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MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | CONRADIE, Albertus Petrus SnymanBorn: 1925 11 16Died: 1999 12 26 ArchitectSACA:Reg No: 1379 Year registered: 1952 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BArch (Cape Town) Born in Rawsonville, Cape Province where his father was stationed as a missionary. Raised in a religious household, Conradie remained a devout Christian throughout his life. At the age of 9, his family relocated to Parow, where Conradie completed both his primary and high school education. After matriculating, he worked as a financial clerk for a local railway company. During this period, he was severely marginalised due to his speech impediment which compelled him to pursue his passion for architecture. Having saved enough money to fund his tertiary education, Conradie commenced his studies in architecture at the University of Cape Town in 1947. As a passionate and diligent student, he excelled during his time at the UCT School and developed his unique approach to architectural design. Conradie, with moniker of 'Golden 'Boy', graduated from UCT in 1951, being awarded a distinction for his final thesis project. Shortly thereafter, he started practicing as an architect and registered at the ISAA (Institute of South African Architects) in 1952. The first large-scale commission which he received was for the B.S.B. (Boere Saamwerk Beperk) Woolstore and Administration Building in the Epping Industrial Area near Cape Town. Completed in the mid-1950s, this project featured in a six-page article in the Architect and Builder magazine. Thereafter his career flourished as he received countless commissions to design houses, residential buildings, shopping malls, and public buildings in the Cape region, including the Muizenberg High School, Robertson Police Station and a Public Library in Parow. For the greater part of his career Conradie’s practice was based in Parow but was later relocated to his residential address in Durbanville. In terms of his personal life, Conradie married, had four daughters and passed away at the age of 74. In his obituary, he is described as a brilliant architect, artist, fierce patriot and ardent supporter of the Afrikaans language. It is clear that Conradie, like J Anthonie SMITH and Johan DE RIDDER, identified very closely with the Afrikaner cause, and saw his work as fundamentally compatible with the Nationalist Party’s broader promotion of a more progressive Afrikaner imaginary, in keeping with the Afrikaner’s economic and political ascendancy. Conradie’s unique approach to architectural design can be attributed to the ardour with which he completed his commissions. A former colleague, Derick Jansen, remembers Conradie as a meticulous and accomplished designer who was ahead of his contemporaries in the field of architecture. Upon entering his churches, the attention to detail displayed in the interior design clearly resonates with Jansen’s description of Conradie’s character and work ethic. As a prolific architect, Conradie’s designs for houses and churches were regularly featured in architecture journals, magazines and other forms of printed media. His work visibly deviated from other South African Modernist structures which were built between 1952 and 1979 . In terms of Conradie’s approach to architecture, Van der Merwe contends that: One can easily relate this statement to Conradie’s work by examining the symbolism and choice of materials which features in the design of his first Dutch Reformed Church building for the Op-die-Berg congregation. He received this commission in 1962, ten years after he started practicing as a professional architect. Subsequently, he is listed by Daan KESTING as one of the leading figures in the field of Afrikaans Protestant church architecture between the years 1961 and 1980. His design for the church in Op-die-Berg received a great deal of publicity as it featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles after completion in 1966. This project was also significant as Conradie was given the opportunity to design the religious structure and principal building for a budding religious community who established one of the last kerkdorpe (church villages) in South Africa. (Entry created after Tymbios 2017:94-95. See original study for extended bibliography.) Conradie and his wife Miems Conradie (née Louw, 1934-2017) were buried in the NG Kerk Outeniqualand cemetery, George district. List of projects With photographs With notes
Books citing CONRADIE
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