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It's time to design our own architecture


  January 17 2005 at 07:52AM

By Noor-Jehan Yoro Badat

There is a saying "when in Rome do as the Romans do", but clearly those who live in mock Tuscan, mock Spanish and mock Balinese homes have forgotten that they live on South African soil.

Such designs have created such a uniform look in many Gauteng suburbs that one has to wonder whatever happened to being proudly South African.

Perhaps this conformity and architectural prostitution are what led an outspoken local architect to criticise the standard of South African architecture, and in so doing kick-started a debate that has become ever livelier.

In a strongly worded inaugural speech and public address, Professor Ora Joubert, head of the architecture department at the University of Pretoria, said: "I decided that it is time to speak out and to share my painful realisation that, with far too few exceptions, current South African architecture is (among) the worst of its kind. I have decided to take a public stand against the proliferation of built work that simply does not make the grade."

In her opinion South Africans build way too much and way too irresponsibly. When compared to Europe and other parts of the world, South Africa is totally under-regulated, especially in the service of the greater good.

"Unlike the literary and visual arts, we have no critical architectural tradition in this country and are overly sensitive to any form of criticism or public debate."

Joubert said she failed to "comprehend our infatuation with Tuscany.

"The pathologies behind these monstrosities can be debated for many years to come. On the one hand, it signifies an architectural ostentation that makes me as a closet socialist nervous. But it could be a sign of an insecure community battling to come to terms with its past, its present and its future on our continent."

Joubert said the issue of Tuscan designs was just one strand in the debate over the state of South African architecture. The lack of excellence, integrity and the principles of perseverance, dedication and commitment that made architecture a vocation were others.

Peter Rich, a professor at the school of architecture and planning in the University of the Witwatersrand, agreed, saying there was a "lack of integrity" in current architecture.

There was a Tuscan predominance, a lifestyle people had bought into, said Rich. And estate agents played a powerful role in marketing what they deemed a safe product.

But, in the same vein, he said estate agents were "not educated in the built environment" and "know nothing about architecture" in terms of judgment over quality.

Many estate agents out there were competent, while others were "muscling in on a strong market", said Rich, adding that South Africa was a society in transformation under diverse influences, and that its people had a unique opportunity not to lift designs from overseas.

He found that there were people who mocked Tuscan designs and questioned their validity.

Rich said architects had "become prostitutes who buy into this development and don't ask the right questions".

He made no attempt to debunk the fact that South Africa had been affected by foreign influences, but argued that designers should take into account indigenous factors and considerations of appropriateness. "There should be a physical response to climate and social response to culture," he said.

But fashion was a potent influence in its own right. Where in the 21st century with cars and technology do people buy into the nostalgia of the 18th century landlord, he asked. Yet he did not dispute that there were beautiful Tuscan creations that were well proportioned and adhered to poetic sensibilities, in contrast to those which were merely "bastardised versions of nothing".

"Architects need to be responsible."

Similar to brand buying, "the residential game is fashion-driven", said Paragon architect Henning Rasmuss.

Clients got short-changed because they failed to push for a better product.

he stressed that architects had a role to play in promoting better work.

Rasmuss also highlighted other factors that worked against architects, such as financial and time pressures.

Although Joubert's speech was contentious, she received overwhelming response "which was encouraging insofar as people who wanted to rethink what is truly South African architecture".

For Rasmuss, current architecture needed to return to tradition and revisit the "better work of the past". He wanted something one could term good South African architecture.

  • Laugh Out Loud is a selection of regular columnists who write for Independent Newspapers


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