Discussing the moderns: Sir Herbert Baker

Sir Herbert Baker

(9 June 1862 in Cobham, Kent - 4 February 1946 in Cobham, Kent) was a British architect.

Baker was the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, 1892–1912. He designed the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa; and with Edwin Lutyens was instrumental in designing New Delhi. His tomb is in Westminster Abbey.

Early life

Born on the family farm Owletts near Cobham, Kent, in England, the fourth son of nine children of Thomas Henry Baker and Frances Georgina Davis, Herbert was from the outset exposed to a tradition of good craftsmanship, preserved through isolation in the neighbourhood of his home.

As a boy, walking and exploring the historical ruins found in the area, were his favourite pastimes. Here he observed and learned to appreciate the time-honoured materials of brick and plaster, the various aspects of timber use, especially in roof construction - tie-beam and arch-braced collar-beam trusses.

He was profoundly influenced by the stone construction used in Norman cathedrals and Anglo-Saxon churches, as well as the ornamentation and symbolism of the Renaissance buildings in Kent. This early influence is apparent in the churches, schools and houses he later designed in South Africa.

He received his first education at Tonbridge School which instilled in him his lifelong qualities of leadership and loyalty. In 1879 he was articled to his cousin Arthur Baker, embarking on the accepted pattern of architectural education comprising three years of apprenticeship and the attending of classes at the Architectural Association School and the Royal Academy Schools.

Study tours of Europe were regarded as an essential part of the course. In 1891 Baker passed his examination for Associateship of the Royal Institute of British Architects and was awarded the Ashpital Prize for being top of his class.

He worked initially for Ernest George and Harold Peto in London from 1882-87, then opened his own office in Gravesend, Kent in 1890.

South Africa

He embarked for South Africa in 1892 ostensibly to visit his brother, and was commissioned in 1893 by Cecil Rhodes to remodel Groote Schuur, Rhodes' house on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, and the residence of South African prime ministers. Rhodes sponsored Baker's further education in Greece, Italy and Egypt, after which he returned to South Africa and stayed the next 20 years.

He had the patronage of Lord Milner, and was invited to the Transvaal to design and build residences for the British colonials, Much taken with the country, and notably with the Cape Dutch homes in the Cape Province, Baker resolved to remain in South Africa and to establish an architectural practice, which went under the name of Herbert Baker, Kendall & Morris. Baker undertook work in widespread parts of the country including Durban, Grahamstown, King William's Town, Bloemfontein, George and Oudtshoorn, and even further afield in Salisbury Rhodesia where he designed the Anglican Cathedral and a house for Julius Weil, the general merchant.

In 1902 Baker left his practice at the Cape in the hands of his partner and went to live in Johannesburg, where he built Stonehouse. On a visit to Britain in 1904 he married his cousin, Florence Edmeades, daughter of Gen. Henry Edmund Edmeades, bringing her back to Johannesburg, where two sons, the first of four children, were born. Baker quickly became noted for his work, and was commissioned by a number of the "Randlords" (the wealthy mining magnates of Johannesburg) to design houses, particularly in the suburbs of Parktown and Westcliff. He also designed commercial premises and public buildings.

Herbert Baker buildings in South Africa include:

Bishop's Lea, George
Dale College, King William's Town
Grey College, Bloemfontein
Groot Constantia in Cape Town
Honoured Dead Memorial in Kimberley, Northern Cape
McClean telescope building, Royal Observatory, Cape Town
Michaelhouse, Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal
Northwards, Johannesburg
Pilrig House, 1 Rockridge Road, Parktown
Pretoria Station
Rhodes Memorial, Cape Town
Rhodes University, Grahamstown
Roedean School, Johannesburg
South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg
St Andrew's School for Girls, Johannesburg
St Anne's College Chapel in Pietermaritzburg
St George's Anglican Cathedral, Cape Town
St John's College, Johannesburg
St Margaret's (1905) Rockridge Road, Parktown
St Michael and All Angels, Observatory, Cape Town
Stone House, Rockridge Road, Parktown. Baker's own house and the first he built in Johannesburg
Union Buildings, Pretoria
Wynberg Boys' High School, Cape Town

Union Buildings, South Africa

The Union Buildings, Pretoria.
In 1909 Herbert Baker was commissioned to design the Government Building of the Union of South Africa (which was formed on 31 May 1910) in Pretoria. Pretoria was to become the administrative centre for the new government. In November 1910 the cornerstone of the Union Building was laid.
Lord Selborne and H. C. Hull, a member of the first Union Cabinet, chose Meintjieskop as the site for Baker's design.

The site was that of a disused quarry and the existing excavations were used to create the amphitheatre, which was set about with ornamental pools, fountains, sculptures, balustrades and trees.

The design consisted of two identical wings, joined by a semicircular colonnade forming the backdrop of the amphitheatre. The colonnade was terminated on either side by a tower. Each wing had a basement and three floors above ground. The interiors were created in the Cape Dutch Style with carved teak fanlights, heavy doors, dark ceiling beams contrasting with white plaster walls and heavy wood furniture. Baker used indigenous materials as far as possible. The granite was quarried on site while Buiskop sandstone was used for the courtyards. Stinkwood and Rhodesian teak were used for timber and wood panelling. The roof tiles and quarry tiles for the floors were made in Vereeniging. The Union Buildings were completed in 1913, after which Herbert Baker left for New Delhi from where he returned home to England.

For more information click the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Baker