CAPÍTULO I. LAS MIGRACIONES COMO DERECHO HUMANO
1.1.1 Instrumentalización de las migraciones internacionales
congregation located in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. Due to the proximity of Belhar to Bellville, one can speculate that news of Pelser’s successful first commission reached the Bellville-Riebeeck church council which led to his appointment. Established in 1968, Bellville- Riebeeck became one of seven daughter congregations to secede from the Bellville Dutch Reformed mother congregation (Roos, 1984:16). During the 1960s, Bellville, one of the burgeoning northern suburbs of Cape Town, housed an ever-increasing Afrikaner population.
141 Alongside approximately 25 Apostolic Churches and 5 churches in Malawi, Pelser was responsible for the
design of numerous Dutch Reformed Churches, including those for congregations in Bellville, Melkbosstrand, Caledon, Saldaha, Somerset West, Kleinmond, Plettenberg Bay, Worcester, Constantia, East London and Outjo in Namibia (Brink, 2015; Pelser, 2015a; Pelser, 2015b).
Having acquired municipal status in 1940, Bellville saw an influx of rural Afrikaners who flocked to the city to educate their children and form part of a rapidly growing commercial sector (Albertyn, 1972:28). Bellville soon displayed symbols of its affluence and by, “the 1950s costly modernist municipal centres bore testimony to combined ethnic and civic self- confidence, as well as to rapid economic growth” (Bickford-Smith, Van Heyningen & Worden, 1999:186). Furthermore, in 1962 Sanlam, which is described as “the Afrikaner financial giant” had opened its headquarters in Bellville (Bickford-Smith, Van Heyningen & Worden, 1999:186). The upwardly mobile Afrikaners who resided in the area were able to afford the construction of a new, Modernist church building which would not only house their fellow members of congregation, but assert their ascendancy at the height of Afrikaner nationalism. The Bellville-Riebeeck church was officially inaugurated in April 1973 and (as noted on the plans of the church), the final cost of the building and rectory amounted to R 167 983 (which translated into the current currency amounts to R 8 271 482) (Pelser, s.a.: Card 143; Terblanche, 2015b).
Regarding the design of this church, Pelser’s adherence to the ‘form follows function’ dictum becomes apparent in the following statement,
Hoe meer funksies, hoe meer word die suiwer vorm van enige selfstandige funksie aangepas om ‘n gesamentlike geheel te vorm. Die eindproduk is dus ‘n ‘sintese’. Die tweede vlak van vereistes is die beligting (dag en/of nag), die ventilasie, die siglyne, en die koste van elk (Pelser, 2015e).
[The more functional aspects there are, the more likely it becomes that the pure form of any independent function is modified to form part of a coherent whole. The end product is thus a ‘synthesis’. The second level of requirements concerns the lighting (day and/or night), the ventilation, the line of sight and the cost of each – author’s own translation].
The pure practicality of Pelser’s approach is evident in the both the exterior and interior design of the building. The exterior appearance (figure 40), is defined by the mono-pitched roof structure, consisting of profiled metal sheeting, which is visually dynamic as it seems to rotate in a descending arc to low, human-scaled entrance doors. The most prominent feature of the exterior is the hollow, irregularly-shaped, quadrilateral concrete church tower which rises from the roof and symbolises the connection between heaven and earth, as the roof structure slowly ascends from human scale and culminates in the vertically oriented tower structure. The symbolism of the church tower has since been impeded by an array of antennae which surround
the apex of the tower. Pelser laments the appearance of these unappealing fixtures, and does not comprehend the reason for their installation (Pelser, 2015a). In conversation with the groundskeeper, Kobus Terblanche, it was revealed that the current lack of funding in the congregation compelled the church council to allow for the installation of these antennae as a means to secure a steady income.
Figure 40: Exterior of Bellville-Riebeeck Dutch Reformed Church, P.J. Pelser, 1973 in 2015. Photograph by the author.
Upon entering the building, one experiences a sense of compression due to the low ceiling which mirrors the slope of the roof. This sensation is almost immediately alleviated when moving from the foyer to the church interior (figure 41) as the steadily rising ceiling leads to a simple and tranquil space consisting of three sets of pews which are ordered in a fan-shaped arrangement. Natural light penetrates this white interior space through the horizontal strip fenestration, situated on the verge of the rear wall surface and ceiling, as seen in figure 42. In this way, both the minister and members of the congregation are spared from direct sunlight. Pelser incorporated a set of skylights which centre on the pulpit, providing ample illumination for the congregation.
Figure 41: Interior of Bellville-Riebeeck Dutch Reformed Church, Pelser, 1973 in 2015. Photograph by the author.
Figure 42: View of Strip Fenestration, Bellville-Riebeeck Dutch Reformed Church, Pelser, 1973 in 2015. Photograph by the author.
Furthermore, he designed the building to include an expansive hall adjacent to the core interior space which provides seating for approximately 300 people (Terblanche, 2015a). This space is used for larger church services during Easter and Christmas celebrations. The core church space and the hall are separated by tall sliding doors, a design solution which is also found in Aalto’s church in Vuoksenniska (Banham, 1962:126). Although he never revealed that he explicitly borrowed design ideas from Aalto, Pelser professes high regard for the Finnish architect whose practice he visited in 1955,
Ek het die voorreg gehad om in Alvar Aalto se kantoor te wees in Finland […] Ek het baie gehou van sy werk […] Hy was toevallig nie daar nie, maar dit was nou ‘n voorreg om daar te wees (Pelser, 2015a).
[I had the privilege of visiting Alvar Aalto’s office in Finland. I really liked his work. Coincidentally he was not in, but it was a privilege to be there – author’s own translation].
The Bellville-Riebeeck church attests to Pelser’s practical approach that aimed to best accommodate the needs and practices of a community of believers. The next church, inaugurated in 1973, was designed for the members of an Afrikaans Dutch Reformed congregation, in the predominantly English-speaking suburb of Constantia in Cape Town.