On the incompleteness of mutation: Introduction to Pretoria Regionalism

Abstract

Abstract This article aims to make the European professional audience acquainted with the architecture of an important southern African city. Additionally, the author hopes to familiarise this audience with the cultural nuances and character of this city, while trying to maintain distance as a native of the city. South Africa is famous for its significant natural and wildlife treasures. Internationally the history of this country’s politics and developing democracy are also well known. From famous political leaders overcoming the harsh and hateful Apartheid laws to more world-renowned medical practitioners performing ground-breaking medical procedures: the impact of South African global contributions cannot be overlooked. However, there is significant oversight in the appreciation of the architecture and analyses of the urban conditions in the country. Pretoria is the administrative capital of the Republic of South Africa and contains a substantial oeuvre of built works that is testament to the numerous international and local cultural influences. Thus, it was deemed necessary to present the architectural and artistic responses from the modernist period (late 1920s – 1970s). The Pretoria Regionalist style, sometimes styled as the Third Vernacular, is a contextually inspired, and unique Transvaal-esque mutation of the machined and purist aesthetic of the Modernist Movement (1920s – 1960s). This architectural oeuvre is presented within the historical context of the founding and evolution of South Africa. Hence, eight contextually appropriate and architecturally significant edifices representing the modernist architecture of the early 20th century are broadly discussed.