“The Legacies of a Colonial Town”
Caption: Prof Tjama Tjivikua, Rector of The Polytechnic of Namibia (Left), and Mrs Jane Katjavivi, Chairperson of FNB Namibia, with the N$45,000 cheque sponsorship for the book production of the architectural exhibition “The Legacies of a Colonial Town”, by the Architecture and Spatial Science Department of the Polytechnic of Namibia. (Photograph by Mandisa Rasmeni)
The Architecture and Spatial Science Department participated in the IADS, and their exhibition won the top prize – the Silver Pigeon Award – for the best national contribution to the event. This was a great achievement for the Architecture Department which was established in 2010.
Prof Tjama Tjivikua, Rector of the Polytechnic of Namibia, said at the handing over of the cheque that this book would provide a historical perspective of architectural and urban spatial planning in a colonial town, but most importantly it should also rekindle the consciousness to move from a colonial paradigm to a more human-rights-based planning. He added that the book would provide a basis for further debate, calling for further and more in-depth research.
“Therefore a book of this nature will not only speak to the reader interested in architecture or urban issues alone, but more importantly it is directed towards a more general public in the same way the exhibitions were,” said Prof Tjivikua. Mrs Jane Katjavivi, Chairperson of FNB Namibia, said that they were pleased to be able to provide sponsorship towards the publication which will enable an additional 250 copies to be printed for distribution to secondary schools throughout the country. She also added that she wishes that secondary school learners would use the book in an interactive way, by holding their own debates and making their own comments about the towns and villages they live in. “In this way, we can critically connect to our spatial environments and hopefully help plan towns that will have more positive living spaces than the ones shaped by the segregation of the past and the economic inequalities of the present,” concluded Mrs Katjavivi before handing over the cheque. Following the international approval of the exhibition “The Legacies of a Colonial Town”, the exhibition was staged at the National Art Gallery in Windhoek in January 2013 and a second time at Soweto Market in Katutura as part of the “Land Matters in Art” project in March 2013.
