Tracing the life of architect Hans Heyerdahl Hallen (1930–2022), this book reveals the transnational influences that shaped his practice in South Africa, and the migratory circles of ideas that defined a new form of subtropical architecture.
Beginning with Hallen’s Nordic and South African roots, chapters then explore his practice and studies at the London County Council and Architectural Association, where he met with contemporaries such as Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry. From here, he returned to South Africa with new ideas that challenged the teachings of early modernism, instead combining philosophies such as Norberg Schulz’s genius loci with African traditional architecture (Zulu Kraal) to create buildings unique to local communities and topographical conditions.
This need to embrace vernacular forms was a response to local climate conditions and local materials, but also a desire to make cities relevant to the African context. In transmuting European teachings within colonial environments, Hallen’s practice reveals the role of the architect to reflect local communities and to build for their needs, and to create spaces for community and resistance.
Published as part of the Bloomsbury Studies in Modern Architecture series, which brings to light the work of significant yet overlooked modernist architects, the study features a wealth of previously-unpublished archival material to explore the role of the architect in the colonial context.
Foreword - Haig Beck and Jackie Cooper (Editors of UME Magazine) 1. Introduction - Hans Hallen: The Formative Years and the Laying of Foundational Experiences - Kathi Holt (QUT, Australia), Errol Haarhoff (University of Auckland, New Zealand) and Walter Peters (University of KwaZulu-Natal and Free State (UFS), South Africa) 2. Gathering Space: Scandinavian Influences and Lutheran Beliefs: Markers in the Landscape - Kathi Holt (QUT, Australia) 3. Embracing the Formal and the Vernacular: A Decade of Single-Family Dwellings - Walter Peters (University of KwaZulu-Natal and Free State (UFS), South Africa) 4. White-Washed Apartments in a Subtropical Setting: The Idea of Good Living - Walter Peters (University of KwaZulu-Natal and Free State (UFS), South Africa) 5. Mediating the Private and Social: Making Light of University Residences - Errol Haarhoff (University of Auckland, New Zealand) 6. City Making: Enhancing the Urban Experience for All - Errol Haarhoff (University of Auckland, New Zealand) 7. African Space: Courtyards and Communities - Kathi Holt (QUT, Australia) 8. Lines of Influence: Hallen’s Incubator - Kathi Holt (QUT, Australia), Mira Fassler-Kamstra, and Janina Masojada (both independent architects) 9. Concluding Threads - Kathi Holt (QUT, Australia), Errol Haarhoff (University of Auckland, New Zealand) and Walter Peters (University of KwaZulu-Natal and Free State (UFS), South Africa) Appendix Chronology
Kathi Holt, PhD is Founding Director of NERØ HOLT, as well as an Industry Fellow in the Faculty of Science, QUT, Australia, and the President of the Urban Design Alliance, Queensland. Errol Haarhoff is Emeritus Professor of Architecture and previous Head of School at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and recipient of the South African Institute of Architects' Distinguished Research Award. Walter Peters is Emeritus Professor of Architecture of both the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Free State (UFS), South Africa. He holds both the South African Institute of Architects' Writers and Critics Award and Medal of Distinction and was elected 21st Sophia Gray laureate.
