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VKK 757: Archiving UP's Piazza

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Molly The following essay is a reflection on the data gathered from the participatory archive. The data collected is based on a group of honours students and their sensory experience of the Piazza at the University of Pretoria. The students were asked questions pertaining to this space and gathered their research by responding through voice recordings and photographs which they then uploaded onto the online academic platform, Scalar. The essay not only explores the visual aesthetic of the space but primarily the sounds, the smells, the touch and even tastes that emerged in the data analysis. The way in which the students walked in and around the Piazza and their bodily mobility is analysed because walking is a way in which one establishes new meanings and experiences of a space (Borer 2013:977). According to Degen and Rose (2012:6) sensory experiences are intertwined with memories which mediates certain experiences in different ways. Therefore, a section of this reflection will investigate the senses that evoked particular memories for the students.

The Piazza officially opened in 1995 as a student oriented space which provides various activities such as the ones mentioned by Molly (2017). Louise (2017) stated that before the Piazza was built, she recalls that there was a busy road that divided the campus. This was her own memory of the space where Degen and Rose (2012:18) state that many people often rely on their memories in order to make sense of a specific space where they either compare it to a different space, how that space has changed or it looked like previously. Both Poppy and JP (2017) describe the space as an “oasis” supported by images of palm trees, jacaranda trees and green grass. The jacaranda buds on the ground in the Piazza evoke a memory of getting stung by a bee for Savanna (2017). Memories influence ones perception of a space, this was a bad memory for Savanna (2017) therefore her experience of the space could result in a negative one (Degen & Rose 2012). One could assume that this evoked a tactile sense, and automatically reflected back to a bad memory.

There was very negative feedback regarding the student’s sensorial experience of the Piazza that is conveyed through the voice recordings, the imagery and the photo elicitation discussions. Multiple students, such as Chloe (2012) and Jane (2017), state that the Piazza was dirty and several students presented images of litter and rubbish.

The participants senses were evoked predominantly inside the Piazza and when entering the food court. Both JP (2017) and Adeline (2017) state that they felt claustrophobic in the food court and that the smells of all the different foods were overwhelming. Calliope (2017) even describes the smell of tomato sauce that seemed to bother her sense of smell. A few of the students mention the smell of smoke especially by the benches which influenced a negative perception and experience of the space. The smell of the cigarette and hubbly smoke contributes to the idea of dirtiness and “griminess” (Adeline 2017) in the space. Predominantly, the odour and sense of smell influenced the way in which the space utilized and experienced by the students. According to Borer (2013:972) odours are constructed by cultural values "and employed by societies as means" of defining and interacting with the world. Borer (2013:972) refers to Simmel (1997a, 119) who argues that the sense of smell is a "dissociating sense" in order to create a division between classes, races, ethnic groups and genders. He discusses the "stigmatization" (Borer 2013:972) of odours such as smoking and how it too creates division in the space.

The inside of the Piazza was very noisy, according to the students, which disrupted and bothered them. The food court was especially noisy due to the high ceilings and the emptiness upstairs which created an echo contributing to the loud buzz in the space. According to Borer (2013:971), when people label a space as "noisy", the space is usually regulated by authorities which is supported by the photograph of the surveillance camera. "Noise" (Borer 2013:971) is considered a major problem suggesting agitation and annoyance in the space. The empty space above the food court up the stairs was extremely dusty and one literally gets the sensation of feeling dirty themselves.

The body has become a necessary tool for interpretation (Borer 2013:976). Not only is the body a "physical mechanism for engaging"(Borer 2013:976) with the sensuousness of the space, the body also functions as a form of communication for different impressions and interpretations (Borer 2013:976). The texture of the grass was explored in the photo elicitation discussions where Chloe described the grass as “prickly” when she kneeled down to take a photograph. Ophelia also discusses the textures of the stones on the ground all over campus. She describes the texture as “ruggered as well as very smooth”. Due to the time of year, the grass is green and luscious according to Molly and invites students to sit on it instead of the benches which are described as smelling like smoke.

Borer (2013:974) explores the experience of taste in the experience of a urban space. He states that food and drink is an “important characteristics of urban cultures because taste” is used in order to identify “particular urban locales” and that taste has the ability to make personal and private connections to the material world. Therefore ones impression of the food sold in the Piazza contributes to our experience and perception of it. During the photo elicitations a student mentioned that their coffee was revolting and because it was one of the first senses that was evoked during this experience, the rest of her experience in the space was disappointing and negative. Savanna and Loretta Brown compare the food sold at the Piazza to the food sold at Tribecca and Aloha, stating that the quality of food at the piazza is worse than the food sold at Aloha or Tribecca. I have had my own personal experience of the food sold in the Piazza which resulted in a very negative perception of the space and never wanting to purchase food from there ever again.

The basic bodily movement of the participants walk through the piazza is also striking when analyzing the data. A few of the students felt like they were constantly being looked at which changed the way they presented themselves. Students such as Jane and Loretta Brown described how they would prefer to walk around the Piazza instead of straight through it. A few students mentioned how they walk through the Piazza to get to class either at a fast pace if they are late for a class or a normal to slow pace. Degen and Rose (2012:14) explore the practice of walking through and around a space and how all "the senses are integrated by the way the living body moves (Degen & Rose 2012:14).

The nature of this project is valuable because it allows one to experience a space as an embodied one, instead of just analysing it with regards to the physical appearance and design of the space. This project introduces a completely new and interesting way of researching. All of our sensorial experiences contribute to our perception of a space and forms the idea of whether we like the environment or not. I have come to realise that people would do anything to avoid certain odours and a noisy environment even if it means that they have to walk an extra few metres or even drive around to avoid it. Through the analysis of the data, it is evident that the students of the University of Pretoria, experience the Piazza as an embodied and sensual one, namely through walking practices, their multisensorial engagement with the space and the senses that evoke particular memories.

Borer, M.I. 2013. Being in the City: The Sociology of Urban Experiences. Sociology Compass, 7(11):965-983.

Degen, M.M. & Rose, G. 2012. The sensory experiencing of urban design: the role of walking and perceptual memory. Urban Studies, 49(15):3271-3287.

Simmel, G. 1997a. Sociology of the Senses: Selected Writings. Sage Publications: London.