COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE AS HERITAGE: GERMAN COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN POST-COLONIAL WINDHOEK Town Cape of by Vanessa Jane Ruhlig RHLVAN001 A 60-credit dissertation (APG5071S) UniversitySubmitted to the University of Cape Town In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Philosophy ( M. Phil) in Conservation of the Built Environment Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephen Townsend Department of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment University of Cape Town August 2018 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derivedTown from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes Capeonly. of Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University DECLARATIONS 1. I am presenting this 60-credit dissertation, entitled “Colonial Architecture as Heritage: German Colonial Architecture in Post- Colonial Windhoek” in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Philosophy (M. Phil) in Conservation of the Built Environment. 2. This dissertation is my own unaided work, both in conception and execution, and apart from the normal guidance of my supervisor, I have received no assistance other than the contributions of interviewees and those acknowledged below. 3. Neither the substance nor any part of this dissertation has been submitted in the past, or is being, or is to be submitted for a degree at the University of Cape Town or any other university. 4. I know the meaning of plagiarism and declare that all of the work in the dissertation, save for that which is properly acknowledged, is my own. 5. I have used the Chicago method for all citation and referencing. Each contribution to, and quotation in this dissertation from the work(s) of other people has been attributed to them, and has been fully cited and referenced. 6. This dissertation has been submitted to the Turnitin module (or equivalent similarity and originality checking software) and I confirm that my supervisor has seen my report and any concerns revealed by such have been resolved with my supervisor. 7. I hereby grant the University of Cape Town free licence to reproduce for the purpose of research either the whole or any portion of the contents in any manner whatsoever of the above dissertation. ……………………………... VANESSA JANE RUHLIG 12 August 2018 Page 2 of 223 ETHICS IN RESEARCH Approved 19 September 2017 Page 3 of 223 ABSTRACT The rapid post-Independence development of the city of Windhoek, Namibia; and the ensuing destruction of a substantial number of German colonial buildings in the capital city, prompted speculation as to why these buildings are inadequately protected as heritage – and whether they are, in fact, considered to be heritage. The study explores the issues pertaining to the presence of German colonial architecture, as artefacts of the German colonial period, within the post- colonial context of Windhoek. The trauma and pain of the Namibian War and genocide (1904 – 1908) are recurring themes in the body of literature on post- colonial Namibia; and this informs a wider discourse on memory. Memory is found to play a crucial role in evoking a sense of both individual and shared ownership, through its capacity to create meaning, which can in turn ascribe value to a place. Memory is also dependent on visual cues for its continued existence, which suggests the importance of colonial architecture as a material prompt to sustain memory. The research therefore investigates the memories and multiple meanings attributable to colonial architecture in this plural society, and how these meanings can be created, or possibly reinvented, through the continued use of these buildings. The study is based on an assessment of three halls in Windhoek – the Grüner Kranz Hall (1906), the Kaiserkrone Hall (1909), and the Turnhalle (1909; 1912), all designed by the German architect Otto Busch – which illustrates in part, the need for the development of historical building surveys that assess the social values and significances of these contested spaces; and moreover, the potential that these spaces have to support memory work through their continued use. KEYWORDS COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE / POST-COLONIAL VALUES / HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE / HISTORICAL BUILDING SURVEY / NAMIBIA Page 4 of 223 COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE AS HERITAGE: GERMAN COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN POST-COLONIAL WINDHOEK Vanessa Jane Ruhlig RHLVAN001 A 60-credit dissertation (APG5071S) submitted to the University of Cape Town in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Philosophy in Conservation of the Built Environment Supervisor: Associate Professor Stephen Townsend Department of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics - Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment University of Cape Town August 2018 ABSTRACT The rapid post-Independence development of the city of Windhoek, Namibia; and the ensuing destruction of a substantial number of German colonial buildings in the capital city, prompted speculation as to why these buildings are inadequately protected as heritage – and whether they are, in fact, considered to be heritage. The study explores the issues pertaining to the presence of German colonial architecture, as artefacts of the German colonial period, within the post-colonial context of Windhoek. The trauma and pain of the Namibian War and genocide (1904 – 1908) are recurring themes in the body of literature on post-colonial Namibia; and this informs a wider discourse on memory. Memory is found to play a crucial role in evoking a sense of both individual and shared ownership, through its capacity to create meaning, which can in turn ascribe value to a place. Memory is also dependent on visual cues for its continued existence, which suggests the importance of colonial architecture as a material prompt to sustain memory. The research therefore investigates the memories and multiple meanings attributable to colonial architecture in this plural society, and how these meanings can be created, or possibly reinvented, through the continued use of these buildings. The study is based on an assessment of three halls in Windhoek – the Grüner Kranz Hall (1906), the Kaiserkrone Hall (1909), and the Turnhalle (1909; 1912), all designed by the German architect Otto Busch – which illustrates in part, the need for the development of historical building surveys that assess the social values and significances of these contested spaces; and moreover, the potential that these spaces have to support memory work through their continued use. KEYWORDS COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE / POST-COLONIAL VALUES / HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE / HISTORICAL BUILDING SURVEY / NAMIBIA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am truly grateful for my supervisor and course convenor, Associate Professor Stephen Townsend. Your knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject has been inspiring. Thank you for your support and guidance over the last two years, and for patiently waiting for my chapters, which never came on the day I said they would! I am indebted to all of the people who generously gave of their time to answer my questions and shared precious documents and files with me. I am thankful too for the friendly team at the National Archives of Namibia, who had to retrieve many a heavy box of old plans and documents for me. A word of thanks must go to Mr Johannes D. Andreas (John), at the Deeds Registry Office of the Ministry of Land Reform in Windhoek, who enthusiastically explained the Grundbuch to me and hauled out numerous dusty volumes in aid of my search for the history of the properties in this paper. I have immense gratitude for my employers, who have given me time to work on this project. I thank Karen Munting of Munting Rechholtz Architects in Windhoek for an amazing four and a half years – thank you for your mentorship as an architect and for your encouragement as I began my journey towards heritage conservation. I thank Claire Fear of Architectural Thread in Somerset in the UK, for the incredible opportunity to gain real experience in building conservation, and for your understanding as I took time off to complete this project, so early on in a new job. Thank you to my friends and family, for your understanding and support. Forgive me for spending so little time with you during my studies. Most especially, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for my husband Andreas Hofmeyr. If it weren’t for you, I would never have come to Windhoek, the site of my study, and the place we called home for almost six years. Thank you for your unwavering strength and patience, and for being brave enough to move our life to the UK so that I can pursue my interest in historic building conservation. Page 5 of 223 PREFACE I lived in the city of Windhoek, Namibia, for more than five years. Surrounded by unspoilt veld and rolling hills, Windhoek reveals itself surprisingly, beyond a bend in the long road, or from the crest of a hill. The small cluster of buildings that appears in the distance after an arduous journey is enduringly reassuring, and somehow evocative of what its earlier settlers must have experienced. Yet, in only five years, that vision of the city has altered significantly. Its edges expand outwards and its centre attempts to reach upwards. The city is no longer the town it once was. The city has experienced over two decades of rapid development, since the country’s independence in 1990. While this has been a time of opportunity for many, it has also revealed a general insensitivity towards older, particularly colonial buildings, many of which have been demolished within this period. This has meant that the city is gradually losing its unique German colonial “feel.” The fine and richly varied texture of the city is being eroded, to be replaced by large and ambitious structures which do not reflect the city’s small scale.