Contact Artefacts
please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.
MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | BURGER, Alewyn PetrusBorn: 1933 10 30Died: 2021 12 23 ArchitectSACA:Reg No: 2118 Year registered: 1961 | ||||||||
BArch 1956 (Pretoria) Born in Paulpietersburg, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). Son of a well-known dominee [NG Church reverend] AJV Burger. In 1950 Burger matriculated from the Hoër Seunskool Helpmekaar, Johannesburg. In 1951 he enrolled for studies in architecture, University of Pretoria, graduating in 1956 with a BArch degree. He married Ina Huggett in 1957. From the years 1957 up to 1961 he was a full-time lecturer in the then Department of Architecture and Quantity Surveying, UP (Burger CV 1983; Spies and Heydenrych 1987:67). During this time he did post-graduate studies on the design, acoustics and colour of Dutch Reformed churches. For this he went on various study tours, mainly to Italy, where he undertook research on the influence that monastic orders had on Romanesque architecture of the C11 and C12 centuries in Italy (Spies & Heydenrych 1987:69). During 1959-1961 he served as a part-time lecturer at the Department of Architecture, UP. In the years 1962 until 1967 he joined the firm of BRIAN SANDROCK ARCHITECTS. Burger was the project architect in charge of the student residences Huis Boekenhout and Huis Olienhout, University of Pretoria; the Accelerator Building, Pelindaba; the University of Pretoria, Administration Building; the initial design for the UNISA complex and its University Centre (Burger CV 1983; Spies and Heydenrych 1987:69). In 1965 he was engaged in developing the long-term site development plan for the University of Pretoria with Brian SANDROCK, who had been appointed by the Council of UP as 'terrein-argitek' (site layout architect) (Spies and Heydenrych 1987:220). On 1 June 1967 Burger was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture and Quantity Surveying, following his predecessor Prof AL MEIRING's retirement in 1966 (Burger CV 1983; Spies and Heydenrych 1987:69). During 1967 to 1984 he undertook many world tours with his wife to study a variety of topics, sometimes with students. He provided more than 25 000 slides contributing to the Departmental Collection for which he had devised a unique colour-coded indexing system. He was, inter alia, a member of the SABS Metrication Committee, the Building Advisory Committee at the CSIR, a founder member of the South Africa Council of Architects (SACA), a founder member of the Southern African Acoustics Institute, and a selector of building terminology at the WAT (Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal). He was particularly interested in the science of acoustics, creating a dedicated dictionary of Afrikaans terminology for this field. In 1969 he is recorded as a salaried member of the TPIA where he was Head to the Department of Architecture and Quantity Surveying, University of Pretoria.
In the late 1960s he served on the adjudication panel with Prof C Strauss BRINK and architect Mira FASSLER KAMSTRA for an architectural housing design competition run by the newspaper Dagbreek in the late 1960s: 'Dagbreek Bied Behuisingsgids Aan Ná Argitekwedstryd-sukses' (Dagbreek offers housing guide following success of [its] architectural competition). In 1971 the UP Department of Architecture and Quantity Surveying was renamed the Department of Architecture, with Burger still as Head (Spies and Heydenrych 1987:69). During his tenure as HoD the original Boukunde Building (or 'Glaskas' as the students had named it) was extensively renovated to accommodate the changed structure of the Departments it housed, a new outer envelope and additional storey and lecture hall wing added, and the facilities extended to include a reading room, laboratory and staff tea room. Later, a photographic dark room was installed. Erik LANGE recalls: There were a small number of students that were very keen on photography and we unofficially rekindled the photography club, having discovered the darkroom located in the building. I cannot recall all, but the keen photographers included Norbert Schingerling (now living in Berlin), Piet de Beer, Ryno Eksteen and me - I think we were in our 2nd or 3rd year of study at the time. We taught ourselves how to process black-and- white film and did everything in-house starting with developing the negatives and ending with the final photographic prints, which we used whenever we could in our projects.In an era where the only technology available to us were the ‘Minolta’ photo copiers (A3) and one (Apple) Macintosh 128 KB computer, which was down in the library, photographs were much used for projects, presentations and of course the ‘skripsie’ [mini-dissertation in design presented at the end of studies). We made do with what we had available to us and even bought some developing tanks ourselves. As we became more adept at this newly discovered craft, we wished to have some equipment upgraded. I was tasked with approaching Prof Burger to request this be done. I walked into his office one morning and explained that I had been tasked with approaching him for some possible help. He proceeded to interrogate me and was quite pleased to find out that we had revived the photography club and asked me to make a list of our requirements and to investigate what would be needed to include colour development and printing. We returned few days later with our wish list, top-loaded with a number very fancy pieces of equipment for those days, so that we could negotiate a lesser fulfilment of our wishes. He sat back, surveyed the list and to my astonishment agreed to all items on the list. The next day Norbert and I drove to town with a signed cheque and purchased some amazing equipment which allowed us to do normal negative to colour prints as well as ‘Cibachrome’ positive to positive, which was great for prints from slides. One morning shortly after the upgrade of our photography laboratory, Prof stuck his head into the studio and summoned Norbert and me to his office. When seated in front of his desk he casually informed us that he had volunteered the Boukunde Department’s services to prepare colour prints for an international science symposium to be held at Tuks [University of Pretoria], and that Norbert and I should do it. That was if we wanted to. We did not nor could we say “No!”. That was the beginning of many hours in the dark room. I estimate we did more than 50 large (500 x 600 mm) colour and black & white prints over the next three to four weeks, missing numerous lectures and producing some of our lesser successful design projects. In the end we did what needed and received a very warm thank you from Prof. Of those who served under his headship were: Bridget BOLTMANMike BOLTMAN Anton DU TOIT Carl (Gus) GERNEKE Dieter HOLM (Prof, Architecture) Marlien HEYSTEK Joe KEMP (Prof, Architecture) Hans KLOKKE Prof KLOKKE Allan KONYA Schalk LE ROUX Clyde MEINTJES Charles (Swannie) SWANEPOEL Flip VAN ROOYEN Hans WEGELIN. During his tenure as HoD, BURGER devised, with the assistance of a psychologist, a battery of tests for prospective candidates for admission to architectural studies. He also set a rigorous curriculum with a strong scientific and technological component which characterised the graduates during that period. In 1984 Burger resigned as Head of the Department of Architecture, effective 30 June 1984 (Burger letter of resignation to the Dean, 26 March 1984). He thereafter joined the architectural firm STEYN and VILJOEN until his retirement [in 1994]. Burger was a keen and prodigious woodworker which occupied him in his retirement, as well as writing articles on matters of interest to himself for himself and close friends. [From the research submitted by Dr Basil BRINK, October 2011 from sources cited below – certain speculative details omitted until verified; expanded by Prof Hans WEGELIN from the privately circulated autobiography of AP Burger (2021). Notes further extended to include Lange reminiscences, staffing and Boukunde rebuild - RCF (2025)] Sources Burger A.P. Curriculum Vitae. University of Pretoria Archives. February 1983. [Contact Artefacts (contact@artefacts.co.za) please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record. The text can be copied and pasted into a text document which you can edit.] In Memoriam
Alewyn Petrus Burger Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture, University of Pretoria 1967-1985. The death of Alewyn yesterday morning, after a short illness, brings to the close a life lived both privately and without wish for fanfare. It would, however, be remiss to forget, although he being absent from academia for some thirty-five years, the profound contributions he made both to the profession of Architecture and its teaching in South Africa. He never sought the limelight and eschewed the glare of publicity, but in the Boukunde Building his ghost lingers, both as a rigorous implementer of standards for the curriculum and the physical manifestation of the building itself. The stature that the body of Architecture enjoys today as the vanguard of the profession is in no small part a tribute to his legacy. We remember him with pride, and regret the loss. We extend condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and past students. (Roger Fisher)Die dood van Alewyn gisteroggend na 'n kort siekte bring 'n einde aan 'n lewe wat privaat en sonder fanfare geleef is. Dit sou egter nalatig wees om te vergeet dat, hoewel hy vir ongeveer vyf-en-dertig jaar afwesig was van akademia, hy 'n diepgaande bydrae tot die argitektuurprofessie en die onderrig daarvan gemaak het. Hy het nooit die kalklig opgesoek nie, en het die glans van bekendheid vermy, maar in die Boukundegebou draai sy spook, beide as streng toepasser van standaarde vir die kurrikulum, as die fisieke manifestasie van die gebou self. Die statuur wat die Argitektuurgemeenskap vandag geniet, is in geen geringe mate 'n huldeblyk van sy nalatenskap nie. Ons onthou hom met trots, en met spyt oor die verlies. Ons betuig ons meegevoel aan sy familie, vriende, kollegas en voormalige studente. List of projects With photographs With notes
References Books by BURGER
| |||||||||
 |