 Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | House Sandrock BRIAN SANDROCK ARCHITECTS: Architect |  | ||||||
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Click to view map Coordinates: | This building was chosen as an exhibit at the Pretoria University School of Architecture 50 year Alumni exhibition held at the Pretoria Art Gallery in 1993. "Located at 314 Bourke St, Muckleneuk in Pretoria and built in 1960 is the original personal residence of Brian Alan T Sandrock. The residence has subsequently been bought and sold until it has reached its current 5th owners; the Barnard family (2021). What is noticeably distinct about this residence is that it shares a similar colour palette of blue supportive columns and façade details to that of the Musaion of The University of Pretoria (1958), of which Sandrock also designed. The original roof design which was defined by blue and white corrugated roof sheeting had less of an overhang but was subsequently damaged over the years, thus the current owners altered it to extend slightly beyond the supporting I-beam and extended the pine ceiling to its edge. Although it is not the original design, it blends seamlessly into the overall composition, emphasising the linearity and geometric hierarchy, extending into the cityscape which overlooks other historical landmarks such as The Union Buildings. The overall style of the house is in line with previous works of Sandrock (despite its recent renovations) found on the UP campus such as Chancellor's building (1958), The Geography building (1956) which was predominantly facebrick with white plastered façade features as well as the aforementioned Musaion, all adopting the concepts of modularity through geometric shape and form as well as simple, clean colour palettes. It is thus clear that Sandrock's residence became an amalgamation of design experiences poured into his personal everyday life dwelling, arguably borrowing and adapting from mainly the Modern Brazilian and International Style. Additionally, it can be noted that Sandrock had impressive structural knowledge with his design of the delicate, yet rigid supportive steel pins found in the overhanging pergola adjacent to the pool as well as the balcony belonging to the lounge on the first floor. The house currently still acts as a personal residence and the flat (included on the original plans), next to the lounge balcony, is rented out as a B&B unit." -Celine Nel, 2021 |
