IV.

ARCHITECTURE OH SOUTH AFRICA

The urban landscape and the South African architecture in general were very marked by racial and social
segregation. The Cape Dutch style inspiration, remains as the most original architecture.
.
The " hartbeeshuis "
Outside of military architecture which reflects the Castle Cape , the first colonial houses were huts with
thatched roofs . Their walls are composed of a mixture of branches, grass, mud and cow dung. This type
of summary building , which housed the poorest and domestic color white populations survived in the
countryside until the 20th century. Small houses a part of the mission of Elim Moravian Brethren 's in the
Western Cape, bear witness to this primitive architecture.
The Cape Dutch style

17C . , Houses , generally low and rectangular , will gradually enrich symmetrical wings separated by a
courtyard whose plan will successively take the form of a T, a U and an H . Oaks, or pines imported from
Europe , sometimes mark out paths of these resplendent buildings, including the finest examples are the
areas of Groot Constantia and Vergelegen in the vineyards of Cape Town.
Foreign influence
Cape Dutch style will always adapt to changes from Europe . At the end of the 18th century . and early
19th c. , the French architect Louis Michel Thibault and German sculptor Anton Anreith introduce
colonnades, porticoes and bas-reliefs of classical inspiration. The old Supreme Court of Cape Town,
which now houses the South African Museum , is a good example of neoclassicism . The arrival of the
British in the early 19th century. does not affect the Dutch influence in the architecture of private
buildings but will change and public buildings . The late Georgian style , characterized by red brick
facades , sometimes adorned with colonnades, makes its appearance in Cape Town and is particularly
illustrated in the Parliament buildings . The English influence is maintained until the Second World War.
The Victorian styles and Edwardian will dominate public architecture during the colonial era. Victorian
houses are adorned with a veranda ( stoep ), a corrugated metal awning and balconies to the very
elaborate lace, called " lace panties " ( broekie lace ) . The Pietermaritzburg City Hall with its tower that
looks like Big Ben, the old station or post Cape and Durban City Hall spend the domination of the British
empire in the heart of the great colonial cities .
Afrikaner reaction
the Cape Dutch style remains the benchmark for private housing , regions that control the Afrikaners
parent, early 20th c. , Original public buildings inspired by the Wilhelmine style prevailing in the northern
Europe . The Parliament of Transvaal in Pretoria example illustrates this architecture.
The rise of nationalism in the 1930s was accompanied by a search for Afrikaner identity that flourishes in
the Romanesque Revival style whose architect Gerhard Moerdyk is the best representative . The latter
drew many Calvinists churches and the monument 's centennial of the Great Trek in Pretoria. Ironically,
this champion of white identity is also at the origin of Libertas today Mahlamba Ndlopfu .
The modern era
After the Second World War, not only the architecture and urbanism are no exception to the policy of
apartheid , but they are the most visible signs. The years 1950-1990 are characterized by a utilitarian and

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MAMADOU SARR, PAPA BIRAME DIA, MAMADOU DIOP, HAMIDOUNE MBACKE

DIOP, MAME MOR DIOP
pragmatic planning delivering the historic center of colonial towns like Swellendam and Durban to shovel
while the townships become part of life for the majority of the inhabitants of the country.
The new democratic South Africa is still too young to have significantly altered a still marked by racial
and social segregation cityscape . For now, the government's priority is shifting to the rapid construction
of social housing cheap as to finding an original aesthetic . And modern architecture , which is mainly
expressed in the huge shopping centers , has not yet found the path that would allow him to develop a
style balancing its various components.

REST IN PEACE MANDELA

MAMADOU SARR, PAPA BIRAME DIA, MAMADOU DIOP, HAMIDOUNE MBACKE

DIOP, MAME MOR DIOP