Page 52 - Art Attack Gr 9 LB SKU1007

Examples of Modernist architecture

The University of Johannesburg is a monumental construction. The 73 hectare site on which it stands
was once a golf course. It has been built on a steep hill west of Jan Smuts Avenue. This massive
present day Colloseum of concrete slabs, aluminium, glass and earthen floor tiles reflects a new
dynamic approach to labour saving in cleaning and in maintenance. As you look at UJ from inside the
amphitheatre you can see four ring buildings each consisting of three wings and each identified by its
own colour; yellow, orange, red and cerise. The laboratory blocks radiate out, from behind the lecture
theatres. An interesting point showing how practical the design is, is the time saving idea that no point
- no matter how far off within the structure - is more than ten minutes walking distance from the
centre. The corridors are wide and vast and give access from one building to the next around the
central amphitheatre. The gently graded staircases are of unplastered, unpainted concrete. The
architects were Wilhelm Meyer and Jan van Wyk. They visited 23 universities in the Netherlands,
Britain, France, West Germany, the USA and Canada for ideas. RAU cost R41 million to build at the
time.

View of the University of
Johannesburg Auckland Park,
Johannesburg

The Metal Box Centre The Carlton Centre
1976, JHB 1973, JHB

Johnson Wax Centre Research Tower 1945-50
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
The University of South Africa 1979, PTA

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