Anne-apolis

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Off-cuts and scrap

Some of my favourite toys were those made for us by my dad from scrap timber that he had salvaged on construction sites. When we were very small, these were quite chunky wooden blocks, lovingly shaped and sanded, and as we got older, the blocks became smaller as we developed dexterity. Back in the 1960s, when my dad was a practising architect, building sites were notable for the lack of waste. The craftsmen had a very clear hierarchy - offcuts were pieces (of whatever material) that could be reused, and were safely stowed for just this purpose, and the "scrap" that my dad would collect for our toys was kept to a minimum. This was facilitated by the manufacturers' sizing of materials and components, which had evolved over many decades, and in some trades, over centuries. For example, a standard brick was 3 x 4.5 x 9 inches - this facilitated a number of different "bonding" layouts, or ways of arranging the bricks in a wall. Some of the more common brick bonds Cre...

Decorative details

Recently, we completed Phase 1 of a new postgraduate hub at Wits University , and in the process, we inadvertently "framed" a curious detail at the back of the very first building on campus, built in 1922. From a distance, one may have a sense that the tops of the pilasters are decorated, consistent with the Neoclassical detailing of the rest of the building, but one might assume that it is simply a slight variation of the front portico. Wits Robert Sobukwe building south side While the other sides of this building have very standard Neoclassical details - Corinthian columns to the iconic front facade, flanked by Renaissance inspired window and door surrounds, the architects were more adventurous at the back. Detail of the capital From the second floor of the much more recent Solomon House, we can more clearly see that the capitals to the pilasters are stylised proteas, a nod to the South African location. This "back" facade would have been very visible to pedestri...

Ceilings

In past eras, ceilings were often more elaborate than any of the other surfaces of a room, whether embellished with decorative plasterwork or fine paintings. Sometimes, the structure of the building would be expressed in the ceiling, such as a gothic cathedral, where the complex curved structure was visible from below, accentuated by the ribbing, which also played an important structural function, similar to the veins on leaves. This attention to the ceiling persisted well into the twentieth century, with pressed metal ceilings imitating the fine craftsmanship of the past. Pressed metal ceiling in a 1930s domestic quarters In the apartment block where I live, built in 1932, modernism was just taking a hold in the more progressive architectural practices. This building is in a very stripped Art Deco style, often called "streamline moderne", a much more flexible interpretation of the Modern Movement with its dedication to "form follows function" and a complete abse...

Wallpaper

Today I am following on from last week's theme of tasks that are manageable and safe to do by yourself. My earliest first-hand memories of wallpapering are rather dramatic - my mom (always a sucker for a bargain) had been to a closing-down sale where you could have as much wallpaper as you could carry for some ridiculously small amount. Despite being less than 1.5m tall, she managed to carry a boot-load of rolls out of the store, leaving my dad and myself with a legacy of many weekends of DIY joy! Back in the day (and even now in some countries), wallpaper was not just a decorative finish, but an important part of the construction of a house, sealing off all porous building materials and gaps in boarding to make the rooms more airtight. People would simply add another layer of paper when the old one became a bit faded and torn, improving the insulation with each refurbishment. In places where lightweight boarding is the main external and internal walling method, plain paper is us...

To DIY or not to DIY

Today I want to look at a problem faced by any home-owner on when to do a task or project yourself, and when to call in a specialist. One of my neighbours started to strip down their window frames down to the original steel, but more than a year ago ran out of steam, with only a couple of windows done. These frames are now quite vulnerable, as they have not yet treated or painted them. So the question is what is reasonably "do-able" and even more importantly, what is legal. The three types of work where one needs to be careful, even if you are very competent and courageous, are structural, plumbing and electrical. Some aspects of these need to be done by a registered person or company, otherwise you would be falling foul of building regulations and potentially putting your insurance policy at risk. On the other hand, it becomes very expensive and annoying if you have to call in an electrician every time you need to change a light globe or replace a plug. Two common types of...

Timeless things

Today I was doing a bit of tidying and noticed a quote by JD Sedding that my mom had crafted into a cross-stitch sampler which I have made up into a cushion cover. Sedding was a Victorian architect who was one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement in the UK in the late 1800s. The Arts and Crafts artists were reacting to the excessive ornamentation that characterised many of the artefacts that were produced in the early industrial era. In particular, they criticised ornament that did not derive from the function of the object, its method of manufacture or the materials that it was made from. This was possibly the first movement that purposefully aimed at authenticity, even to the extent of encouraging designers to engage in the manufacture of their products. Today, hand-made objects are often unaffordable, unless one is lucky enough to have one passed down or find a treasure in a thrift shop. In some parts of the less industrialised world, craftspeople are still very much...