25 The Transvaal Provincial Institute 28 30 38 40 43 43 44 Chapter of South African Quantity Surveyors Town Planning Notes Quip-the artist The Building Centre Professional Notes and News Correspondence Light on the Lift Problem Honorary Editor Professor G. E. Pearse Business Manager A. S. Pearse The editor will be glad to consider any mss., photographs or sketches submitted to him, but they should be accompanied by stamped addressed envelopes for return if unsuitable. In case of loss or injury he cannot hold himself responsible for mss., photographs or sketches, and publication in the journal can alone be taken as evidence of acceptance. The name and address of the owner should be placed on the back of all pictures and mss. The Institute does not hold itself responsible for the opinions expressed by individual members. Annual subscription per post 10/6 direct from the business manager. the s o u t h a f r i c a n a r c h i t e c t u r a l The journal of the Transvaal, Natal and Orange Free State Provincial Institutes of South the Chapter of South African Quantity Surveyors. 67, Exploration Buildings, Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, P.O. Box 2266. V o l u m e E i g h t e e n N u m b e r T w o , F e b r u a r y N i n e t e e n H u n d r e d ar r e c o r d African Architects and Telephone 33— 1936. id T h i r t y T h r e e , I Z 3 entrance the building centre t h e t r a n s v a a l p r o v i n c i a l i n s t i t u t e c o m m i t t e e ' s a n n u a l r e p o r t To the Members of the Transvaal Provin­cial Institute.Your Committee has pleasure in subm it­ting- this, the Sixth Annual Report, for the year ended 31st December, 1932, together with the Annual Accounts and Balance COMMITTEE PERSONNEL AND MEETINGS.Twelve ordinary and six special meetings of the Committee have been held during the year. The record of attendances at these meetings is given at the end of this report.Sub-Committees on Finance, Practice, By- Laws, Art and Education and the Journal were appointed and have met as required and dealt with the various m atters referred to them. MEMBERS’ ROLL. Six new members, Messrs. B. J. Clinch, N.I. Finkelstein, N. L. Hanson, S. N. Tomkin, W. C. Von Berg, and H. C. Tully were elected during the year, five members have died and one has resigned, whilst one member has been transferred from the Cape to the Trans­vaal Institu teThe total number of members on the Register of this In stitu te at 31st December, 1932, was 267, classed as :— P ra c t is in g ...................... 113Salaried ...................... I l lRetired ...................... 31Absent from Union .. 12 267OBITUARY.It is with regret that your Committee has to record the deaths of the following members during the year :— Messrs. J. G. Kraan, C. Hosking, P. J. Eagle, S. P. Lindhout and H. Rowe Rowe. FINANCE.The Audited Accounts for the past year are attached to this report.These accounts are presented in a different form to previous years, the Journal Account being separated from the In stitu te Account and Income from Members’ Subscriptions being shown as actual cash received instead of Subscriptions Due as in previous years, Subscriptions due by members at the end of 1931 amounted to £325 10s. 9d., to which must be added £949 14s. 6d. being subscrip­tions due for 1932, making a to tal of £1,275 5s. 3d. Of this amount, £660 17s. Od. only was paid during the year, leaving a balance of £614 8s. 3d. outstanding at 31st Decem­ber, 1932.Whilst appreciating the fact tha t the year 1932 was one of great depression, your Com­m ittee feels th a t many practising members who carried out considerable work during the year and salaried members who were in regular employment should have met their dues to the Institu te.Those members in arrear are urged to make every endeavour to meet these arrears and avoid the amount due being increased by the addition of the curren t year’s subscriptions.Sales of Conditions of Contract, etc., amounted to £20 11s. 5d. From this must be deducted the sum of £12 10s. Od. paid for printing the new contract forms which makes the net income from this source £8 Is. 5d.R.I.B.A. Moieties for 1931 and 1932 amounted to £119 7s. Od. Owing to the adverse exchange ra te these monies were retained by the R.I.B.A., bu t now that exchange is on a par with sterling this sum is being rem itted from London and will be received in the course of a week or two.Income for the year from all sources has amounted to £804 5s. 5d. and expenses, in­cluding the levies payable to the Central Council, were £737 10s. Id., leaving a credit balance of £66 15s. 4d.The balance of accumulated funds shown at 31st December, 1931, was £499 14s. 4d., which was reduced to £324 3s. 7d. by w riting back arrear subscriptions less reserve pro­vided in previous years. To this figure must be added the surplus of £66 15s. 4d. for 1932, bringing the total of accumulated funds at 31st Decemher, 1932, to £390 18s. l id .The figure of £196 4s. 4d., shown as due to the Central Council on account of levies, includes an amount of £95 6s. 9d., being levies on outstanding subscriptions at 31st December, 1931, still unpaid at 31st Decem­ber, 1932, Your Committee anticipates 25 th a t this amount will be waived by the Central Council in 1933. Accumulated funds will thus be increased to £486 5s. 8d.In view of the serious financial position at the end of the year, your Committee has care­fully considered all items of expenditure and these have been reduced to the lowest minimum possible so as to keep within the amount of income expected during the curren t year. It is hoped, however, that there will be an early revival of activity in the building industry with a corresponding bene­ fit to members.Revenue from the Journal Account amounted to £1,756 Is. 8d. and cost of pro­duction £1,555 9s. 4d., showing a surplus of £200 12s. 4d. Of this amount £105 was voted to the Hon. Editors, £57 9s. Od. was w ritten off as bad debts, £15 was added to Reserve Account and a balance of £23 3s. 4d. has been carried forward.There is still an amount of £192 8s. 9d. being balance of the amount provided for the Architects Act Fund which will be repaid by the Central Council as and when funds per- mit.JOHANNESBURG MUNICIPAL BY-LAWS.The By-Laws Sub-Committee has dealt with various alterations and amendments to Building and Drainage By-Laws during the year and very careful consideration was given to the proposed regulations regarding re­inforced concrete and structural steel.A number of special meetings were held and the sub-committee was very ably assisted in its discussions by representatives of rein­forced concrete and structural steel firms who kindly attended the meetings.NEW CONDITIONS OF BUILDING CONTRACT.The new conditions of contract document, which was based on tha t adopted by the R.I.B.A., in 1931, was finally approved by the Central Council and issued to the Provincial Institu tes in October last. The new docu­ment is issued in two forms, in white for “Quantity Basis” contracts and in blue for “Lump Sum” contracts. These documents are obtainable at the In s titu te ’s office at Is. Pei ^PRETORIA LOCAL COMMITTEE.This Committee continued to function during 1932, and assisted the Provincial Com­m ittee in connection with several local m atters which required attention. A joint meeting of the Practice Committee and the Pretoria Local Committee was held in Pre­toria on the 4th May last. UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT.One of two cases of alleged unprofessional conduct were considered by your Committee and the interests of all members were fully protected.PROVINCIAL ARCHITECTURAL WORK.As the direct result of the mandate at the last General Meeting, the authorities were interviewed in this m atter and your Com­m ittee was informed tha t no new work was proposed but only re-votes of previous years had been given out.In the circumstances it was decided th a t no good purpose would be served at that stage in pursuing this m atter.With the anticipated improvement in con­ditions it is anticipated th a t more work will be given out to private practitioners and it is suggested tha t the incoming Committee should take steps in this m atter in connec­tion with the method of allocation of this work.AMENDMENTS TO REGULATIONS.A number of amendments to the regula­tions under the Act were considered by the Provincial In stitu te and approved by the Central Council and these were published in the July issue of the Journal. THE JOURNAL.Your Committee is pleased to report the successful production of the “South African Architectural Record” as a monthly journal during the year and it is gratifying to be able to report that, in spite of the depressed times the income from this publication showed a small surplus over the cost of production. In the absence of the Hon. Editor, Professor Pearse, Messrs. D. Lefebvre and Rex Mar- tienssen acted as Honorary Editors through­out the year and the grateful thanks of mem­bers is extended to them for the standard of excellence maintained. The journal is now being issued to all practising members of the In stitu te and Chapter throughout the Union.To enable the journal to function success­fully it was found necessary to provide a capital sum of £400 and to separate the Journal Account from the General Account of the Institu te . j ^It will be observed from the accounts that this capital is represented by the balances due from advertisers from month to month in the ordinary course of business, 26 Your Committee desires again to express its appreciation of the support received from the various firms which advertise in the Record. Members are urged, in re tu rn , to extend their support to those firms who advertise in the journal.It would be of great assistance to the Editor and would facilitate the monthly pre­paration of m atter if more members would subscribe articles and photographs for pub­lication or draw the attention of the Editor to any interesting m atter which could be reproduced from other journals.SOUTH AFRICAN ACADEMY.The th irteen th South African Academy exhibition was held in the Selborne Hall, Johannesburg, from the 11th to the 23rd April, 1932.Partly no doubt owing to the depression and partly to other causes this exhibition was smaller in quantity and also lower in standard of work than many previous ones, yet there were a number of good pictures, mostly from the older artists, and a fair sprinkling of excellent work from the juniors.The crafts section was well up to standard with some interesting exhibits from the Cape, Natal and Rhodesia.The attendance of the public was very poor as compared with previous years, also due to the depressed times.Members of the In stitu te are again urged to support the “ A rchitectural” section by sending in more of their plans and elevations.Your Committee records its appreciation of the continuance of the generous grant from the City Council of Johannesburg which per­mits the holding of this exhibition in the Sel­borne Hall.The thanks of your Committee are extended to the Academy Sub-Committee, the Jury of Admission, the Hanging Committee and all who assisted in the arrangem ents for the exhibition also to Messrs. D. F. Corlett and D. Aitchison for work and m aterial generously supplied.The Fourteenth Annual Exhibition is to be held in the Selborne Hall from the 24th April to 6th May, 1933. R.I.B.A.Messrs. N. M. Eaton and A. V. Nunn have been elected Associate Members and Lt.-Col. W. E. Puntis and Mr. L. M. Geers Licentiate Members of the Royal In stitu te during the year.Mr. Maurice E. Webb continues to repre­sent this Institu te on the R.I.B.A. allied societies conference and the thanks of the In­stitu te are due to him for his services in this connection.The Royal In stitu te has discontinued the conduct of examinations in South Africa and full particulars regarding admission to mem­bership of the Royal In stitu te by Students obtaining Degrees and Diplomas in South Africa were published in the June, 1931, issue of the Journal.TOWN PLANNING.The Town Planning Association (Trans­vaal) continues to carry on its good work and your In stitu te is represented by two members on the Council of the Association.The Transvaal Town Planning Ordinance came into operation on the 1st April, 1932. A new Townships Board was appointed in February, 1932, and Mr. E. H. Waugh, a member of this In stitu te was appointed a member of that Board.The City Council of Johannesburg has inaugurated a Town Planning Committee, and Messrs. A. S. Furner and Harold Porter, members of this In stitu te have been appointed members of that Committee.Conferences of all Reef Municipalities have been held during the year to consider arrange­ments for carrying out of the Civic Survey of the Reef Towns as required under the Ordin­ance. 1It is gratifying to note the forward policy which is now being followed in town planning m atters which must lead to be tter conditions in the Provinces, Cities and Towns.Members who are interested may become members of the Town Planning Association at a subscription of ten shillings and six pence per annum.RECORD OF ATTENDANCES ATPROVINCIAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS C. C. Deuchar (President) . . P o s s ib le . 18 A c tu a l 13 A. S. Furner ...................... 18 13 G. E. Gordon L e i t h ............... 7 2 S. C. Dowsett ...................... 18 16 J. Lockwood Hall ............... 9 5 R. H o w d e n ............................ 6 5 W. G. M cIn to sh ...................... 18 13 Harold Porter ...................... 18 11 G. E. Pearse ..................... 12 7 V. S. Rees-Poole .............................. 18 6 F. Williamson ............................................ 13 9 Allen Wilson ............................................ 18 17 By Order of the Committee,A. S. PEARSE,Secretary. 27 c h a p t e r o f sout h a f r i c a n q u a n t i t y s u r v e y o r s To Members of the Chapter,Your Board has pleasure in presenting- its Annual Report. The Board for the year under review (i.e., from March 15th, 1932, to March 11th, 1933) consisted of :“Solely Practising” Members : ProfessorH. Bell-John, Messrs. A. T. Babbs, J. W. Cowling, T. Moore, and D. M. Sinclair (Jn r.).“Dual Practising” Members : Messrs. R. Howden and G. L. P. Moerdyk.“Salaried” Members : Mr. R. J. C. Prentice and Lt.-Col. W. E. Puntis.Professor H. Bell-John was unanimously elected President for the year, and Messrs. A. T. Babbs and R. J. C. Prentice, Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents, respectively.During the year under review there were eight meetings (four ordinary and four special) of the Board.Because of the illness of Mr. Cowling, and the absence overseas of Mr. Howden, and the fact tha t Mr. Babbs is domiciled at Cape Town, these three members were unavoidably absent from various meetings of the Board. In the case of Mr. T. Moore, his presence at the Port Elizabeth Building Collapse Trial explains his non-attendance at two meetings of the Board.FINANCE COMMITTEE.There was one m eeting of the full Finance Committee during the year, in addition to numerous informal meetings between the Chairman of the Finance Committee (Mr. R. J. C. Prentice) and the Secretary.THE CENTRAL COUNCIL.The following members represented the Chapter on the Central Council of the Insti­tu te during the year :Mr. A. T. Babbs (A lternate : ProfessorH. Bell-John) ; Mr. T. Moore (A lternate : Mr. J. W. Cowling).Under the Regulations pursuant to the Act Lt.-Col. W. E. Puntis, in his capacity as Chief Government Quantity Surveyor (A lternate : Mr. W. M. W arne), is one of the two Govern­ment Nominees on the Central Council, and as such is entitled to a perm anent seat there­on. THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND EXAMINATIONS.The Chapter’s two representatives on the In s titu te ’s Standing Committee on Education and Examinations, are Mr. T. Moore (Vice- Chairman of the Committee) and Col. Puntis. MEMBERSHIP.The total membership of the Chapter, com­piled as at January 26th, 1933, is one hundred and forty-seven, composed as follows :—“Solely Practising” M em bers......... 29“Dual Practising” M em bers............ 41“Salaried” M em bers........................... 49“Absentee” M em bers......................... 3“R etired” M em bers............................ 21Honorary M em bers......................... 4Included in the figure of one hundred and forty-seven are one “Dual Practising” and one “Absentee” Member whose names do not appear in the In s titu te ’s or the Chapter’s publications because of the fact tha t their subscriptions have not been paid for at least three years (vide Regulation 35b).NEW ENROLMENTS.The Board has pleasure in recording, during the year under review, the enrolment of Mr. A. A. Bjorkman (Salaried Member).Your Secretary, Mr. J. S. Lewis, was unani­mously elected an Honorary Member of the Chapter in recognition of his services to the profession of Quantity Surveying.OBITUARY.The Board has to record with deep regret the passing during the year of two members of the Chapter : Mr. Henry Rowe Rowe, the first President of the Chapter and a former member of the Board ; and Mr. C. Hosking, a Retired Member.QUANTITY SURVEYING EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA.In addition to the Five Year (Degree) and Four Year (Diploma) Courses established at the Universities of Pretoria and the Wit- w atersrand, the Board has pleasure in report­ing tha t the University of Cape Town has taken steps for the formation of a Degree Course in Quantity Surveying. The pro­posed syllabus and regulations for the Degree 28 of the University of Cape Town have been referred by the Departm ent of Union Educa­tion to the Institu te and to the Chapter and are under consideration.During' the year the University of Pretoria was appointed, by the Hon. the Minister of Education, an Examining Authority under the Act, and Professor H. Bell-John was appointed to represent the University on the In s titu te ’s Standing Committee on Education and Exam­inations.QUANTITY SURVEYING STUDENTS.The following figures indicate, as at theend of 1932, the numbers of Quantity Survey­ing students registered at the Universitiesof Pretoria and the W itwatersrandDegree Course :— University of University of First Year .... 2 3Second Year .. 2 1Diploma Course :—First Year .... 3 9Second Year .. 3 7Third Year .. .. 8 4Fourth Year 0 1 18 25 There are, in addition, Quantity Surveying- students in other parts of South Africa, of whose numbers no exact information is avail­able.Members of the Chapter are reminded of the Board’s resolution (December 7th, 1932) strongly recommending to practitioners : (i) that, with a view to train ing Quantity Sur­veyors of the highest proficiency, preference be given to the Five Year Degree Course, wherever possible ; and (ii) that, in every instance where vacancies in offices arise, pre­ference be given to students who have com­pleted the first two years of the Degree Course. STUDENTS’ PRIZES.The Chapter’s Gold Medal (Third Year), Book Prize of two guineas (Second Y ear), and Book Prize of one guinea (F irst Year) were awarded to the following- students, respec­tively, during 1932 :—Third Year : R. J. Law.Second Year : A. R. D. Mackintosh. F irst Year : L. D. de la Cour.“THE STANDARD SYSTEM.”A commencement has been made by Mr. G. L. P. Moerdyk, with the assistance of Mr. C. L. F. Borckenhagen, on the task of transla ting the Standard System into Afrikaans.The Board’s Sub-Committee on the Stand­ard System has under consideration the revision and bringing- up-to-date of the Standard System. CHAPTER’S FINANCIAL POSITION.Although the Board has pleasure in report­ing an improvement in the financial position of the Chapter, it must a t the same time record its regret and dissatisfaction at the non-payment, by members of standing, of their subscriptions. Much consideration and leniency have been displayed by the Finance Committee in the m atter of recovering sub­scriptions due : in several instances various letters, including one specially w ritten by the President, have been ignored by the members concerned, and there is thus no alternative, unhappily, but once again to utilise legal pro­cess for the recovery of the amounts due.The following-donations have been received during the year under review :—Mr. A rthur Leitch (towards elimination of Chapter’s 1931 deficit) £3 3s. Od.Mr. F. Williamson (donation of 1931 audit fee) £10 10s. Od.Travelling Expenses of Members of the Board and the Secretary, 1932 :—A. T. B a b b s ..................... £19 0 0H. Bell-John ............... 2 2 0J. W. Cowling ............... 10 6E. B. Farrow ............... 1 1 0R. H o w d e n ...................... I l l 6D. J. L a i n g ...................... 1 1 0T. Moore ...................... 1 1 0R. J. C. Prentice .. .. 1 1 1 6W. E. Puntis ............... I l l 6W. Selkirk ...................... 1 1 0D. M. Sinclair ............... 3 3 0A. W. Springthorpe .. .. 10 6The Secretary ............... 4 4 0 £38 8 6NEW “CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT.”The new “Conditions of Contract,” in two forms, for “Quantity Basis” and “Lump Sum” contracts, were duly issued during- the year. These documents will be reconsidered at the end of twelve months’ experience therew ith.“SOUTH AFRICAN ARCHITECTURAL RECORD.”The Board records, with pleasure, the decision of the Transvaal Provincial In stitu te of Architects (Proprietors) to issue the 29 “Record,” now published monthly, free to all Practising Members of the In stitu te and the Chapter.PORT ELIZABETH BUILDING COLLAPSE CASE.It is gratifying to refer to the acquittal, on a charge of culpable homicide, of the Architect-Quantity Surveyor concerned, at whose tria l the Chapter was represented, and to refer to the professional solidarity which resulted in the case for the defence being so completely and so ably presented to the Court.THE CHAPTER’S LIBRARY.During the year the Chapter’s collection of technical books was duly presented to the University of Pretoria, for the use of Quantity Surveying students.CHAPTER BENEVOLENT FUND.The Board has pleasure in reporting th a t a Benevolent Fund for the Chapter has now been created, and tha t the Fund opens with the sum of £45 3s. Od. This sum represents the moieties receivable from the Chartered Surveyors’ Institu tion in respect of Chapter Members’ subscriptions for the years 1931 and 1932. If members will dutifully pay their sub­scriptions to the Chapter, there is every reason to hope tha t the Benevolent Fund will steadily grow. INCREASE IN PERSONNEL OF BOARD.The Board has decided, in the in terests of all sections of the Chapter’s South African membership, to increase its personnel from nine to twelve, with effect from March 11th, 1933. BOARD’S THANKS TO PRESIDENT.The Board wishes to record its thanks to the President, Professor H. Bell-John, for his un tiring and conscientious devotion to the Chapter’s welfare during the year. The Board wishes also to record its thanks to Mr. A. T. Babbs, of Cape Town, who at con­siderable inconvenience and self-sacrifice, has attended im portant meetings of the Board at Pretoria. BOARD’S THANKS TO SECRETARY.In recording its appreciation of the work of the Secretary, Mr. J. S. Lewis, the Board feels sure it is only voicing the opinion of all members of the Chapter. t o w n p l a n n i n g n o t e s Mr. Charles C. Reade, M.P.T.I., the town planning consultant of the Government of N orthern Rhodesia and whose work has been reflected in the building up and planning of cities in various parts of the world, was the guest of honour at a dinner in the Johannes­burg railway station, on January 19th, when Mr. Andrew Allen, President of the Transvaal Town Planning Association, was the host.In welcoming his guests Mr. Allen saidI have asked you to come here to-night to meet Mr. Charles C. Reade, who is spending a few days holiday in Johannesburg. Mr. Reade is personally known to a few of you, but to most of us by reputation as being one of the foremost men in the world in the field of Town Planning.Mr. Reade has carried out and has been con­nected with many large Town Planning Schemes in different parts of the world and is at present completing some town planning schemes for the Government of N orthern Rhodesia.I don’t quite know w hether Mr. Reade came here to brush up his knowledge, but I can te ll him he could not have come to a be tter place than Johannesburg to learn how not to Town I regret very much the unavoidable absence of the Adm inistrator Mr. Smit. Mr. Smit has done more than any other man in South Africa to promote Town Planning, and it is due to him more than to anyone else tha t the Trans­vaal has a Town Planning Act in force, an accomplishment which I hope will be emulated by all the other provinces in the Union of South Africa.I am also pleased to see the Mayor of Johan­nesburg here. Mr. Vickers has always been in the forefront, and has supported every pro­ 30 gressive movement in the City during- the years in which he has been serving the citizens as a councillor.Johannesburg has been very fortunate in its choice of mayors, for a number of years, amongst whom I might mention Mr. David Anderson, the Chairman of the Town Plan­ning Committee, who I am pleased to see here to-night, Mr. Corlett and Mr. Nelson all of whom served the City with great dignity and I am sure Mr. Vickers will uphold the posi­tion of Chief Citizen equally well.I am sorry owing to being absent at the coast, that Mr. Maxwell Edwards, the Sur­veyor General is not with us to-night. Mr. Edwards, Mr. Donald Stewart and Mr. E. H. Waugh as members of the Town Planning Board all contributed largely to the drafting of the Act which is now an accomplished fact with the force of law behind it. To these men and to the Town Planning Association of the Transvaal a deep debt of gratitude is due.The City of Johannesburg is a wonderful city from many points of view, and it is to be congratulated upon its unique financial posi­tion and not only upon its extraordinary sound financial position but also upon the way in which the essential services of the City have been carried on during the period of such rapid development.All of this is due to the business-like way in which the City has been managed by its councillors and its officials. I feel sure the City Council and its officials will acquit them ­selves equally well in the im portant under­taking of the preparation of the great new plan which is to guide the fu tu re develop­ment of the City. The name of E. H. Waugh, its immediate past city engineer, will be long remembered for the many and in some cases difficult schemes of improvement carried out by him during his period of office. The present city engineer, Dr. Hamlin, a man of great ability who is happily also a Town Planning enthusiast, will have much to do in the practical application of the act and I do not think it is necessary to ask him to take the big view of things for I feel sure he will. Dr. Hamlin has travelled much and has seen what has been done in other Cities of the world, and I feel sure his knowledge will be of great service to the City.In appointing the Committee to pu t the act into force on behalf of the City Council, it has been wisely decided by the Council, to co-operate with two practicing members of the Association in the persons of Mr. Stanley Furner and Mr. Harold Porter, whose know­ledge of Town Planning I am sure will be of great service to the Committee and to the City.I regret, owing to being in Cape Town, that Mr. J. S. Cleland, Secretary for Public Works, is absent. We have in Mr. Cleland a man of great ability and an enthusiast in Town P lan­ning to whom South Africa owes much. I could mention many more but tim e will not perm it. At any rate all those present with us here to-night have in one way or another been actively associated with and have taken a keen in terest in Town Planning, because they feel as I do tha t one cannot choose a b e tte r line of service to our country than to promote some­thing which is designed to be in the best in­terest, health and well-being of our people.I will just briefly sketch out the position in regard to Town Planning in the Transvaal and more especially on the W itwatersrand.As I have already stated a Town Planning Act and Regulations have been promulgated and made law. This Act requires th a t a cer­tain number of towns, which are mentioned, shall draw up a new Town Plan for present and fu ture development and as you know for Johannesburg and the Reef towns, which are so adjacent to each other, the carrying out of this act will be of far reaching importance for the fu ture prosperity and well-being of their Citizens.In fact the whole of the reef towns are so contingent one to the other, th a t in so far as the regional survey is concerned, which is the foundation upon which the fu ture plans must be built, it is imperative th a t joint action should be taken and I am glad to know th a t all the Reef towns, with the exception of Boksburg, have agreed to joint action.I cannot understand any Municipality in the W itw atersrand area not grasping this great opportunity with both hands. In the in terest of the whole W itw atersrand I say to Boksburg, “don’t be dog in the m anger” , a break in the continuity of a well thought out regional scheme would be detrim ental not only to Boksburg, but to the whole of the area.I wonder if Boksburg has in mind the possi­bility of a greater Johannesburg being deve­loped which would take in the whole of the Reef towns. 31 This is a possibility which was ably sketched by a past President (Mr. Fitzsim- monds, the town engineer of Boksburg), of our Association a few years ago and which I am convinced circumstances will one day bring about.The Act requires tha t the new plan shall be completed inside three years. In order to comply with this requirem ent there can be no time wasted. I t is a big job which requires immediate and active attention.In the first place a complete plan of each Municipality as at present must be compiled. Secondly an aerial survey should be under­taken and this should be proceeded with during the time the first plan is being pre­pared.The third step is the preparation of a regional plan showing the main regional roads which will form the foundation for building up the town plans.This is the part which will in terest the Chamber of Mines most and I hope it will be possible to secure the co-operation of the Chamber in its preparation, in fact it is of such importance to the mining companies tha t I do not well see how they can keep out of it.At this stage I would like to say tha t I am pleased to see Mr. John Martin with us to­night and I would like to inform Mr. Martin tha t our Association will be pleased to be of assistance to the Chamber of Mines in connec­tion with this im portant development at any time.This regional survey which will lay out the main arterial roads will be of great benefit to the Chamber of Mines in the great develop­ment which we all hope will come about on the extension of the W est Rand.Before concluding my remarks I would like to say th a t I have been told tha t Johannes­burg has more brains to the square inch than any other City in the world, th a t is a wonder­ful reputation to have and to live up to.Do the people of Johannesburg realize tha t Johannesburg is destined through its wonder­fully and scientifically conducted gold mining industry to become a great city ? Do the people of Johannesburg realize tha t in tw enty years time the population will be about double what it is to-day ?Can our people imagine or realize what this great increase in the population means ? Our Town Planning Act has not come a m inute too soon, in fact it has come ten years too late. Had it been in force ten years ago, I feel sure the railway line from Braamfon- tein to George Goch Station would have been lowered ; had the money expended on the building of Park Station been utilised in lowering the line through the City, it would have served the City to much b e tte r advant­age even if it meant waiting another ten years for a station building.To my mind the application of the Town Planning Act will be a work of great magni­tude, requiring skill and forethought of equal magnitude.I would like to impress upon you all the great importance to the fu ture of Johannes­burg and the Reef towns th a t the correct in terpretation and application of this act will mean and that it will require a m aster mind to guide it.Again had this new Town Planning Act been in force, the mistake of placing the City Hall right on the pavement and the mistake of placing the new library where it is being built would have been avoided.In my opinion the time has arrived when the removal of the Railway Goods Yard “Kazerne” to the South side of the City should be seriously considered.Orlando Native Township will soon be an established fact. Have you considered the effect on the principal shopping centre the thousands of natives will have rushing to catch the tra in at Park through the main streets of the City ?I am of the opinion tha t the time has arrived when the Municipality should make provision for removing the abattoirs and the electric power station to new sites outside the City area.No more development or expense should take place on these undertakings on their present sites n o tw ith s tan d in g the very excel­lent and thorough way in which they are managed.If we desire to see Johannesburg progress on the right lines in the in terest of its fu ture, then we must not hesitate to remove any obstacle to its proper development.Great improvement can and will be effected and I hope we will all assist the City Council in this great work which will make Johan­nesburg- more worthy of its unique position 32 and eventually create a City of which all of its citizens will feel proud.I will conclude by saying- th a t it cannot be too strongly emphasised and made clear to the public, that the great object of proper Town Planning is to safeguard the health and well­being of the community, to secure economy in essential and recurring services and to create the environment necessary to the building up of the character of the people and the nation. In replying to the welcome that had been extended to him, Mr. Reade remarked tha t he regarded it as a very great privilege to be entertained in Johannesburg by town plan­ners of the Transvaal. It was very fine for him, a comparative stranger to the wonderful city of Johannesburg, with its great golden reef and its satellite towns stretching mainly east to west, to be so welcomed.“I came down here on holiday,” he remarked, “but during the last twenty-four hours I have found myself increasingly in ter­viewed and discussing m atters at short notice.”He had devoted the greater part of his town planning life to countries oversea, and while he found we derived a great many of our ideas about town planning and general practice from the old countries of the world, from countries like Germany and other similar countries, and, indeed, from Great Britain, also, he still found tha t there was a very wide gap between the practices of the older countries and the practices th a t were required in the new countries overseas.In that respect he thought Johannesburg in particular was more akin in many ways to an American city than an English city. It was closely allied in some respects to the Australian cities, where the conditions were not altogether dissimilar. Through the rapid spreading out and growing up of towns during the last fifty years the problems for the greater part were co-equal and more or less co-incident with similar problems both in the old and in the new parts of the world. In Germany and in England the expansion of the towns had provided a big problem.I do not altogether subscribe to the view th a t Johannesburg is one of the examples of what not to follow. One of the things that does impress me about Johannesburg is the very large number of open sites very near the centre of the city that you enjoy. You have wide areas tha t should be of immense benefit. There was no doubt about it but th a t very fine work had been done in the Transvaal in getting through the Town Planning Ordin­ance on the lines it had been passed. I t was very far seeing and it had valuable features, some of which were relatively new in town planning legislation. Every Municipality in the Transvaal could congratulate itself on having made what he considered to be a big step forward. It was an achievement that was destined to have an effect not only on the towns in the Transvaal, but on the Union of South Africa itself. What impressed him in the Ordinance were the heavy responsibilities thrown upon the towns. Town planning was a national as well as a Municipal problem, and there were many difficulties, many problems, which could not be solved by the Municipalities alone. Any questions of town planning dealing with great regional problems could not be answered entirely by the Municipalities, but it was right and proper tha t the responsi­bility should be with the local authorities. All good town planning was expressive of good citizenship. At the same time, when they came to con­sider the question of town planning in Australia, they would find there were a great many more authorities than was the case here, and it was speedily brought to the notice of the people tha t in the development of town planning everything had to be done in close co-operation with the local authorities. As the problems were looked into closer it would be found tha t by closer co-operation, and perhaps a little more financial responsi­bility on the part of the Government, tha t they could be solved. In America it was not the local authorities who had been the driving influence in the work of town planning. It had been the business men, the members of the chambers of commerce, who had taken up the subject ; and through the rotary clubs had been brought to the notice of the people the funda­mental importance of this great movement which had already made great progress in Continental Europe. Mr. Reade mentioned in passing the pro­gress tha t had recently been made in zoning, and then re turned to Johannesburg, which 33 he said he could not help comparing- in his own mind with Chicago— “though not in any derogatory sense, I assure you,” he remarked, laughing.He asked his hearers to take the map of South Africa as it was fifty years ago and to count the number of towns. If they did this they would gather the possibilities of South Africa in the years to come.It was good business to spend on large planning, and visualise the time when there would be a great city stretching from one end of the reef to the other, a city stretching on the golden reef that would be called “Rand- opolis.” Johannesburg struck him as a place where there was a good deal of confidence in the fu ture prosperity of the city, and if that prosperity was expressed in term s of town planning it undoubtedly meant a far-flung scheme, not merely for the city of Johannes­burg but for that g reater area where possibly in the years to come the dream of Lord Milner would be realized, “ and you are approach­ing the stage when you will become one of the ‘ million ’— as well as the m illionaire— cities of the new world.” Mr. B. C. Vickers, M.P.C., the Mayor of Johannesburg, remarked he was fully in agreem ent with Mr. Allen tha t the time had arrived for the removal of the Kazerne goods yard to another part of Johannesburg. Town planning in Johannesburg would never be complete until the railway line had been lowered and the present traffic congestion to the east had ceased. Address by the Honourable The Adminis­tra to r at the first m eeting of the W itwaters­rand Joint Town Planning Committee held at the Municipal Offices, Johannesburg, on 2nd February, 1933. The first m eeting of Joint Town Planning Committee of the W itw atersrand is the begin­ning of something of the greatest significance to every inhabitant on this wonderful Reef of ours. I t is a large undertaking, based on co-operation and goodwill and having as its objective “a co-ordinated and harmonious development” of all the Municipalities of the W itw atersrand in such a way (in the words of the Townships and Town Planning Ordin­ance of 1931) “as will most effectively tend to promote health, safety, order, amenity, convenience and general w elfare.” The meeting marks the end of one period, and the beginning of another, and to begin well and on sound lines, one thing above all others is absolutely essential— and tha t is co-operation —without co-operation we are going to fail in our Town Planning schemes. I t is not only the co-operation of the Municipalities tha t is needed but th a t of everybody con­cerned. I t may be for the present a Munici­pal m atter, bu t it is one which should be looked at from a National point of view. It augurs well for the fu ture th a t right from the beginning the correct note has been struck. I refer to the decision to work out your Town Planning schemes for the Munici­ palities through and by means of joint action. No more im portant movement has ever arisen in the life of our towns than this. The Reef Municipalities with a to tal population of six hundred and eighty-six thousand two hundred and forty-three, embrace an area of four hundred square miles and within the limits of supply of the Rand W ater Board the population is seven hundred and twenty-six thousand two hundred and fourteen. Although of such size, this Rand region is perhaps relatively small in some respects as compared with great areas in Europe and the United States which it has been found to be essential to their fu ture well-being and continued prosperity to plan on a large and comprehensive scale and the organisation and finance have been found. This is because it is fully realised tha t it will not only pro­mote general economy both public and private, but also the public welfare and enjoyment. For over half a century European countries have pursued this object with energy and Great Britain for more than two decades, followed closely by the Dominions and Colonies. It is indeed a re tu rn to a plan­ning practice which so distinguished many civilised nations in earlier history such as Greece and Rome ; a practice which unfor­tunately was allowed to lapse during the great industrial evolution of last century, 34 leading to the gravest blunders and often almost irreparable mistakes, owing to the rapid growth of city life.This modern movement has led to a con­certed effort to apply forethought and com­mon-sense, so as to lead to an ordered result and to wider conceptions of the fu ture needs of our towns. These cannot be too generous to be wise. Even on the Reef it has often been found that apparently ample provisions have, in many cases, been proved within two decades or so, be underestim ated.The trend to urbanization or movement of people from the country-side to the towns, is so extensive as to have given new b irth to the planning for fu ture city growth and has caused the legislators to make provision for promoting this.Steam changed the character and size of towns last century, and in this we are con­fronted with fresh problems arising from motor, electric and air transport each adding to an aggregation of planning difficulties to those of the railway.Modern cities in countries, old and new, are responding to this new age of rapid transit. Thus the town is carried into the country, and both become enmeshed into an ever spreading- mass of mankind.This tendency to unwieldy size has been combatted to some ex tent by “sate llite” towns, i.e., those in which all the necessities of communal life are grouped beyond and away from the confines of the metropolis.But this healthy movement still leaves the slum behind and the metroplis now seeks ease by building skyscrapers, thereby increasing the population density in the city centre, and throwing into greater congestion the older avenues of traffic designed for smaller num­bers and slower locomotion.This movement into the country is empha­sized in Great Britain by the Society for the Preservation of Rural England and by the New Act (1932) called the Town and Country Planning Act, where for the first time, the term “country” is introduced super­seding the previous “Town” Planning Acts. For the first occasion regional powers are extended to the local authorities, powers which, I am pleased to say, were embodied in our legislation, whereby you are gathered here to-day to inaugurate a “Greater W it­w atersrand” scheme.Such a regional movement is similar to those in the Greater Ruhr in Germany and also at Berlin ; in Great Britain in large areas in and about London, in Manchester District, around Glasgow, Rugby and in the Midlands in Greater Birmingham. In the United States of America the huge scheme for the environs of New York embracing four hundred Municipalities and parts of three States, arrests the imagination covering an area of five thousand five hundred and twenty- eight square miles and a present population of eleven and a half millions. Similar designs are in progress in Canada notably at Van­couver.In Stockholm, Milan and Rome will be found great comprehensive efforts, the last being remarkable for its re-planning of the Ancient City under the direct financial sup­port of the Government and the inspiration of Signor Mussolini himself.These examples afford experience and knowledge of the greatest value and assist­ance to South African towns.While, in a Town Planning sense, this country is a Newcomer, it has become con­scious of its need, to which our Transvaal Town Planning Association has done so much to direct attention . As a resu lt our new Ordinance has been placed on the provincial statute-book considerable powers have been given to local authorities, which have now before them an unusual opportunity. On this centre are turned, not only the eyes of the Transvaal, bu t those of South Africa and on the success achieved here will depend the fu ture of the improvement of other cities. Your work in the world’s greatest goldfield will and should become an inspiration for betterm ent of life generally not only in this land but elsewhere.In the region with which you have to deal, are interests of great size, and importance to your population. You have the vast mining- fields which are now stretching themselves out even beyond the boundaries of your areas, South East, South and West we see im portant activities opening beyond Springs and to­wards Heidelberg and at the other end to the confines of Potchefstroom. The older parts of the fields indicate a renewing and pro­longation of their lives. This will lead to grea ter intensity of business life in the main centres and to extension of settlem ent into the newer areas.In view of these widely flung movements, your task becomes the greater and the more interesting. While the present Ordinance 35 operates to the boundaries of your Munici­palities, it would be wise for the Joint Com­m ittee to give ample consideration to the areas adjoining them externally and to esti­mate the effect of the growth also on the Municipal areas.There is the fu rther perplexity peculiar to Africa of the natives’ life and of non-Euro­peans. This adds to the skein which it is your privilege to unravel and will need wise and sympathetic treatm ent.In carrying out this great project, certain main objectives should be regarded which Town Planning experts of international repute have summarized on the following lines :—1. Convenience of locomotion in all its phases including railways, rapid transit lines, highways and communications generally with a view to securing their co-ordination and efficiency.2. Adequate facilities for all forms of industry and production and in particular the zoning of the different parts of the cities and regions generally for securing the best uses for which they are physically and economic­ally adapted.3. Open spaces— providing for open public spaces as well as agricultural areas and for parks and recreation on an eventual sufficient and comprehensive scale.4. Local development— remodelling of central areas ; slum improvement : civic and a rt centres and grouping of public buildings and offices.5. Preservation of amenities such as historical objects and landscape : control of architectural developments and of public advertising and petrol filling stations.All this may sound ra ther ambitious and even to some extent a visionary outlook but “where there is no vision the people perish” . Although I consider th a t the widest outlook is necessary and desirable one has to keep within practical and financial limits.But, happily, it is possible to conjoin these principles and, indeed, it should be done, if your scope is not to be confined to something which may prove in time to be miserably inadequate. The emphasis should be placed on securing the greatest convenience and permanence w ithout excessive cost or s tu n t­ing imagination and hope.It is suggested, therefore, th a t these aims are securable and tha t it can be done by having an advisory development plan con­ 36 currently with your regional and local town plans. The advisory development is the most comprehensive as it gives play to con­structive imagination even if these go beyond present possibilities. Its great value lies in its inspiration to yourselves and to the citizens whom you represent and in its advantages to generations unborn. It dis­penses with the sometimes hampering limits of sta tu tes and leads one to think outside the subject as well as within it. It overtakes the financial fears incidental to making final proposals of a committal character.The advisory method as a precedent to the sta tu to ry scheme is a practical proposition in tha t the prelim inary survey plan work and investigation are common to both and the addition to the labour is not therefore so serious. It will deal with the larger aspects of regional and town plans and is in its main essence the proposal for “the fu ture Rand” in tha t it ensures tentative outlines on which to base present proposals which will work with fu ture ideals. It impresses one th a t you cannot but “think big” and indeed you can hardly “think too big” .The local authorities would therefore appear to be well advised at the s ta rt to hold back the planning of the final sta tu to ry town planning maps and schemes provided for in the Ordinance and Regulations until suffi­cient information and means have been found for considering the problems of planning and development as a whole of the W itwatersrand generally. The best advice which older countries and those engaged in town planning activities can offer is tha t all sta tu to ry plan­ning should be preceded by advisory planning and investigation conducted on a scale com­m ensurate with the fundam ental economic, social, mining and transport requirem ents of the region as a whole.In carrying out this work it must be recognised tha t the local authorities are not supreme, in tha t other activities in this region are governed by other bodies. You have the Mines, the Power concerns, the Railways and the Rand W ater Board. These are not embraced in your statu tory ambit, but it is most desirable and indeed essential for the success of your efforts tha t the sympathy of these great concerns should be engaged by you by the co-operation referred to in my opening remarks.Opportunity is offered to you under the Ordinance whereby you can co-opt persons not members of local authorities and this will prove a valuable means of acquiring the very necessary collaboration and understanding. It indeed shows that town planning is not a restricted local affair, but has many distinc­tive aspects of a national character and, in fact, this view is now being taken elsewhere as evidenced by the recent Act in Great Britain already quoted.Outside of this great organisation is a still greater world, the greatest of all— your people. It is for their good you are working and for fu ture generations. The public have as yet only a glimmering tha t a great move­ment is afoot and their understanding of it has to be improved. W ithout this your efforts may well become as waves beating on the rocks.It will be essential to make your proposals as attractively public as possible and for your­selves and your town planning officer to meet, teach and explain and win support from the public. Publicity of the advantages and economy of the schemes will be desirable and indeed in a business sense it pays to town plan, as will be adm itted when one considers the waste of time and useless expense which arises from roundabout and delayed com­munications, roads which should not have been steep, unnecessary length of streets and excess costs thereof ; the delays and dangers of too frequent road intersections and the dividing of towns by railways without suffi­cient safe cross access. Your merchants and commercial men should be led to actively in terest themselves, as indeed they do in many countries.Outside of all these is the still vaster num­ber of citizens who are vitally affected by town planning in home as well as in streets, in being disengaged from work-a-day sur­roundings and perm itted to reside in pleasant and healthful suburbs.There zoning and districting will operate and will enable you to take a fresh view, not I admit free from considerable difficulties of a kind on which men of practical experience in town planning will be of the greatest ser­ vice.It should also be noted th a t your proposals will provide an order plan, but it is desirable to add, from a financial aspect, not necessarily to be done forthwith, but to be developed as time and purse permit. It will not be within the present power of local authorities to incur vast expenditure nor to make schemes of an excessively costly character and while improvement cannot be achieved without some expense, local authorities should on the one hand not spoil their towns for ever from financial shortsightedness, and can be trusted on the other hand not to embark on what can­not be some day carried out. There is nothing, however, tha t you have done in the past which is more worthy of expense and in fact, nothing which is so large in its concept.TOWN PLANNER.Now, I come to one of the most im portant parts of my address and tha t is the selection of town planning officers which I see on your agenda. All th a t has been said only points to the importance of having a guide, philoso­pher and friend as a planner who has himself had actual experience in planning large schemes and who has shown by them th a t he has imaginative qualities and the personality to impress and win the approval of his Com­m ittee and the people. As so much depends on the choice of the leading expert it is wise to consider a few aspects.The appointm ent should be made at the commencement so tha t the frame work can be prepared from the outset on his advice. This frame-work means the organization both of sub-committee of the main Committee and also the arrangem ent and choice of the technical Committees and of the necessary staff ; it also embodies the task of preparing the prelim inary investigations and surveys, civic and otherwise.As the duties are so extensive this officer should be free from the routine of any ordinary adm inistrative post attaching to the usual perm anent establishment. This job is too large and onerous to be combined with extraneous work however im portant in its own sphere. He should not be a subordinate officer but one speaking with authority of great experience and initiative ability. How­ever high his ability may be, he cannot work in a piecemeal, sporadic or part-tim e manner or can it be fair to the work to commit much of its importance to anyone but himself. In fact he must take the lead in his work and nothing else will be fair either to the work or to him.The a ttitude and outlook of the planner will be the determ ining factor in success or failure. It is not a case for experim ent but for the actual experience of tried knowledge.The planner, however, must and certainly will look to the engineers, medical officers of 37 health, town clerks, electrical and transport officers for great and continuous help and it will not be the smallest of his tasks to co­ordinate the efforts of others who are contri­buting to the plan in their own special fields.I have stressed the importance of this per­son because especially in this country we have not yet executed or prepared any town plan­ning scheme. What has been done is mainly or entirely of a township character and piece­meal. There is no Government Departm ent or nexus of information for this officer and he will be compelled to exercise his a rt without those neighbouring supports and aids from such sources as are so freely available in larger and older countries. In fact he will be thrown on his own resources more than perhaps is usual elsewhere.It is inevitable in an address of this nature tha t I have had to confine myself to main salient features which I offer for your assist­ance. It would be easy to run on at great length on this great and in teresting subject, the ramifications of which are so wide. For example, I could have discussed the necessity of regional planning but all I wish to say now in connection with this is : Help me to make a success of the existing provisions of the law and the ideal of Regional Planning will then become practical politics. To make the work effective implies a partnership between the local authorities and the owners of pro­perty. This depends so largely on m utual understanding tha t no statu tory enforcement can supplant it and the success of the planner will depend more on his foresight, tact and methods of approach to others than on his actual skill, great as th a t needs to be.I wish, in conclusion to express the hope that all your powers will be used in co-opera­tion with everyone concerned to make this movement the great success it deserves. The Province has displayed confidence in commit­ting to you so great a task and in conferring upon you such wide powers. I am quite sure th a t you will carry it out with credit to yourselves and I wish to assure you of my entire good wishes in this im portant work. q u i p - t h e a r t i s t • and some facets of his work d e n y s l e f e b v r e He was an artis t to his finger-tips and what is rare in South Africa and not so generally known as it should be, no mean artis t in words as well as in pictures. Besides these he read widely and well and was a shrewd politician though his tem peram ent, as was natural, sometimes swayed his opinions. All these qualities added to a very keen sense of perception greatly added to his value as a cartoonist. It is too near to his so early passing to assess his work in any way completely, more especially tha t portion of it—political cartoon­ing— which he himself regarded as his own. But he had many of the gifts, an almost un­canny aptitude for seizing a likeness and pu tting his subject in a quaintly ridiculous but not impossible position, He seemed to form an idea of the character of his subject and then to exaggerate slightly the foibles with which he credited him for the object of his cartoon. It is in these playful drawings with a faint hint of what the French call “malice” (a very different meaning to the word in English) th a t I think he shone most. In his sterner and more seriously worked-out studies, he seemed to lose some of the freshness tha t made up a great deal of his charm. If genius be taking pains, then those studies in which he seemed to take less were most successful, an apparent contradiction th a t he himself would have been the first to appreciate in another artist, but could scarcely be expected quite to realise in his own work, 33 A case in point was during- the 1922 strike when some of his cartoons on the lighter events leading up to it were in their way little masterpieces. Yet when he touched on the tragic side, he seemed to me sometimes to lose the wider view and to be less himself, more stereotyped. It was natural th a t he should achieve greater success with some of his victims than others. Those of us who have followed events in South Africa from 1920 onwards will remember some of our local politicians who found fame from his pencil. But of all of them, Mr. Tielman Roos (now once more in the lim elight), was perhaps the most success­ful. A fact arising partly out of the genuine admiration tha t the artis t felt for the poli­tician, a feeling, one has reason to know, tha t was reciprocated ; partly because his subject’s appearance and personality, not to forget his speeches, lent themselves readily to the artists conception of him while then as now, Mr. Roos was the outstanding figure in local politics. Where “Quip” excelled with “Tiel­man” was in the deftness with which he com­bined face and figure, with a genial and unmistakable humour, with his words and deeds as a politician. He established a Tiel­man, not altogether, perhaps, the man many of his friends know, but a genial, puckish per­sonality apart from the mere facial resem­blance tha t none could fail to recognise. Take for instance the quite delightful “Ten L ittle Tielman Boys”— a suggested Cabinet of ten composed of five little Tielmans and five little Roos’s ! Or the clever picture of Mr. Roos and General Hertzog discussing “which shall be the prospective President of the hypothetical but perfectly constitutional Anglo-Dutch republic” , or of Mr. Roos con­tem plating his “spiritual affinity” with Oom Paul, or some of the w itty and yet genial thumb-nail sketches with which Quip’s one publication “Tielman” was adorned. In his sporting studies, Quip deserved and will, no doubt, obtain a much higher place than as the mere recorder of football and cricket matches. Here again his kindly humour came into full play. In many of these sketches, I cannot help thinking he excelled himself because he let himself go to a far g reater ex tent than in his more serious car­toons. The spontaneity which is so marked a characteristic in the great majority of cases, gave them tru th and vitality. In this section of his art, like many another artist, he wrouerht b e tte r than he knew. In the last years of his life, he was confined mainly to illustration, a form of work which he found far less interesting, and hence it is not surprising tha t some of these pictures bear signs of haste and strain. Not tha t he departed from the rigid standard of technique which he always set himself even then. While when he found a congenial subject and the mood was on him, flashes of the old Quip gleam out at us from the pages he did so much to brighten. To a man of his highly literary, imaginative and sensitive tem pera­m ent the drudgery of try ing to add sparkle to a common-place love-story or to some clever journalistic attem pt to s ta rt a “topic” must have been and no doubt often was, inex­pressibly dreary and uncongenial. Yet the fact that, to a large extent, he was so success­ful in harnessing himself to the wagon when his head was so much nearer the stars, is a significant tra it in his character which it is not the time nor the place to enlarge upon here. One of the salient features of his work was its thoroughness and his scorn of adventitious means such as photography or other m eretric­ious short-cuts to fame tha t so many lesser, or less conscientious cartoonists employ in these times of stop-press editions and “specials.” His aims were high and if hehimself sometimes added to his difficulties by his scrupulous regard for what he considered the highest artistic standards, those of us who were privileged to call ourselves his friends can have no serious objection to offer. These things, in themselves, give him a niche, both as a friend and as an artist, which is something apart. A memory whose fragrance will always linger in the minds of those who knew him. 39 t h e b u i l d i n g c e n t r e The Building- Centre which has been avail­able to members of the A rchitectural Pro­fession since July last, opened its doors to the general public, preceded on the previous day by a Private View, on September 7th. Well advertised in the Public and Technical Press, and in the Underground Railways by a poster designed by Mr. Milner Gray, the visitors on the Opening Day came in very gratifying numbers. Telegrams of congratulation were received from all parts of the world.A very satisfying and steady average of attendance is still being maintained and the staff of the Building Centre are apparently settling down to dealing with anything from one thousand five hundred and two thousand vistors daily— on the Opening Day the num­ber was about three thousand.The A rchitectural Association may well take a certain pride in this New Bond Street venture, because it can almost regard it as its own child. The small yet valuable museum of Building Materials formed by Mr.J. K. Winser, for use in connection with the A.A. Schools, which later developed into the A.A. Materials Bureau and was found to be of such great service to many, again under the guidance of Mr. Winser with a committee to assist him, has helped to make possible the larger and more comprehensive scheme which really represents one of the most im portant attem pts of co-operation in any industry since the war. That it has been well received may be seen from the press comments. It remains now for the Architects themselves and those engaged in the Building Industry, to take advantage of all tha t it offers.There can be no doubt of its popularity amongst the public, and if the Building Centre does no more than in terest the public in building, fine m aterials and good design, it will a t least have rendered a great service to Architects and architecture. It will do more than this, however, it will save the architects and builders infinite trouble in the selection and discovery of new m aterials and equipment for their jobs. It is an actual fact tha t practically every possible trade affecting the building industry is represented in a use­ful and informative way. Between seven and eight hundred firms are showing examples of the best they can produce and have formed between them a central m arket where the (reprinted from the A.A. Journal, London. architects and builders can, with little effort, actually see and handle and compare samples of almost every product they are likely to want in building.As a time saving factory the Building Centre offers an invaluable service, and in addition, it does give the architect the oppor­tun ity of dem onstrating to his client under pleasant conditions, his ideas in materials and suitable equipment. The client, on the other hand, need no longer suffer through his inability to understand his architect’s colour washes to represent tiles or multi-coloured bricks, for here he can see the things them ­selves and express his like or dislikes and agree with his architect all sorts of things through first-hand acquaintance, which will alternately lead to a completed work satis­ factory to both.It is certainly tru e that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, bu t surely lack of know­ledge of any kind can be still more dangerous in a client.One thing which makes the new Building Centre different from anything else of its kind is that it has been laid out in a carefully thought out plan whereby various exhibits have been displayed in a manner to the advantage of all concerned and a very high standard of design maintained throughout the general arrangem ent.Bond S treet seems an admirable positiion for it is central and easily reached from most districts where offices are located and if the public is to be attracted, the site chosen should assist considerably. Let us hope, and from what we gather it has already proved to be the case, th a t the public (which includes the usual Bond S treet shoppers) by visiting the Centre, will tend to become “building conscious” and be urged by contact with fine and new m aterials and up-to-date equipment, to a sense of the desirability of building, decorating and re-equipping as well and as often as possible.From the point of view of the architect, and this, of course, applies to all engaged in the Building industry, the Building Centre offers a technical service which can be obtained nowhere else in the country, and this without any charge. In the Technical Enquiry D epartm ent there is a staff of people expert in their jobs, to give informa­ 40 tion and assistance on any m atter connected with m aterials and building equipment. In addition to those dealing with m atters generally, there are specialists perm anently available to cope with all questions dealing with gas and electricity ; for both the Com­mercial Gas Association, and the Electrical Development Association, have organised combined exhibits in which practically all those engaged in their particular industries are represented, and in connection with each of these combined exhibits a specialist is in attendance to discuss, not the products of any particular firm, but the industries as a whole. The Technical Information Bureau which is on the Second Floor of the building, is not available to the general public. Its great mass of data, library of catalogues, and infor­mation generally upon materials, where and by whom they have been used, has already become so popular amongst architects, etc., as to make an increase of staff necessary. It is naturally found more easy to deal with enquiries made by personal call, but never­theless enquiries by post and by telephone are, we are informed, just as welcome and just as readily dealt with. We feel certain tha t with all the advant­ages which the Building Centre offers, we may regard it as something which will remain as a permanency, and in the hands of the present Directors and with the assistance of the Advisory Board, there is no doubt of its complete success. It should be mentioned that half the profits will be devoted to educa­tion or research. The Building Centre is established for the mutual benefit of architects, m anufacturers of materials and equipment, all those engaged in the building industry, and for the public who are interested in the buildings which they use. By the co-operation of m anufacturers it has been possible to arrange most of the exhibits in suitable settings and in proper relation to each other. Practically everything at the Building Centre is an exhibit and has points of special in terest ; as, for instance, in the Lower Ground Floor, where various types of heating apparatus are shown and are actually used for heating the building ; and again, in the air conditioning plant, which may be seen in operation, and also the Electric Sub-station.Each exhibit is labelled with the name of the m anufacturer, and where a group of m anufacturers have combined to produce one complete exhibit, such as in the bathrooms and kitchens, the names of those responsible for the various parts of the room are men­tioned specifically ; such as the manufac­tu rers of sanitary goods, of tiles, of electric fittings, and of floor coverings, etc.Although various types of exhibits have been grouped together as far as practicable, it has been found necessary in order to give certain exhibits their proper settings, to place them apart from their general group.Everything exhibited is numbered, and for each exhibit an information or catalogue sheet is deposited by the m anufacturer a t the Enquiry Bureau. Those interested in par­ticular exhibits are requested to fill in the numbers on the accompanying card, which should be handed in at the Enquiry Bureau, when information sheets appertaining to the special exhibits will be produced. These sheets, which are of a standard size, can either be taken away in the wrappers or will be sent by post if preferred.Enquiries.— On the Ground Floor is an Enquiry Office where general enquiries as to the location of exhibits, etc., may be made. On each floor there is a Technical Assistant who is prepared, but only upon request, to assist visitors in the inspection of exhibits and to give any necessary information. Visitors are quite free to view the exhibits without guidance or interference in any way, and enquiries made by them will be treated as confidential. M anufacturers will not be given the names of enquirers unless enquirers specially wish it.There are special sections arranged by the electrical industry (British Electrical Development Association) and by the gas industry (Commercial Gas Association), and in connection with each of these special exhibits Technical Experts are in attendance to give information and advice.Technical Enquiry Bureau.— The Technical Enquiry Bureau is situated on the Second Floor, and is available to members of the A rchitectural and Allied professions and those engaged in the Building industry. Under special circumstances members of the general public may make use of this Bureau. The Bureau is under the direction of Tech­nical Experts, and advice is given on materials, latest products and equipment and. as far as possible, where they have been used and by whom. Enquiries may be made by post or telephone. 41 The F irst Floor gallery is in the nature of a reference library of materials, where samples may be seen, handled and compared. On the Second Floor is the Technical Enquiries Bureau ; a library of catalogues and special office equipment and other exhibits in active use.The Book Shop on the Ground Floor con­tains the latest and also standard books on Architecture, Building and the Allied Arts and Sciences, of which copies may be pur­chased. There is also a special selected range of Periodicals published at home and abroad which are available for reference. The Building Centre cannot express any opinion upon the efficiency and compara­tive quality of any of the Exhibits. A tten­tion is called, however, to the special exhibit of the Building Research Station on the Ground Floor and to the facilities which this Station and the Forest Products Research Station have available. With the exception of books, none of the exhibits can be purchased at the Centre, but enquirers may, if they wish, be put into te le­phonic or other direct communication with exhibitors. F II ItS I -ff IL 0 0 .lit. S>,,/r. e - f , y y r ■ - r jv ., A ° v v ” — p r o f e s s i o n a l n o t e s and news . Annual M eeting March 14th 1933. Mr. W. G. Lansley intim ates tha t he pro­poses to bring up the following m atters for discussion at the Annual General Meeting on March 14th, 1933 :(a) Protection— re-introduction Clause 3 - ( 1 ) of the original Act.(b) Honorary Memberships.(a) Being of such vital importance to the profession, the growing necessity and the encouragements of the past twelve months, it is anticipated tha t the Central Council will welcome the opportunity of re-introducing the subject to the House, providing tha t the members can evince sufficient enthusiasm at the next Annual Meeting. The Herbert Baker Architectural Scholarship. Competitive Examination. The Trustees announce a Competitive Examination open to British Subjects not more than thirty-three years of age, who have completed six years in the study and /or practice of Architecture of which period not less than four years have been spent in South Africa. The Scholarship is of the value of £400. The W inner of the Scholarship will be required to spend not less than seven months at Rome as his principal headquarters, acting under the direction of the British School at Rome. A portion of such period may, with the approval of the Governing Bodies of the British School at Rome, be spent at Athens, under the direction of the British School at Athens. During the rem aining portion of the Scholarship period, the Scholar will be required to exhibit the results of his studies in such manner as may be prescribed by the President of the Royal In stitu te of British Architects. He will be required to hold a similar exhibition in South Africa, when and where the Trustees decide. He shall also, at the completion of his Scholarship period, submit to the Trustees a Thesis on a subject chosen by them. Intending Competitors should obtain the Form of Application without delay from the Secretary to the Trustees, c/o The Insti­tu te of South African Architects, 99-100, Stanley House, Commissioner Street, Johan­nesburg. Applications should be received on or before February 28th, 1933. c o r r e s p o n d e n c e t ransvaal provincial headquar ters ( i ns t i t u t e s.a. archi tects) . In reviewing the above subject it is desir­able to first determ ine a justification for the apparent disinterest of the members of our profession on a m atter of such vital importance to the prestige and financial status of the Transvaal Provincial Institu te.The apparent apathy would seem to arise from a disinclination to even consider the possibility of what on the surface appears to be impossible of achievement, yet the deeper one delves into the proposal the more essential becomes the necessity of rousing the in terest of the profession to the extent of promoting a “Ways and Means” Committee to go thoroughly into a m atter which promises an enviable investm ent and a solution of most if not all of our difficulties.Fortunately it will not be necessary to emphasise to the members of the profession th a t apart from the actual building, all pro­fessional and other services in connection therew ith would be purely voluntary and in the in terest of the Transvaal Provincial mem­bership as a whole, from whom it may antici­pate a fair quota of support. Even the question of the site can be saved the not unusual pro­cedure of disinterested picking's. This gives the architects a distinct advantage over other 43 professions and kindred concerns which have achieved their professional centres, etc., with gratifying- results. From the results of several rough sketches sufficient to focus the requirem ents of a really prestudious edifice as an “Hall Mark” of the profession and based on a seven storey building with area basement (to serve as Building C entre), w ith provisions for allied Arts, Crafts, Professions and Associations as tenants, the calculations from an investment point of view are astonishing and invite the enthusiastic in terest of the profession in their veracity. From a financial point of view there do not appear to be any unsurm ountable diffi­culties providing that we have the support of the members of the Transvaal Provincial In stitu te as a body and once the case for the headquarters is proved there is no apparent reason why it should not receive their whole­hearted support.The calculations of surmised tenancy can be gauged from the fact that an Architectural Centre is bound to a ttrac t and re ta in allied in terest and the establishm ent of a Building Centre and Bureau is not without its signi­ficance in this respect, apart from the position of the actual Site.In point of fact, it is this possibility of the Building Centre which contains the germ of the success of the enterprise and should the members find it impossible to rise to the immediate heights of the proposed Head­quarters, then serious consideration should be made to immediately establish the Build­ing Centre under architectural auspices as a step in the right direction towards our goal of ultim ate achievement. W. G. Lansley. l i g h t on t h e l i f t p r o b l e m • e. mo r l e y Concluded from December Issue. Size of Cars in Relation to Speed Considerable confusion is prevalent on the question of car speeds, and the popular idea appears to be th a t the speed is decided by the height of the building (no consideration be­ing given to the class of building) and if the owner refuses to consider the expenditure, lifts with smaller machines and lower car speed are installed. The principle underly­ing a successful installation is not speed but service, and the type of installation must be carefully planned, and all available data con­cerning the building, its location, standing, class of tenants, height, area, and capacity should be placed at the disposal of the lift specialist for so doing.Architects often consider th a t large cars are essential to good service, and will not con­sider proposals which cover small cars at high speeds. This is shortsighted if the building is high because no m atter how large the car, if a passenger just misses it he has to wait very long before the car re tu rns if it travels slowly, which is generally the case with large cars. If the high speed lift has a car of com­paratively small dimensions this feature is not a disadvantage as crowding only takes place for a very short period. Then again, large cars necessitate large loads, as lift engineers now consider tha t if a car is large enough to carry say ten people the machine should be capable of dealing with this load. This means unw arranted expense if the traffic in the building does not call for this load.The foregoing remarks apply principally to office buildings, where speed is essential, but with apartm ent buildings the trea tm en t is different. When a man re tu rns to his flat he is not in the same hurry to ascend as is the case when going to his office, and it must also be borne in mind that the class of passenger in an apartm ent building is very different to the class of passenger in an office building. Elderly ladies and semi-invalids or convales­cents being often among the users of the 44 apartm ent lift. For the reason tha t a ser­vice, to be a good service, must serve all, these people must be considered, and there­fore high speeds are not altogether desirable. A large car with comparatively low speed (one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet per minute) is quite satisfactory up to ten floors providing that the lift is arranged for collective automatic push button control. Recommendations. It is difficult for one to make definite recommendations, taking into consideration the numerous circumstances which collec­tively help towards a correct decision, but the following notes may help to break the ice. Number of Lifts—Comprising Installation. When the building has a frontage of one hundred feet or less and depth of one hundred feet or less, one bank of lifts should be suffi­cient, but if either of these measurements be exceeded it may be found on consideration to be necessary to arrange for two or more banks. The question of the number of lifts in each bank is decided by service require­ment, but it is certainly recommended tha t when at all possible at least two lifts be in­stalled. This precludes the possibility of the lift service being entirely suspended as it seldom occurs tha t both lifts are out of com­mission at the same time. The following summary gives rough recommendations for various classes of buildings, recommendations being necessarily dependent on locality, height, area, and other d a ta :— Class of Building. Essential Service Features. DUTY. Control. Size. Car. Type & Design. Landing-Equipment.Load. Speed. Sample rooms up lo six floors. Efficient Fast and Efficient. To suit (usual 1,000 1 I)S .) About200F.P.M. Dual. 4 ' 3" X3' 9" Semi- passe nger. Gates or Doors Optional. Sample rooms over six floors, Commercial, in ­dustrial, and professional offices To su it 250F.P.M.andabove. Car Switch, Flying Stop, Signal control and a t least 1 lif t arranged fornight service (dual) To suit load at 75 lbs. per sq. foot of ear area. To tone with other architecturalfeatures. Preferably doors where circum ­stances perm it, design to match cars. Flats four to live floors s nail area. Comfortable and reliable. 800 lbs. to 1,0(10 lbs. 120 to 200F.P.M. Full Automatic Push Button. 3 ' 6" x 3 ' 0" to 4 ' 3" x 3 ' 9" Gates or dooi’s Optional. Flats over five floors, large area. 1,200 lbs. To suit. 100F.P.M. ( 'ollective Automatic. <:>' 0 " X4 ' 0" Preferably doors where circum ­stances perm it, design to match cars. Hotels. Im pressive and Efficient To su it Car Switch Flying Stop or Signal Control. To suit. DepartmentStores. High Capacity Coupled with Efficiency. 1.000 to4.000 lbs. 100 to 450F.P.M. Dept, Store with signals, car switch, or flying slop. 4 ' 4" x 3 ' i" to 8 ' 0" x 0 ' 0" Warehouses . J he whole service must be designed lo suit the pa rticu la r class of traffic involved. 45 Signals. Signals add to the tone of an installation and also speed up the service. I have seen instances where money has been wasted on unnecessary signals and instances where signals would, judiciously selected, have saved money. It is certainly advantageous to make enquiries in this direction when lifts are under discussion. I refer of course to signalling systems, the usual signals such as call indicators being standard equipment where the control is such tha t they are neces­ sary. Escalators. Escalators are a special subject bu t it may be advantageous to state here th a t although their application has been hitherto confined to departm ent stores, railway stations and large factories, they are now being used for office buildings. This may seem surprising but the escalator has the advantage of giving continuous service, and by correctly planning the installation the first floor can be made as accessible as the ground floor. I t needs no stretch of the imagination to foresee the advantage of having, so to speak, “two ground floors in one building.” The rentable value of the building is increased enormously. Screw Lifts. Vertical Screw Lifts are amongst the “special purpose” class of lift. These are limited to a travel of ten to fifteen feet and run at a very slow speed, but their advantage lies in the fact th a t no overhead work is required— the car is elevated by means of a vertical screw attached to the underside of the platform. Some South African Installations. Some of the oldest lift installations in the country are to-day still giving very good results. They may be out of date in some respects but the service is still good, and only when there are so many buildings with be tter lifts tha t tenants will be persuaded to leave the old buildings, will these lifts be con­ sidered failing to give this service. I refer to the lifts in the Corner House and Barnato Buildings (J.C.I.) Johannesburg, and African Life Buildings, Cape Town. The installation in the Railway Station should be an example of good grouping and planning, the lifts being placed where the best results will be obtained.Samples of complete installations of entrance doors at all floors can be seen at Shell House, Johannesburg, and the new Government Offices in Pretoria (under con­struction) ; this la tte r job is an example of good grouping. Boston House, Cape Town, is well equipped, the lifts being in two banks, one bank of three lifts on the Strand Street side and one bank of two lifts on the W aterkant S treet side. Each lift has a car speed of four hundred feet per m inute and one lift in each bank _ is arranged for dual control, the others being on car switch control. The U.M.V. system is applied to all the lifts, and this, together with the fact tha t a complete signalling system is installed make this installation one of the finest in South Africa even though the machines are of the gear type. I have only instanced these installations at random. Several South African installations are spoilt, not due to architects specifying wrongly or inadequately, but to tendereis “cu tting in” with cheaper work and being keener on securing the order than giving the owner a satisfactory job. These good people overlook the fact tha t a good installation is not made up of good m aterial only, this being but one of many qualities required, bu t of units which, when working in unison, will comprise an efficient and reliable vertical transporta­tion. South Africa being a young country, with opportunities of securing the latest equipment, advice, and ideas in all undeitak­ings, could have the finest buildings foi then size in the world. For this reason if for no other I would repeat the plea contained m the earlier portion of these notes, tha t aichi- tects avail themselves of the services of the lift specialist in the early stages of design. 46 Journal of the SA Architectural Institute PUBLISHER: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg LEGAL NOTICE: Disclaimer and Terms of Use: Provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein, you may download material (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal and/or educational non-commercial use only. The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is not responsible for any errors or omissions and excludes any and all liability for any errors in or omissions from the information on the Library website.