UKZN SOBEDS First-Year Architecture Students Exhibit their Sit Space Designs

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UKZN School of Built Environment and Development Studies first-year Architecture students exhibited their handcrafted furniture for a project entitled: Sit Space: A Safe Space to Sit, in which they created furniture from Masonite boards for students to have a place to relax and socialise or retreat. 

Architecture lecturer, Dr Bridget Horner thought the Sit Space project would be a fun and interactive way to get the class to participate in learning about safe spaces through furniture design, each other, as well as vulnerabilities faced during the transition. 

‘Entering the university space for the first time can be daunting. In many instances, this can be a lonely journey troubled by large classes offering little opportunity for student-student interaction’, she explained.

Speaking on behalf of their peers, Architecture students, Mr Reagan Nagan and Mr Hashil Arjun, described their first project as a collective endeavour. 

Nagan said the project’s primary goal was to provide a social area in their studio where students could gather without feeling uncomfortable. The design had to accommodate at least two or three people to enable opportunities for conversation.

Arjun explained that designs come into a life of their own when people engage with them, and this was one of the key learning points of the project. ‘As much as you intend for people to sit in it the way you designed it, people will always find diverse ways to use things. We mostly designed our pieces to have some fluidity and be ambiguous and multifunctional.’ 

Speaking of the most exciting part of this project, Nagan said, ‘Going into the workshop, cutting all these pieces, and putting it together in a group was enjoyable. It was also a wonderful way to meet new people, learn how to use the tools, and put everything together for a scaled-down project we could build.’ 

Offering advice to those seeking enrollment in architecture, Arjun said candidates must be open-minded and not fear criticism to improve their progress. ‘The biggest mistake people tend to make is holding on to things. Don’t take everything too seriously; take things as they are,’ he said. 

Words: Sinoyolo Mahlasela

Photograph: Supplied