A local architecture firm recently started renovations on two heritage buildings in the Stellenbosch University Botanical Gardens (SUBG).
Construction on the Old Conservatorium and Katjiepiering Restaurant commenced on 15 September, following an initial delay after the site handover on 5 September, according to Stuart Hermansen, principal architect at HB Architects.
The project’s completion date is scheduled for early December, in time for the SUBG’s centenary celebrations later that month, stated Hermansen.
The restaurant was closed from 28 to 29 September, after which it will remain open for the remainder of the construction work, according to Neil Lambrechts, the owner of Katjiepiering Restaurant.
“The end product will be much more authentic. I think people will be able to enjoy [the building] as it was,” according to Stuart Hermansen, principal architect at HB Architects. PHOTOS: Kara Olivier
Form meets function
The majority of the renovations will pertain to moving the restaurant’s kitchen out of the building and into an extension of the adjacent bathroom block, said Hermansen.
“It will be nice to have a proper kitchen,” said Lambrechts. The renovations will create “a more permanent setup” and “defined spaces” that will allow the space to be utilised more effectively, he said.
“The renovations will allow [visitors] to experience the building as it was intended to in its rather unusual setting,” said Lambrechts.
Heritage buildings add to the collective culture and give spaces a sense of place, sometimes referred to as genius loci, said Lauren Buchanan, chairperson of the Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation. Pictured above are sketch plans, made in 1979 of the Old Conservatorium (left) and the old recording studio (right) that now houses Katjiepiering Restaurant. PHOTOS: Supplied/Stuart Hermansen
The project will also entail bringing the bathrooms up to regulatory standards and making them wheelchair compliant, as well as revamping and enlarging the outdoor veranda to suit its current usage pattern, stated Lambrechts.
The Old Conservatorium was “erected in 1905 to house South Africa’s first higher school of music” and has been part of Stellenbosch University since 1934, when the old recording studio that now hosts Katjiepiering Restaurant was built, according to a 2009 survey by the Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation.
“[Architecture] is part of a continuum. Nothing exists in a bubble,” said Stuart Hermansen, principal architect at HB Architects. The firm was approached by Stellenbosch University to complete the renovations due to their portfolio of heritage work and ongoing projects at the Stellenbosch University Botanical Gardens. PHOTOS: Kara Olivier
Crux or catalyst
In March, the Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation received an application for additions to Katjiepiering Restaurant, according to Lauren Buchanan, chairperson of the Stellenbosch Heritage Foundation.
“The building has been through a few iterations,” said Stuart Hermansen, principal architect at HB Architects. The gable of the old recording studio (left) is modelled after the main building at Groot Constantia and is typical of the Cape Ducth Revival style, while the Old Conservatorium (right) follows the Neoclassical style, stated Hermansen. PHOTOS: Kara Olivier
This is an imperative part of the process, as the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999 stipulates that a permit is required for any additions, alterations or demolition to buildings 60 years or older, explained Buchanan.
Development and conservation can and should work together.
“It is important to keep buildings relevant to the context in which they are situated,” said Buchanan. This can be achieved by adapting their function as time goes on, she said.
Heritage conservation is often seen in opposition to development, according to Buchanan. However, she believes “development and conservation can and should work together”.
The old recording studio that now hosts Stellenbosch University’s Botanical Gardens’ Katjiepiering Restaurant was once a “cultural centre for the university”, according to Stuart Hermansen, principal architect at HB Architects. PHOTOS: Kara Olivier