Resumo

GOUWS, Claudia. Vernacular architecture in the Vredefort Dome area 1850-1950. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2023, vol.63, n.3, pp.686-707. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2023/v63n3a15.

In the above title "vernacular" suggests opposite geographic origins and setting than those ascribed "town". It is now generally accepted that the term "vernacular" is an applicable and appropriate way to cluster and organise a certain cultural phenomenon (architecture) and is used for both farm and urban architecture: "vernacular farm architecture" and "vernacular urban architecture". This paper will focus on the changes in the vernacular farm architecture in the Vredefort Dome area (near the present towns of Parys, Vredefort and Potchefstroom), that reflect cultural development processes associated with the history of settlement in the southern African rural areas from 1850 to 1950. For many years, the Vredefort Dome was known as a prestigious area of settlement. Extensive numbers of game attracted hunter-gatherer groups, pre-colonial Bantu-speaking groups and more recently, European pioneers entering the area from around 1836. From 1845, European pioneer farm occupation livestock and agricultural development expanded exponentially until recent times. After 1850, the farmers and settlers (European pioneers) on the southern and northern sides of the Vaal River erected more permanent buildings and structures (including rondavels and rectangular dwellings), constructed with stone and, more commonly, clay. The landowner became both the architect and builder, selecting the most affordable ways to construct structures. Consequently, stone walls, sod walls, rammed-earth walls, walls of raw or sundried bricks, and walls ofburnt andfired bricks are characteristic of the different vernacular building traditions. By 1889, with the influx of miners and capital to the Vredefort and Potchefstroom diggings, a period of temporary economic prosperity ensued. Economics in the area evolved during this period through a combination of agriculture-based activities and mining-based activities. Gold and diamond mining stimulated the regional economy and played a significant role in the establishment and development of towns. This growth was reflected in the presence of typical late nineteenth century vernacular farm architecture, in particular the introduction of galvanised (corrugated) iron roofs. On the farms, two broad, generic architectural traditions existed: "designed" architecture formal structures), and rural, vernacular "architecture" (structures erected without the assistance of professional architects), typically constructed with building materials obtained from the immediate environment. The availability of corrugated iron can be considered the most notable technological development in the vernacular architecture of the nineteenth century. Thatched roofs on rectangular dwellings were replaced with Victorian-style corrugated iron roofs. The "corrugated-iron style" became the "new-vernacular" architecture, and with the addition of verandas, veranda-room houses became a distinguishing characteristic of the period. During thefirst three decades of the twentieth century, poverty and an economic depression had a negative impact on the building environment and therefore on the building of homes. In the Dome area, there were few, if any, wealthy residents who could employ the services of an architect for the design of their private homes. Consequently, the houses were simple and "old-fashioned", resulting in the birth of sub-branches of vernacular building traditions that already existed. The process of change affecting homes after the Second World War (1939-1945) can be seen in the area. The improvement of technology related to running water and sanitation, and the presence of electricity, made life more comfortable and had a notable effect on patterns of internal space utilisation. Some household activities moved from the outside of the home to the inside. Consequently, time and energy were saved, since water was no longer fetched from a water source, and the distance between the service points shortened considerably. The fitting ofpipes to provide water to the service spaces in the house (kitchen and bathroom) caused a change in the interior layout of the farmhouse and a change to lifestyles. Floor plans of urban dwellings were replicated, and the "patchwork" architectural tradition (additions and extensions added to the original pioneer core) became common. Household water consumption, the presence and location of the kitchen and the bathroom and the fitting ofpipes for running water related to the prosperity of each household and differed from farm to farm. It is notable that these changes did not occur among the homes of the labourers, probably as their accommodation was considered temporary. The Vredefort Dome was listed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 2005. It is the oldest and largest known meteorite impact structure on earth, about 120 km southwest from Johannesburg, and represents a unique geological phenomenon formed about 2 023 million years ago. The Vredefort dome area also contains other well-preserved and outstanding cultural phenomena such as San rock art, Late Stone Age and Late Iron Age sites - including objects, the floor and wall remains of Sotho-Tswana hut structures, animal kraals and smelting-furnaces. The historic sites contain the remains of abandoned homesteads, outbuildings and other structures such as cattle kraals, water furrows, irrigated gardens, the orchards and graveyards of immigrant farmers.

Palavras-chave : architecture; buildings; cultural history; Potchefstroom Diggings; rondavel; structures; vernacular; Vredefort Diggings; Vredefort Dome.

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