Contemporary Capital: An Architectural Journal
Edited by Pieter Mathews
(Visual Books, R345)
Anyone who has been following architecture in the capital city will know that there has been an explosion since 1994. With Pretoria the centre of most of the government offices, it has given a new kind of architecture a chance to develop and for those of us living in the city, the evolution is spectacular and perhaps unexpected.
Not because one didn’t think this kind of architecture was possible, but because it has been such a bonus. So many things are expected with such a dramatic change in a country and perhaps the buildings or the landscape are the last to feature in one’s consciousness when thinking of future progress. But Pretoria stands testament to how quickly and dramatically the landscape can change without much fanfare.
Think of the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (formerly foreign affairs) building, the national library, the science building or even the CSIR visitors building. And if you don’t know any of these, it is worth a trip to the capital city to see what has been happening architecturally.
According to this book’s editor, Pieter Mathews, clients who are better informed and visually trained result in better outcomes, benefiting the profession and the built environment. He also argues that great architecture should go for the jugular.
“Contemporary architecture should challenge, have meaning and achieve a visual balance to create works of physical beauty.”
That’s why he has invited Roger Fisher to explain “meritorious architecture”; Nicholas Clarke, a senior member in the department of architecture at the University of Pretoria, to put recent history into perspective architecturally (he has also created the website and Wikipage documenting all Pretoria’s historic sites and buildings of value at www.ableup.org); as well as put together a panel of members from the Pretoria Institute for Architecture (PIA) to help with the selection of buildings and homes in this book.
Many have been bowled over by the buildings and monuments (Freedom Park) that have sprung up all over the city, the foreign affairs building in Soutpansbergweg (pictured), for example, and most recently the basic education department on the corner of Paul Kruger and Struben streets – too new even for the book.
But there is also the University of Pretoria that has had major changes on its campus, which are still ongoing. Visitors will be astonished at all these changes, which are dramatic. Other high-profile architecture includes tollgates, stations and bus stops that have come into play with the advent of the new transport systems.
It’s fascinating to see, for example, that architecture has stepped in to make features of public spaces which in the past would either have disappeared in the background or become eyesores.
Following the introductory essays by leading architects and academics, the book has been divided into different chapters including public and institu-tional buildings, commercial buildings, housing and residential as well as additions, alterations, refurbishment and renovations.
It covers the full spectrum and gives an illuminating glimpse of a city’s contemporary architecture, while leading in with a detailed article on its historic past, architecturally.
Even when living in a city, we often pass buildings without noticing or marking their artistic value. This book reminds us of the character of a city which is made up of its architecture.
In Joburg, there’s the luminous Constitutional Court complex as well as the FNB Stadium, which was described by foreign journalists as on the same level as the Bird’s Nest in Beijing.
But Pretoria, especially because of its government profile, has a particular architectural place. This book captures some of that both for professionals and for those of us who are inspired by the public structures, whether offices or homes.
l The book is available at Kalahari.net , Exclusive Books and On The Dot.