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List of Projects

TAIT, Alfred Alexander

Born: 1894
Died: 1966

Architect

SACA:
Reg No: 124
Year registered: 1927

ARIBA (1923); ISAA (1927), CPIA (1927).

Born:1894 Aberdeen Scotland. He trained in Cape Town, apprenticed from January 1911 until February 1915 to HAWKE & McKINLAY, working partly in Cape Town and partly in Johannesburg. In 1915 he worked as a temporary assistant to W WHITE-COOPER in Cradock. During the First World War Tait traveled to Australia and joined the forces in Sydney on the 3 January 1916 at the age of 21. He was a private in the 17th Battalion, 11th Reinforcement. He returned to South Africa after the war to work as an assistant to White-Cooper's office until September 1919. He joined the Cape Town office of KENDALL & MORRIS in September and became a member of the Association of Transvaal Architects in July 1920. By 1922 he was in sole charge of Kendall & Morris's Grahamstown office, having in the same year passed the special RIBA war-time examination. He was elected an Associate member of the RIBA in 1923. While in Kendall & Morris's office he was placed second in the open competition for the Cape Divisional Headquarters (1925) - the competition was won by CORDEAUX, FARROW & STOCKS of Port Elizabeth. Tait was put in charge of the building supervision of the Humewood Hotel, Port Elizabeth, by Kendall & Morris in 1926 and in 1927 won the competition for the Eastern Province Building, Grahamstown, by which time he had entered into partnership with FK KENDALL (cf KENDALL & TAIT). The partnership did not continue for long, as a note in the South African Builder (July 1928) records that Tait would be leaving Kendall & Tait for F Owen EATON & Tait, Port Elizabeth, 1st August 1928 (cf. OWEN EATON & TAIT). This partnership continued until its dissolution in 1934, after which Tait practised on his own account in Port Elizabeth.

By 1959 he is recorded as being a retired member of the Cape Institute of 12 St Aidan's Avenue, Grahamstown.

(ARIBA nom papers (1923) 3643; AB&E Nov 1926:8; ISAA mem list; SAAR Dec 1925:105-6; SAB May 1934:35)

All truncated references not fully cited in 'References' are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.

List of projects

With photographs
With notes

Eastern Province Bldg Soc bldg: 1927. Makhanda (Grahamstown), Eastern Cape - Architect
Eveready Factory: 1937. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect
Firestone Tyre Co Factory: 1935. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect
Flats for Dr Jabkowitz: 1935. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect
House CH Sparks: 1935. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect
Printing works for Lawler's: 1938. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect
Rhodes University, men's residence: 1935. Makhanda (Grahamstown), Eastern Cape - Architect
Rhodes University, plans for hostel: 1934. Makhanda (Grahamstown), Eastern Cape - Architect
Saville House: 1935. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect
Showrooms and offices for Hugh Parker: 1936. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect
Taylor House: 1935. Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape - Architect

Books citing TAIT

Brown, SM. 1969. Architects and others: an annotated list of people of South African interest appearing in the RIBA Journal 1880-1925. Johannesburg: Unpublished dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand. pp

ISAA. 1959. The Yearbook of the Institute of South African Architects and Chapter of SA Quantity Surveyors 1958-1959 : Die Jaarboek van die Instituut van Suid-Afrikaanse Argitekte en Tak van Suid-Afrikaanse Bourekenaars 1958-1959. Johannesburg: ISAA. pp 97, 216

ISAA. 1927. Register of Members the Institute of South African Architects. Johannesburg: ISAA (Unpublished Record). pp T1

McLachlan, Gavin. 1993. The Dream Houses of Mill Park. Port Elizabeth: Department of Architecture, University of Port Elizabeth. pp 24, 54