The
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor, Councillor Benson Fihla could
not hold his excitement when he received a national Award of Merit from the
South African Institute of Architects for the design and work done during
refurbishment of Pearson Conservatory in St Georges Park on Wednesday (21
August 2013).
Presenting
the Award on behalf of the Institute, Professor Albrect Herholdt from Matrix
Urban Designers and Architects who were also commissioned by the municipality
to do the job, praised the municipality for the bold decision it took to
restore the building.
“We
are honoured to have worked on this project with the municipality. This work
and the accolades that it has received will add on the rich architectural
legacy that Nelson
Mandela Bay
The
Executive Mayor said the Award adds in many awards that the City has received
for other municipal entities like, Red
Location Museum
“As
the city and people, we are proud of these achievements. It is an indication
that there is synergy in the work done by political leadership, officials and
companies that we work with. On behalf of the people of the Nelson
Mandela Bay
In
2011 the building won an Award of Merit from the Eastern Cape Institute of
Architects, The Eastern Cape crown qualified Pearson Conservatory to take part
in the national Awards. In 2012 the building won the national Award of Merit
from the South African Institute of Architects.
Pearson
Conservatory arrived in South Africa
as a ‘kit of parts’ and was constructed in St Georges Park, Port
Elizabeth England ,
was the first of three such buildings in South
Africa
Having narrowly escaped demolition in
the 70s, and having undergone various minor refurbishments to maintain the
building, it was decided in 2009 to embark on a comprehensive reconstruction of
the building to re-instate the conservatory to its former grand character.
The Architectural approach followed in
the restoration was to create longevity and limited future maintenance. This
guided decisions on material selection, installation method and overall specifications
for the building. A large portion of the building and its components were in
disrepair and required either complete replacement or extensive restoration
work.
A three staged series of surveys of
the building were conducted including an interrogation by the structural
engineer with specific focus on the structural integrity of the load bearing
components namely the plinth wall, cast iron columns, and astragals.
The cast iron structure survived
intact and the rotted timber frame structure was replaced by a new galvanised
steel structure. Hardwood Meranti handmade window panes and doors clip into
this frame replacing previous Pine components, and moulded fibreglass mimics
the elaborate profiles of the original timber mouldings.
The extent of the restoration task
concluded with the removal and replacement or repair of:
· blocked
irrigation systems
· rusted
pipe work for drainage
· broken
shards of glass hanging on edge overhead
· ‘make
shift’ uneven flooring
· the
defunct misting system
· structural
cracks in the supporting plinth wall
· no
user friendly entrance for wheelchair disabled persons, etc
The
functionality of the building was also questioned with the northwest elevation
requiring continual painting to withstand the solar heat gain.
This
resulted in the replacement of all glazing with 6.38mm safety glass and all
curved Perspex used on the Central Atrium roof was replaced with 8.76mm safety
glass to comply with current building regulations; all glazing was specified to
meet requirements of the building and avoid painting on the North-West
elevation.
Additional
elements requiring refurbishing included: newly built planters which were
highlighted with a minimised edge profile; re-built original planters were made
good by removing extensive layers of paint, smoothed over and re-painted; the
incorporation of a disabled access on a major axis of the building complying
with current disabled access building regulations.
