Contact Artefacts
please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.
MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | COOKE, JulianBorn: 1940 04 30Died: 2025 02 24 Architect | ||||||||||||||||||
BArch 1963 (Witwatersrand); DipTP 1972 (Witwatersrand)
Prof Julian Cooke received the SAIA Gold Medal Award for architecture in 2015. Julian Cooke has made an immeasurable contribution to South African Architecture over the last fifty years. The contribution has spanned the full spectrum of the disciplinary knowledge – this has ranged from being an outstanding teacher to an acute critic, from an accomplished practitioner to a committed editor of Architecture SA. What binds these contributions together, however, is an unalloyed sense of decency and commitment to architecture as an honorable profession which is of utmost importance in giving shape to the best aspirations of our society. It is this dedication to the art and science of architecture that has distinguished Julian’s professional life as an architect, teacher, writer and critic. In each of these endeavors he has reached the highest levels of excellence. As a teacher he not only made a mark as an exemplary teacher but also as an astute administrator and leader - he was head of the School of Architecture at UCT from 1990 to 1994. Also at the same time he was director of the same institution from 1991 to 1993. He retired from the University of Cape Town as an Emeritus Professor in 2000. He was Editor of Architecture SA in the 1980s and was re-appointed Editor of the journal in 2003 to date. During these two periods he gave shape to architectural discourse in the country through incisive and thoughtful editorials which have given inspiration to generations of architects young and old. As Editor he also published important articles which covered both issues of theory as well as critical commentaries and reviews of outstanding work in the country. In addition to these accomplishments Julian also distinguished himself as a practitioner and has been the recipient of many awards and the winner of several open architectural competitions in the country. Probably his most significant work was the Hostels upgrade program which comprised approx. 3000 units in Nyanga, Guguletu and Langa. Although only a small portion of the project was realised at the time it is anticipated that the balance of the work will be completed shortly. This project offers a real contribution to the housing crisis in our country and has shown that in the most unforgiving and harsh environments it is possible, through good design and clear thinking, to offer people an idea of what a dignified urban living environment could be. Congratulations on winning this prestigious award. Was the Roelof S Uytenbogaardt UDISA Memorial Lecture (RSUUML) recipient in 2015. _____________________________ Tribute published by Simone le Grange in University of Cape Town News, 11 March 2025. All of us at the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics are deeply saddened by the recent passing of our good friend, mentor, teacher and colleague, Emeritus Professor Julian Cooke. Past and present staff and students alike will miss this kind, exemplary architect, urban designer, teacher and human being. Julian began teaching at the school in 1976. He retired formally in 2000, after having served as the dean of the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, as well as director of the school. Julian played a pivotal role in helping to establish the School of Architecture and Planning (as it was then called) at UCT as the leading academic School of Architecture in the country. UCT architecture graduates would repeatedly do well in postgraduate studies at prestigious schools in Europe, the United States and the United Kingdom. He also played a pivotal role in forging various programmes within the school, as well as crafting a curriculum which questioned the status quo, was politically progressive and anti-apartheid. Student projects in both planning and architecture were regularly set within the urban and rural conditions of the apartheid city of Cape Town, and small towns nearby. Under Julian and others’ tutelage, architecture was understood to not only be a formal artistic or sculptural endeavour, but also a socio-political one. Our memories of Julian include many funny and fun moments. The field trips were legendary! Many architects would have been taught by Julian, and many would have gone on one of his field trips to one of the small towns. Julian crafted those trips with great care and looked after us all while teaching both his fellow teachers and students whenever the opportunity arose. He was constantly thinking and rethinking about pedagogy and curriculum. He knew more than most that teaching is an intensely creative endeavour, and that the ways in which we can teach in architecture are endless. A memorable set of projects was his set of “ORDER” projects which were part of the second-year curriculum for many years. Students would build up from a small intervention to a building with a series of projects, where each project needed to deal with a particular kind of ordering idea, requiring students to do good historical research, research of materials and structure and so on. And so, students developed a capacity for design thinking that had some scaffolding but also required deep creative synthesis. Julian’s lectures were always interesting and accessible. His calm reassuring voice would easily beam across a crowded room, and he would hold every student’s attention very easily, in part because he made complicated ideas sound simple and accessible. I am sure many will remember his famous Venice lectures, where he recounted his experiences in Venice as a young architect with his wife, Judy, and effortlessly explained the making of this remarkable city – from all the different kinds of public spaces to the detailed design of the wells, or the underwater foundations. Julian taught history for many years. His knowledge of architectural history was comprehensive and his arsenal of lectures (which were always reworked and added to) was thorough and extensive. He also taught technology, and design, and urban design. Equally a fan of words and drawings, ideas and making, cities and buildings, Julian was ultimately a humanitarian. An egalitarian. It was Julian’s humanity that endeared him to everyone he met. His capacity for compassion and empathy was more than most. The fervour with which he continued to teach long after retirement from the school was testament to his unwavering belief in the project of architecture and how vital it is. He ran second year for years at the school, and what a treat that was for his students and fellow teachers alike. When that phase came to an end, he created the famous ‘Architours’. Many architects benefitted from traveling to carefully curated architectural tours of different countries from Finland to Japan, Spain to India. Later still, he would continue teaching by crafting Summer School courses for UCT. In recent years he came up with the idea of a project called “Ten dreams for Cape Town”. This was a project that brought together many architects and urban designers, to rethink and, importantly, to show, an alternative Cape Town that was more efficient, more egalitarian and more sustainable. This project at first culminated in a series of lectures for one of UCT’s Summer School courses in 2019, with an accompanying exhibition. Later it was turned into a book titled A Vision for a Future Cape Town. Many of us contributed to this project but nothing would have happened without Julian’s leadership. His passing has jolted us into a state of urgency about our work. Who do we turn to now? In a sense having had Julian as a teacher, colleague and friend was very comforting. You subconsciously knew you could always talk to him about any problem. You knew he would generously share any information or ideas with you. You knew he unselfishly wanted you to succeed and knew that you could. Julian’s past students and colleagues at the school will continue his legacy by focusing, with at least some of his optimism, on the project of architecture, urban design, and their social capacities to heal our city and country from our devastating past. Hamba Kahle, our dear friend. Your work has not been in vain. Books citing COOKE
Books by COOKE
Articles by COOKE
Entries in books by COOKE
| |||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |