Coordinates: 25°44′25.68″S 28°12′43.28″E / 25.7404667°S 28.2120222°E / -25.7404667; 28.2120222

Union Buildings

The Union Buildings viewed from the Gardens.
Building
Architectural style	Neoclassicism of Italian Renaissance, with Cape Dutch and Edwardian Style detail.
Town	Meintjieskop, Arcadia, Pretoria
Country	Republic Of South Africa
Client	Union Of South Africa
Construction
Started	November 01, 1910
Completed	1913
Size	285m (length) 100m (width) [1] 60m (height) [2]
Design team
Architect	Sir Herbert Baker

The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the Northern end of Arcadia, close to historic Church Square. Though not in the center of Pretoria the Union Buildings is atop the highest point of Pretoria, and constitute a South African National monument.^[3]

The Buildings are one of the centres of political life in South Africa; "The Buildings" and "Arcadia" has become a metonym for the South African Government. It has become an iconic landmark of Pretoria and South Africa in general, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and an emblem of democracy.

The Buildings are the location of Presidential Inaugurations.

Contents 1 Architecture 2 History 3 Gardens and Grounds 4 Historical Events 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Architecture

These buildings, built from light sandstone, were designed by the architect Sir Herbert Baker^[4] in the English monumental style and are 285 m long. They have a semi-circular shape, with the two wings at the sides, this serve to represent the union of a formerly divided people.^[5] The clock chimes are identical to those of Big Ben in London.^[6]The east and west wings, as well as the twin-domed towers, represent two languages, English and Afrikaans, and the inner court symbolizes Union of South Africa.^[7] These buildings are considered by many to be the architect's greatest achievement and a South African architectural masterpiece. The Nelson Mandela statue in Sandton City's Nelson Mandela Square was commissioned originally to stand on the spot where Nelson Mandela gave his inaugural address.^{[citation needed]}

The building was sited on a disused quarry, which now makes up the Amphitheatre. The statues on top of the towers are Mercury, Roman Messenger of God's. Mercury is holding up the world. The closest suburb to the Union Buildings is Arcadia, which means "Playground Of Gods". Pretoria has the second largest number of embassies in the world, after Washington, D.C., most of which are located in or near Arcadia.

The design of each level differs, and therefore each stone had to be individually cut. The Architectural styles of the building ranges from the lower levels' Edwardian Style to the top levels' Cape Dutch Design with shutters on the windows. The windows from bottom to top are elongated and become shorter and shorter to the top floor. This is to give the illusion of height.

The Union Buildings are the sight of Presidential Inaugurations. The official offices of the president are on the left-hand side of the Union Buildings, and a flag would fly on the left-hand side if the president were in office.^[8]

[edit] History

Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, later to become first president of the Transvaal Republic, was the original owner of the farm 'Elandsfontein' on which Meintjieskop stands. In 1856 Andries Francois du Toit (1813-1883), in exchange for a Basuto pony, acquired part of the farm, which he named 'Arcadia' and on which the Union Buildings were later constructed. ^[9] He was also Pretoria’s first magistrate and was responsible for the layout of the city. During this period he sold his land to Stephanus Jacobus Meintjies (1819-1887), after whom the hill is named.

In 1909 Herbert Baker was commissioned to design the Government Building of the Union of South Africa (which was formed on 31 May 1910) in Pretoria. Pretoria was to become the administrative centre for the new government. In November 1910 the cornerstone of the Union Building was laid.

Lord Selborne and H. C. Hull, a member of the first Union Cabinet, chose Meintjieskop as the site for Baker's design. ^[10] The site was that of a disused quarry and the existing excavations were used to create the amphitheatre, which was set about with ornamental pools, fountains, sculptures, balustrades and trees.

The design consisted of two identical wings, joined by a semicircular colonnade forming the backdrop of the amphitheatre. The colonnade was terminated on either side by a tower. Each wing had a basement and three floors above ground. The interiors were created in the Cape Dutch Style with carved teak fanlights, heavy doors, dark ceiling beams contrasting with white plaster walls and heavy wood furniture. Baker used indigenous materials as far as possible. The granite was quarried on site while Buiskop sandstone was used for the courtyards. Stinkwood and Rhodesian teak were used for timber and wood panelling. The roof tiles and quarry tiles for the floors were made in Vereeniging.

The cornerstone was laid in November 1910, shortly after the Union of South Africa — for which the buildings are named — was formed. Taking 1,265 workers over three years to build, the structure was completed in 1913 at a total cost of £1,310,640 for the building and £350,000 for the site.

Designed by Sir Herbert Baker in 1908, building began in 1909 and was completed in 1913. It took approximately 1265 artisans, workmen and labourers almost three years to construct, using 14 million bricks for the interior office walls, half a million cubic feet of freestone, 74 000 cubic yards of concrete, 40 000 bags of cement and 20 000 cubic feet of granite.

Originally built to house the entire Public Service for the Union of South Africa, it was then the largest building in the country and possibly the largest building work undertaken in the Southern Hemisphere at that time.

Several other sites were considered, including Muckleneuk Ridge, on the opposite side of the city and Pretorius Square, in the centre of Pretoria, where the City Hall now stands. However, Herbert Baker was strongly in favour of Meintjieskop, which was within a mile of the centre of Pretoria and reminded him strongly of some of the acropolises of Greece and Asia Minor, where he had studied Mediterranean architecture.

The concept of an acropolis and a building that agreed with renowned British Architect Sir Christopher Wren's theory that a public building should be a national ornament which establishes a nation, draws people and commerce and makes people love there country easily persuaded the then powers that be, who were at the time, preoccupied with the ideal of establishing a new and united nation.

The British high commissioner at the time, Lord Selborne, remarked, "People will come from all over the world to wonder at the beauty of the site and to admire the forethought and courage of the men who selected it".

The design of the buildings was largely determined by the nature of the site. Baker envisaged identical wings of rectangular office blocks, each representing one of the two official languages. They were to be linked by a semicircular wing, and the space in-between the two wings was levelled to form an amphitheatre as in the Greek fashion for gatherings of national and ceremonial importance.

Baker wanted the buildings to be built of imported granite, but any idea of using anything but South African stone for the most important government building of the new state was unthinkable to those who commissioned it, as a result, the terraces and retaining walls in the grounds are built predominantly of mountain stone quarried on site, the foundation of the building is of granite, while freestone was used for the exterior walls, the amphitheatre and major courtyards.

For the overall design of the building, Baker chose the neo-classic architecture of the Italian Renaissance, and also combined an idiom of the English Renaissance, as well as significant elements of Cape Dutch detail, such as in the carved main doorways and fanlights and in much of the wrought-iron brass work and balustrades of the smaller areas.

In 1994 the buildings were the scene of much jubilation as they played host to the inauguration of former President Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected President, and heralded the beginning of a new era in South Africa's history.^[11]

[edit] Gardens and Grounds

The building is surrounded by beautifully terraced gardens of indigenous plants. Various monuments adorn the expansive lawns, including the Delville Wood War Memorial and a statue of the country's first president, General Louis Botha.

The lawn in front of the Union Buildings are often the location for public gatherings, whether they be protest or celebration, such as the presidential inauguration.^[12]

Notable are the terraced gardens, planted exclusively with indigenous plants, surrounding the buildings as well as the 9,000 seat amphitheatre.

Within the grounds are various monuments, statues and memorials. Starting at the bottom of the gardens, a large statue of General Louis Botha (First prime minister of the Union of South Africa) on horseback dominates the lawn.

About half way up the terraces, the Delville Wood War Memorial is a tribute to South African troops who died during the First World War as well as a plaque in memory of those that died during the Korean War.

Two levels above that is a statue of prime minister J.B.M. Hertzog.

The South African Police Memorial is located at the top right of the gardens.

The South African National Film, Video and Sound Archives is also located in the grounds of the Union Buildings, adjacent to the Police Memorial.

[edit] Historical Events

On August 9, 1956, 20 000 women staged a march on the Union Buildings to protest against the pass laws of 1950. This historical event is commemorated by the public holiday National Women's Day.

On May 10, 1994 the Inauguration of Nelson Mandela and his Vice-Presidents after the country's first free elections took place at the Union Buildings. This date is considered as the "birth" of the new South Africa.

On December 31, 1999 the South African flagship Millennium Celebration was held here. In attendance was the then Deputy President Jacob Zuma, and other ministers.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Union Buildings

• Office of the President of South Africa
• 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Women's March - with pics of the original event