 Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | University of Cape Town, Sports Centre UYTENBOGAARDT and MACASKILL: Architect |  | ||||||
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Click to view map Coordinates: | The UCT sports hall is on the upper campus of the University of Cape Town. The building and its 3 indoor sports halls are well utilised and also fulfil the function of examination halls at exam time. The building houses the UCT sports administration. Its site straddles a main pedestrian route between upper and lower campus and is an end stop to the rugby fields along the freeway. Despite its being a leading South African modernist structure with fluid plan geometry and unapologetic expression of bold form, the building is disliked and even despised by the UCT Administration. There is evidence that the building is being purposely neglected and not receiving proper maintenance in order to strengthen the case for its replacement. Central to their argument is the inferior and in some cases woefully inadequate construction detailing which makes it very expensive and in some cases impossible to repair. The building now sits naked stripped of its slate wall cladding which had begun to fail. The maintenance department had all panels removed and unceremoniously stacked on the sidewalk till a decision is made on how to approach the repair work. (Mike BELL September 2012) All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon. |
