Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		House Moolman - Rotsvas The Willows, Tshwane (Pretoria), Gauteng BURG, LODGE and BURG: Architect

Date: pre 1971 Type: Homestead Status: Unknown

Situated on the same range of hills as the architect's own house "Diep in die Berg", sprawls the Moolman residence, with magnificent views to the north and east and west, the same Magaliesberg range in the distance, and ever changing panorama of colour to delight the eye. Drawn by the natural beauty of the area, the Moolmans, after one visit to the architect's house, then and there decided to buy the adjacent property (two 15-morgen [12 hectares] plots) and commissioned the architect to draw plans for a stone house, the character to be in keeping with the surroundings. The programme requirements were as follows: A guest cottage to be completed before the main residence to enable the family to live on the site whilst the main residence was being built. A weaving shed, wool store and native quarters to be completed as soon as possible to enable Mrs. Moolman to carry on with the weaving of a wall hanging for the new Provincial Building in Pretoria. Main residence connected to the weaving shed for easy access especially at night, as much of Mrs. Moolman's time would be spent in the weaving shed. Parents' cottage, at first designed as part of the main complex but later separated and built on an adjoining 15-morgen plot about 100 yards to the west from the bedroom wing of the residence. It was apparent from the commencement of the project that normal contracting methods would be very expensive and difficult and the clients with the co-operation of the architect decided to build as owner-builders with mostly unskilled labour except for the various sub. trades, such as electrical work, panelling, plumbing, waterproofing, tiling, etc. All the stone was available on the site and the owner used his own tractor for transporting the stone from all over the hills. It is obvious when studying the plan form that the setting out would constitute somewhat of a problem as there is hardly a straight line or square room in the design. The setting out was done by the owner and the architect with a plane table from a fixed point on a large rock about 20 ft. [6m] east of the scullery. The plan of the residence was fixed on the plane table with an instrument, movable and pointed towards the point to be found. This was scaled on the plan and then measured by tape, both measurements being taken from the fixed point on the rock. Three lines to various markers on fixed rocks were used to that the plan was always correlated as various sections of the residence were set out at different times. As there are various outcrops of large rocks all over, the planning was practically done on the site. For example, the east walls of the breakfast room, scullery and kitchen and the west wall of the living room are about two to three feet from solid rock and could not be positioned any further to the east or west. Then the dining room and north verandah were designed above the lower ground floor play-room which was a natural depression again with solid rock walls. Construction: Foundations are of normal concrete usually on rock, with 12-in. thick external walls having an outer skin of approximately 4-in. [100mm] to 6-in. [152mm] thick stone used in random sizes, and an inner skin of 3-in [76mm]. brick on edge with the cavity filled in with small stones and mortar. In many cases the internal brick skin is in clinker form used as a facing where required. Floors generally are of facebrick on flat, polished. (Wale 1971:10-12) Books that reference House Moolman - Rotsvas Wale, Laurence Sydney . 1971. Home building ideas for South Africa : plans and pictures of architect-designed houses. Cape Town: Purnell. pg 10-16