ARCHITECTURAL
ALCHEMY
The work of Jaco Booyens (1969–), an observer of nature and materials By: Mr. Michael Louw, School of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics, University of Cape Town.
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aco Booyens was born in Pretoria on 17 April 1969. He spent his early years wandering in the veld on the eastern outskirts of Pretoria near his parents’ home in Constantia Park. It was here where he first encountered structures made out of the surrounding earth. Besides observing the extensive scattering of termite mounds, a small number of modest man-made structures also caught his attention1: He was surprised by their “stubbornness to survive”2 and felt compelled to attempt to repair one of these dilapidated and abandoned clay houses. Despite having to abandon this ambition at the time due to technical difficulties3, little did he suspect that later in his life he would become known for his structural innovation and his knowledge of natural earth construction.
his first year of study, he attended Professor Roger Fisher’s Omgewingsgeskiedenis5 course. He also met several architecture students and remembers being fascinated by a white-line drawing by Marcus Smit, and Pierre Swanepoel’s final-year project of a genetic research centre6. After completing his first year of landscape architecture, Booyens switched to study architecture. He acknowledges the influence Professors Schalk le Roux, Roger Fisher and Joe Kemp (who he describes as a “technical guy with common sense”7) had on his development. Le Roux encouraged him to take a year out between his third and fourth years. During this time, he went to work for Erhard Roxin Architects in Swakopmund, Namibia8 before
EARLY INFLUENCES AND EDUCATION
Booyens’ mother married mathematician Professor Niko Sauer when Booyens was four years old. He describes his stepfather as an eccentric mathematician, scientist, electronics expert, and amateur botanist, acknowledging him as one of his biggest influences4. During his schooling at Hoërskool Waterkloof in Pretoria, Booyens spent much of his time making observational drawings of animals and plants, citing the encouragement he received from his art teacher Verona Higgs. He wished to be in nature, and he was considering studies in nature conservation before his stepfather informed him that the University of Pretoria was offering a new programme called Landscape Architecture under Professor Willem van Riet. This, he felt, might offer him the opportunity to combine his love of nature with that of design, so Booyens enrolled for this programme. During
1. Jaco Booyens, 2019. (Photo by Hanneke Benade). 2. One of Booyens’ observational pencil drawings of an insect, accompanied by a Jacques Kerchache text. Jaco Booyens, 2004. (Image by Jaco Booyens, 1996, modified by author, 2019).
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ARCHITECTURE SA
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FEBRUARY/MARCH
2021
