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THERON, Jakobus Daniel (Danie)

Born:
Died: 2011 06 06

Architect

SACA:
Reg No: 2132
Year registered: 1961

BArch 1959 (Cape Town)

Partner in HALLEN, THERON AND PARTNERS. Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture, University of Port Elizabeth, and chairman of the Education Advisory Committee of SACA.

(UIA Issue 8, 1985)

In 1966 he was a signatory to the broadsheet, CREDO

University Education

1959: Bachelor of Architecture University of Cape Town (with distinction).
1960: Diploma in Urban Design University of Stuttgart, West Germany.
1962: Master of Architecture (Urban Design) University of Pennsylvania U.S.A.
1968: Master of City Planning University of Manitoba, Canada.

Professional Experience

He started his professional career as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Natal between 1962 and 1982. In 1969 he was briefly in partnership with BE BIERMANN in Durban (cf BIERMANN & THERON). He was also the Chairman of South African Council for Architects (SACA) ad hoc Committee on Architectural Education between 1994 and 1997.

Research and Publications

Prof. Danie Theron was the author of numerous articles, talks, papers and broadcasts on conservation, urban design, planning, architecture, architectural theory and history construction and servicing the environment since 1962.

He wrote 4 books between 1978 and 1991 and appeared in 25 conferences since 1962.

Organisation memberships

1975-1982: Member, Natal Branch Comm. of the Institute of South African Architects.
1989-1995: Member of the National Monuments Council of South Africa.

Prizes

1958 : Helen Gardner Travel Prize.
1960 - 1961: Deutsche Akademishche Austauschdienst Scholarship for study in West Germany.
1961 - 1962: Henry Ford Scholarship for study in the U.S.A.
1967 - 1968: Canadian Central Mortgage and Housing Association Fellowship for study in Canada.
1976: British Council grant for study in the U.K.
1977: Medal of Honour for Architecture from the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns.
1981: Recipient of the Writers and Critics Award from the South African Institute of Architects
1982: SAA Award for Writers and Critics.
1986: Award of Excellence in Conservation.
1987: The Cape Times Centenary Award for Conservation.
1994: Heritage Award for a conservation project.
1996: Simon van der Stel Foundation Award.

Other

1972: First prize: La Lucia Civic Centre Competition.
1979: Award: Coverland Competition for Low Income Housing.
1981: Award of Merit (SAIA) Huletts Headquarters.
1983: BMW Midrand competition (First prize award).
1983: Award of Merit (SAIA) SACCA Head Office.
1983: Award of Merit (SAIA) Mangosuthu Technikon.
1989: Prize winner: Durban Museum and Library Competition.
1996: Participated in 6 group and solo art exhibitions.
2006: Awarded the SAIA Gold Medal of Distinction.

SAIA Gold Medal of Distinction citation:

Jakobus Daniel Theron (b. Citrusdal, 1936) studied Architecture at the University of Cape Town, won the Helen Gardner Travel Prize in 1958, and graduated with distinction in 1959. As a result, he won a scholarship of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) to further his studies at the Technische Universität Stuttgart; and following his selection to the Master Class of Louis Kahn, a Henry Ford Scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, 1961-62.

Thereupon Danie, as he is known, commenced an academic career at the University of Natal and settled in Durban, where he emerged as a talented teacher. But, not satisfied with his formal qualifications, he left on a Canadian scholarship to study City Planning at the University of Manitoba, at Winnipeg, 1967-9.

On his return to Durban, he teamed up with Hans Hallen, which practice, Hallen, Theron & Partners, rose to become the dominant design practice of Natal during the 1970s, and garnered a plethora of awards including winning the design competition for the La Lucia Civic Centre in 1972. But, Danie’s visions for the city were best demonstrated in his student’s projects, and a number of these ideas later blossomed into conspicuous projects in Durban.

Within the Institute, Danie proved himself a proverbial ‘can-do’. When the national journal ceased, Danie co-founded CREDO (1966-73) a broadsheet pulsating with ideas; and following that tabloid, he launched Plan (1973-5), which became Architecture SA, and on which editorial board he subsequently served for many years. In Natal, he founded NPIA Newsletter, which he edited during 1976-81. This publication, now KZ-NIA Journal, is the only regional architectural journal in South Africa, and is now in its 31st year of continuous and sole sponsorship by the KZN-based national brick making company, Corobrik. Danie indeed laid the groundwork for others to build upon.

While at Natal, Danie first encouraged respect for the recent architectural past, and once in Port Elizabeth, for the conservation of the historical built environment generally. He served as chairman of the Eastern Cape committee of the National Monuments Council; and was appointed to the Council 1989-94; and later to its executive committee. Within the Institute, he simultaneously headed the national Conservation Committee, while proving instrumental in the establishment of an independent Eastern Cape Institute, especially during his term as Chairman of the branch in 1986. In the 1990s he chaired the SACA Heads of Schools Committee. Danie held similar offices within the SA Planning Profession, including that of national president, 1981-82. Yet architectural education was his real calling, and his legacy is alive in the minds of a generation of architects whom he inspired at the University of Natal, where he served 1962-1981, and at the University of Port Elizabeth, where as Professor and Head of Department 1982-2001, he transformed the department into a design school of national importance.

First formal acknowledgement of his contributions came in 1977 with an Erepenning of the Suid Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns. That was followed in 1982 with the ISAA Writer’s and Critic’s Award; and once he established himself in Port Elizabeth, the Cape Times Centenary Award for Conservation, in 1987.

The SAIA Medal of Distinction is awarded to Daniel Theron by his colleagues, with respect and with affection, for a lifetime’s achievement in architectural education; in architectural and urban design; and for his dedication in architectural writing and publication.

Books citing THERON

Beck, Haig (Editor). 1985. UIA International Architect : Southern Africa (Issue 8). London: International Architect. pp Inner back cover, 65

Fisher, RC, Le Roux, SW. 1998. Architecture of the Transvaal. Pretoria: UNISA. pp 279

Books by THERON

Theron, Danie (Compiler & Editor). 1984. 19th century Port Elizabeth : a guide to restoration. : Department of Architecture, University of Port Elizabeth

Entries in books by THERON

Theron, Danie. Paradys. In 10 years + 100 buildings : Architecture in a Democratic South Africa. 2009. Bell-Roberts Publishing

Theron, Danie. Marginal Zones - Garden Route & Eastern Cape. In 10 years + 100 buildings : Architecture in a Democratic South Africa. 2009. Bell-Roberts Publishing

Theron, Danie. House Kennedy. In 10 years + 100 buildings : Architecture in a Democratic South Africa. 2009. Bell-Roberts Publishing

Theron, Danie. House Swanepoel. In 10 years + 100 buildings : Architecture in a Democratic South Africa. 2009. Bell-Roberts Publishing

Theron, Danie. Some issues in architectural education in South Africa. In UIA International Architect : Southern Africa (Issue 8). 1985. International Architect