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Date: 1927 Type: College Status: Derelict   Click to view map Coordinates: 26°12'02.73" S 28°18'41.81" E Alt: 1663m

Extant but badly vandalised. PRELIMINARY HERITAGE ASSESSMENT INTRODUCTION A preliminary desktop study was compiled to provide an independent assessment of the heritage significance of the old Benoni campus of the Witwatersrand Technical College. The Benoni campus of the Witwatersrand Technical College was constructed circa 1927 on a large triangular erf in Benoni (South) Extension. The site is flanked by Luton Road to the northwest, by Liverpool Road to the southeast and by an adjacent property on the south. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION The campus comprises three separate buildings all aligned in a single axial arrangement across the broader southern end of the site. The main teaching block fronting onto Liverpool Road is a symmetrical double storey U-shaped building accommodating classrooms accessed via a corridor on the rear face and constructed in a fine red face brick. The main entrance was articulated with a projecting three bay module with a single storey portico and balcony on free standing columns. The three bay modules were defined with four projecting pilasters. The three bay module was extended upwards to form an attic storey and the large volume room created at first floor was probably used for the original college library. The two side wings of the U-shaped plan were likewise marked on the street facade with projecting bays. Each of these two bays was provided with a small projecting balcony at first floor. The external walls of the building were capped with a deep moulded cornice which provided a suitable base for a hipped roof clad with clay tiles. The completed front facade and indeed the other facades of the main teaching block created a sense of formality and dignity - suitable for such an educational building. The single storey workshops - also constructed in face brick - fronted onto Luton Rd on the northwest side. These consisted of a repeated series of linear buildings, presumably originally provided with saw tooth roofs, and south facing clearstory windows. The rectangular central building appears to have accommodated several larger spaces - possibly workshops or lecture venues. The building itself might have originally been a hall - constructed later. The site was at some stage vacated and has been damaged by vandalism. The brickwork is however substantially in place and the building very clearly would lend itself to be adaptively re-used for a new purpose. HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE The remains of the fine red face brick buildings constructed for the Benoni campus of the Witwatersrand Technical College circa 1927 have a definite heritage significance, and this is noted below: The building forms a significant landmark in the town of Benoni. The building was the site of the teaching of technical skills and clearly impacted on the process of industrialisation of this part of the Witwatersrand and elsewhere in South Africa. The building accommodated generations of teachers, artisans and tradesman during their learnership and would form an integral part of the social history of this region. The building is a fine example of the educational buildings that were produced by the architects of the Department of Public Works in the (then) Transvaal in the late 1920's. The building displays the mark of fine craftsmanship in the brickwork and the sandstone and plaster detailing. CONCLUSION The remains of the buildings on the site are a significant heritage resource and are protected in terms of the National Heritage Resources Act. Any proposed changes to their status must be authorised by the PHRAG. Ideally the buildings should be retained and adaptively re-used and incorporated in a sensitive manner in any new development on the site. The details of the extent of the incorporation should be handled by an experienced heritage architect. William Martinson, May 2024. Books that reference Witwatersrand Technical College, Benoni Branch Macmillan, Allister. 1933. Environs of the Golden City and Pretoria. Cape Town: Cape Times. pg 131 ill