Heritage Forum

A free bus tour on 19 September 2015 to places of worship in Stellenbosch, accompanied by Pietman Retief and Debbie Gabriels.

People with an interest in heritage meet in Clanwilliam, where the Heritage Association of South Africa (HASA) will hold their thirteenth annual meeting .

This lecture by Dr Trevor Manuel forms part of the Stellenbosch Heritage project’s 2015 programme.

Several interesting discussions on Stellenbosch, architecture, urban design, social capital and economic growth form part of the annual Woordfees.

The Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Pulp Cinema will again be screening films on architecture and urban design. The work of city planners and architects like Norman Foster; Rem Koolhaas; Jan Gehl; Herzog and de Meuron; Peter Zumthor; Tadao Ando; Frank Gehry; and many more will be shown.

Four landscapes in central Stellenbosch must be managed as important cultural landscapes, according to Heritage Western Cape. This is one of a number of findings by the heritage agency in their approval of the first phase of the Stellenbosch heritage survey. This approval of the survey of about 530 buildings and structures in the Stellenbosch town centre is a significant step forward in efficient heritage management. It is also development friendly. As the survey was completed within the requirements of South African law and also within generally accepted International norms and practices, it will ensure that owners and developers will have more clarity and consistency about what could be allowed, or not in a specific area for buildings with specific heritage gradings.

Chris Stander, a valued Stellenbosch architect, died during the past week.

Paul le Roux, one of the great oak trees in the Stellenbosch architectural community, died in November. Le Roux played an important role in ensuring that new buildings harmonised with the town’s historical heritage. The library at the Theological Seminary, the Bureau for Systems Engineering in Techno Park, the DR Church Centre in Welgelegen and the Andmar and Concord buildings in Ryneveld Street are among the well-known buildings designed by him.

On October 30, 2014, Corlie Smart will talk about what interested persons should know concerning South African heritage law. The title of her lecture is: “What you should know about heritage law: practical discussion and illustrations of the National Heritage Resources Act”.

On 14 October Professor Fabio Todeschini will be talking about ways in which it is appropriate to speak about the preservation, management and value of our shared heritage. He uses the Cape and in particular the Stellenbosch Winelands as the focus in his lecture.

Some of the world’s best documentary films on architecture, urban design and heritage will be screened in Stellenbosch from October onwards.

Stellenbosch architect Piet Dekker exhibits water colour works of Stellenbosch at the Johan Coetzee Art Gallery on the corner of Plein and Ryneveld Streets, from 16 to 18 October 2014. Previews can be arranged on request at the gallery.

The annual search by the magazine Monocle for the world’s most liveable cities has found that Copenhagen is where people want to be for the second consecutive year.

Jolanda Morkel, vice chairperson of the Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation, was a delegate to the recent conference of the Architectural Association in Durban. The triennial congress of the International Union of Architects (UIA), commonly known as the World Cup event for Architecture, attracted 4500 delegates from around the world.

Nine historical monuments in urgent need of repair – in China, France, Spain, Japan, Italy, Tanzania, England and Mexiko – all on the World Monuments Fund (WMF) list of monuments under threat, are benefiting this year from a donation of $5 million to WMF by American Express.

Which Stellenbosch buildings are the most spectacular? Some Stellenbosch inhabitants listed their preferences.

Help beplan die toekoms van ons dorp!

Nou kan jy help bou aan ’n beter toekoms vir die dorp Stellenbosch met die veldtog Shaping Stellenbosch

Shaping Stellenbosch is ’n veldtog van Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit om Stellenbossers se idees in te win en dit dan by ’n nuwe dorpsplan vir die dorp Stellenbosch in te sluit – ’n plan vír die dorp, déúr die dorp!

The spatial development framework is a compass for development. A new framework is being drafted. In this process we have to imagine the future Stellenbosch anew.

Everyone may take part in setting up a new spatial development framework for Stellenbosch.

Ideas for renewal in the Stellenbosch town centre, Jonkershoek and Khayamandi by local and international urban designers and architects were explained at the Heritage Foundation’s annual general meeting by Professor Henri Comrie and Master’s degree students from the School for Urban Design at the University of Cape Town.

The point of departure of the suggested further development of the R44 from Somerset West, as a high-speed approach route to Stellenbosch, is controversial. Could better collaboration between local and provincial authorities mean that R480 million may be spent better?

Uber, the ride-providing service, has beaten growth records for new enterprises when it gained a valuation of R180 billion within four years. Uber was the first to combine particular building blocks of new technology like smart phones, broadband and GIS to offer a new riding service. It exists in approximately forty countries and is reported to create 20 000 new job opportunities daily. Transport experts expect that families in cities where Uber is available will be able to manage with one instead of two cars. 

Architecture is as important as health and food. This is the opinion of the chairperson of the British Farrel commission that was appointed in 2013 to investigate the status of architecture and the built environment in that country. The study commissioned by the British minister for architecture makes recommendations on quality of design, cultural heritage, economic utilisation and other issues that could have an impact on urban development in Britain in the future.  Some of these recommendations are also relevant in South Africa.

Grosvenor, a British developer, has unveiled a habitable sculpture by the sculptor Antony Gormley. Room, a three-storey-high stainless steel sculpture forms part of a luxurious new hotel in a conservation area in the inner city of London.

For only the sixth time ever, a writer on architecture has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. Inga Saffron of the Philadelphia Enquirer hereby ensured her place alongside Ada Louise Huxtable, Paul Goldberger and Blair Kamin. Saffron has been with the...

In his latest book review – the world’s wealthiest man reads widely and regularly writes reviews – Bill Gates highlights astonishing statistics on the use of concrete: – China has used more concrete over the past three years than that used in America over the previous century. This massive use of concrete to build new cities has enabled China to relieve the poverty of millions of people.

Supplying houses in South Africa is hampered by inadequate resources, but also by rigid systems supported by obsolete ways of thinking and doing. Meanwhile, there is progress with smart ways to improve informal settlements and replanning them inclusively. Read more about the experiences of architects Julian Cooke and Olwethu Jack…