Abstract
M.Tech. (Architectural Technology)
On the Unit Field Trip, I became fascinated by the multiple expressions of retail and
trade on the island, from hyper-modern supermarkets and malls to old-fashioned traditional
African markets, where trade is only one programme among many. I began looking
at the meaning of the word ‘stock’, and investigating the origins of the word ‘stock
market. ’Joseph de le Vega was an Amsterdam trader from a Spanish Jewish family, and
a prolific writer as well as businessman in 17th century Amsterdam. His book, Confusion
of Confusions explains the workings of the city’s stock market, and is the earliest
recorded history of stock-trading, taking the form of a dialogue between a merchant,
a shareholder and a philosopher. It described a market that was sophisticated but also
prone to excesses, and he offered advice to his readers on topic such as the unpredictability
of markets and the importance of patience.
Zanzibar’s position as a major trade point from the Middle Ages onwards has resulted in
a rich, complex mix of cultures, religions and identities, all of which co-exist more or
less equitably alongside one another in a créole culture that is often typical of islands
with a history of trade and conquest. My Major Design Project looks at trade in all its
forms: from slavery to a modern high-tech stock exchange. Zanzibar’s trading culture
exists on many levels: the project investigates how and what type of goods arrive on
the island; how they are distributed; what the local retail networks are; whether trade
is ‘formal’ or ‘informal’; looking at the scale of businesses from the tiniest to the major
retailers and wholesalers; and finally, at the labour practices on the island – high-tech;
low-tech, no-tech.
The proposal marries the concept of an African market – often open-air, truly public, organised
around different mechanisms from display to cuisine, and genuinely democratic
–with the Western notion of a ‘stock exchange’, looking at different understandings of
the word ‘stock’ and ‘exchange’ to produce an architecture that is both appropriate to
Zanzibar’s history and relationship to trade, but also forward-thinking, visionary in the
best sense of the word by combining a critical perspective on the past with a speculative
eye on the future.