. A place where the practical mi nd may be rested, and

creativity may be at the helm to encourage the childlike spark of imaginative ingenuity and curiosity to once again reignite.

'fhis di ssertation documents the process of designing a writer' s

retreat i n the Swartberg mountains, the challenges of creating a

place which is essentially the manifestation of the plethora of paradoxes that make up the writer , the writi ng process and the

written piece. And the complexities of architecture versus nature.

'fhis i s to be achi eved by means of research on what it is that a

writer needs in order to wri te, why writers write and what kind of

an influence nature and architecture may have on the writer and the

writing process .

This dissertation primarily aims to address the idea of isolation and how this may allow for the writer to realign their focus and find

what it is within themselves that may be the cause of the imbal ance

of their own equilibrium.

It

i

s

said that one must u • • • stay drunk on writing so that reality

cannot destroy you" (BrainyQuote.com, n.d.: online) , this

dissertation al so aims to create a place where writers can come to

get a little drunk.

In the following chapters this dissertation will address the

landscape, the site and how the site came to be as well as the history of the Swartberg Pass, the theory behind the writers and

writing process and how this theory influenced the design of the

proposal , the development from touchstone to concepts to t he various

design attempts. The precedents that influenced and encouraged the

further development of the final design and the construction report

(18)

hP

Swa

r t

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4

(19)

5

₅

The

Journey begins

•

.

• •

rays of auburn

into every tale

e tched i nto that

as the first

breathing l i fe

lifetimes live d,

fir e - l i t horizon.

lick the landscape,

ever told of the

which outlines the

The winding path awaits , t entatively snaking around the

hairpin

bends

,

each

corner

a

renewed

sense

of

anticipation brings , the path clouded in the remnants

of who have gone before, fiercely parching with every

~ootstep, precipitating a halt and initiating a breath.

A breath that waters the soul with the secrets whispered

over the knolls and through the dales, igniting a desire

to just be .

But the possi~ilities of what lies beyond the next kink in the tale beckons and the path adjourns , the luminescent apex luring as a £"'lame to a moth . It reveals an existence at i t s feet , unbeknownst to any who are yet to come . ~et there is no time for hesitation, the path is unrelenting , i t proP.els forwards , stumbling over itself , t \ sting the edges of place with reckless abandon , searching.

Quite suddenly and all at once , i t halts .

rt stretches out and curls up,

c~ntent with h~re and now.

The ridge, rises up, barring the

way, in&i~ing another breath .

Hushed by the surroundings, stripped of all speech , the only

t;-0,,rm of expression le£ t is t he

~tse and fall of the ribcage , the

release of earthly inhibitions, the fi~ling of the soul, the free·ing t>f the mind and tne he~ghtening of the senses .

This is i t .

Figure 4: Swartberg Pass ...(Mont d'Or

Swa~tberg, 2017: o»line} claiming i t s place,

This,

where

.

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6

The Swartberg Mountains, the epitome of serenity, a more

idealistically isolated place would be near impossible to find. In the summer months the critters are abundant, providing the mesmerising melody carried upon the wings of the gentle breeze

that softly caress the faces of those who wander there, but why wonder? What makes this wonder worth the wander?

figure S: A view of a pare of the

S:,;artberg Pass (author, 2020)

What ignites the desire in the self to go somewhere? The want

to find a new place,

experience something out of the ordinary. Perhaps i t is just that - the ordinary, the

banality of everyday that incites a yearning within the

self, a yearning for a break

in routine, to open the mind to the possibility of possibility that there may be something more, something

greener? So the anticipation begins to build, the

anticipation of the new place,

,I

new people, new adventures

-j

the excitement of

~ romanticising, the unknown and creating this expectation of what is to be experienced. This anticipation alone has opened the mind to what could be and freed the imagination from the cage that everyday life has become. Now the gnawing feeling of having to find out what lies on the other side of travel sets in

and the day comes that curiosity wins and the ordinary and everythi ng

"known" is left behind in

search of this utopian dream

conjured up from a single

wondering thought, what if?

time with

unkno1m but

Figure 6: The wandering mind

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7

(22)

8

History

Swar

tberg

The

of

Pass

the

This magnificent 27km untarred pass (Figure 8)

which has a summit of

1583m above sea l evel was bui l t f r om 1881 to 1888 by

Thomas Charl es Ba i n (Figu r e 7) whose

constr ucti on ph i losophy

was , " A good hat and good

boots" (Frandsen , 20 13 :

onl i ne) , this ph i losophy

seemed to stand the test of t i me . Thomas Ba i n was the son of the famous Andr e Gedde Ba i n who was

r espons i bl e fo r the

bui ld i ng of the Ba i n' s

Kloof Pass and many others

(Oudtshoorn Info , 2019 :

online) .

The Swar t berg Pass was second pass built in Swartberg by the Bains f i r s t being Meiringspoort which built in 1858 and is further east of the the the the was just the Swartberg Pass . The Pass

was built by means of convict labour and was officially opened to the

public on the 10th of January 1888 (Roberts ,

2013 : online) .

This spectacular mountain pass can be accessed from

Prince Albert on one side and Oudtshoorn on the other and the turn off to

Gamkaskloof lies near the

pass ' summit . Fi gure 7 : Thomas Charles Bain (Wikipedia , 2020: onl ine) Prince Albert

I t was built because at tha t stage t he routes

through Meiringspoort and Seweweekspoort were the only links between the

Mosselbay port and the towns in the Great Karoo and these were often closed due to flood damage and r ock falls . At this t i me there was only a