CAPÍTULO I. LAS MIGRACIONES COMO DERECHO HUMANO
1.1.3 Migraciones africanas
The following church which Pelser designed was for the Dutch Reformed congregation, Helderberg in Somerset West. This church was inaugurated in September 1974 (Smit, 1994:14). In 1969, Helderberg became one of four Dutch Reformed congregations to secede from the Somerset West mother congregation, forming part of the history of this 19th century
kerkdorp (Smit, 1994:3-5).
The town of Somerset West originated from an area of arable land at the foot of the Hottentots Holland mountain range, as this terrain was divided into farms since the early 18th century.142 This region slowly developed over the course of the century until the need to establish a formal settlement arose. As was custom in 19th century, villages were founded by the consecration of a church and Somerset West, became one of many kerkdorpe in the Cape. In April 1817, a handful of local farmers acquired a section of the Cloetenburg farm to demarcate a place of worship and establish a congregation. Three years later, the first church, a typically Cape Dutch building, was inaugurated in February 1820 (Smit, 19943-4). Over the course of the following century, the congregation flourished as the settlement surrounding the parish expanded. In 1903, Somerset West had attained municipal status (Albertyn, 1974:109). Due to an increase in permanent residents in the area, three congregations seceded from the Somerset West Dutch Reformed Church, which include the congregations in Strand (1912), Grabouw (1934) and Gordons Bay (1952). In March 1941, the Somerset West congregation inaugurated their new church building, a neo-Renaissance structure designed by the brothers W.H. & H. J. Louw (Hoevers, 2009:246; Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk Somerset West, s.a.). Approximately 15 years later, the old Cape Dutch church building was granted to the local Dutch Reformed Mission Church congregation (Smith, 1994:5).
The need for expansion within the congregation was raised during a church council meeting and the decision to secede and establish a daughter congregation was reached on the 10th of August 1965. A feesfonds (jubilee fund) was created to raise funds for the procurement of a plot upon which to construct the church building for the new congregation. On the 14th of May 1969, the final decision for secession was reached and in September of the same year, the Helderberg congregation, consisting of 473 members, was founded (Smit, 1994:7-8). During
142 W.A. van der Stel acquired the Vergelegen farm in 1700 upon which he established a homestead, vineyard,
the following four years, the members of this congregation, who held their services in the De Hoop Primary school hall, were actively involved in the collection of funds towards the payment of the site and construction of their church. In January 1971, the decision was reached to proceed with the construction of the church and in October, the council had appointed Pieter J. Pelser as the architect for the project. As noted in the minutes of church council meeting held on the 24th of July 1972, objections were raised against the proposed model of the interior which Pelser had presented to building commission. Doubts were expressed about the stairway leading to the entrance of the church, the seating arrangement for the members of the church council and the fact that the vestry was situated beneath the church building. After a number of modifications to the design, the final plans for the church were accepted in April 1973. Due to the wealth of this congregation, consisting of a number of affluent farmers, they were able to afford the proposed cost of the building which amounted to R 197 130 (Smit, 1994:10-11). After the sixteen month period of construction, the church building was inaugurated on the 21st of September 1974. Pelser regards this commission as his most successful,
Maar dit is nou eintlik, as ek dit nou self mag sê, ‘n skitterende kerk, vir alles wat ‘n kerk moet doen (Pelser, 2015b).
[But it is actually, if I may say so myself, a brilliant church, for everything which a church should be – author’s own translation].
Recognised as a prominent landmark in the town, the exterior of this pale, shell-like structure, as seen in figure 46, consists of a single pitched roof which culminates in a curved tower. As such, the façade of the building emulates the outline of a left hand. The tower, as the dominant feature of the exterior, represents an index finger pointing towards the heavens and symbolises the connection between heaven and earth. The adjacent cascading curves which frame the liturgical space of the interior, resembles the silhouette of the latter three fingers which rest in the palm of the hand (Smit, 1994:13).
Figure 46: Exterior of Helderberg Dutch Reformed Church, P.J. Pelser, 1974 in 2015. Photograph by the author.
In conjunction with the pronounced verticality of the tower, the smooth, white, off-shutter concrete wall surfaces contributes to the visual dominance of this church structure within the surrounding townscape. The visibility of this unconventional structure is expressed in the following description by Retief Koch, as recorded in the congregation newsletter of September 1974,
Kom jy uit ‘n oostelike of suidelike rigting, sien jy dit van ver af – van so ver as Gordonsbaai, en kom jy nader en gaan die Lourensrivier oor en maak jou draai in Hoofstraat, Somerset-Wes op, dan staan dit daar reg voor jou – die hoë wit suil. Uit die Strand sien jy dit en uit Melkbaai, en kom jy uit die weste van die Kaap se kant, dan sien jy dit kort nadat jy Firgrove verby is…die hoë wit suil, die toring van die nuwe kerkgebou van die gemeente Helderberg (cited in Smit, 1994:14).
[You will see it from afar as your approach from the east or the south, as far as Gordons Bay, and as you cross the Lourens River and turn into Main road, Somerset West, it is right in front of you, the tall white obelisk. You can see it from Strand and Milk Bay and as you enter from the west, you see if shortly after passing Firgrove…the tall white obelisk, the tower of the new church building of the Helderberg congregation - author’s own translation].
The corners of the curved step-backs appear to be directly influenced by a recurring refrain in Alvar Aalto’s buildings, as seen in the Maison Carré (1959), Bazoches-sur-Guyonne in France and the Parish Centre (1962) in Wolfsburg Germany (Brink, 2016). The layout of the interior moreover corresponds to Aalto’s church in Vuoksenniska, Finland wherein the organ and choir gallery is located to the right of the liturgical space (Banham, 1962:127). In terms of the similarities between these two structures, the Helderberg congregation decided to enlarge the church interior with the construction of a church hall which is separated from the core of the interior by a set of sliding partitions. Although Pelser was not involved with the design of this addition to the building, he had purposefully situated the church on the plot to allow for further
construction. It should be noted that the design of the hall was completed by a former student of Pelser’s who attended his lectures at the UCT School (Pelser, 2015b).
The church attests to Pelser’s functional approach as his distinct solution for lighting is visible in the interior (figure 47). He predominantly made use of skylights which allow for both natural and artificial light to illuminate the pulpit, liturgical space and pews. Moreover, adjustable ventilation slats are found in the walls surfaces surrounding the nave (Pelser, 2015a). The acoustic qualities of the space are enhanced by the design of vaulted ceiling.
Figure 47: Interior of Helderberg Dutch Reformed Church, Pelser, 1974 in 2015. Photograph by the author.
A vital aspect of any church interior is the visibility not only of the pulpit for all members of the congregation, but the visibility of each other. The church is carefully designed to avoid the separation of the congregation, as the mother’s room is fitted with tinted glass which allows for a view of the minister and congregation. Moreover, the seating for the church council is adjacent to the choir gallery, which allows council members a full view of the entire congregation. The only separation is between those occupying the mother’s room and those seated in the gallery. Pelser comments on this as follows,
dié in die moederskamer kan nou alles sien, van die mense en van die preekstoel en goeders, maar hulle kan nou net nie die koor sien daar bo nie, maar ek bedoel, jy kan nou nie bloed uit die klip uit tap nie (Pelser, 2015b).
[those situated in the mother’s room are able to see everything, from the people to the pulpit, but they just do not have a view of the choir above then, but I mean, you can’t draw blood from a stone – author’s own translation].
The affluence of the Helderberg Dutch Reformed played a defining role in the life of the congregation who have organised countless tours, including visits to Tallinn in Estonia,
Bulgaria and Mozambique and has since organised numerous outreach programmes in the surrounding communities (Smit, 1994:40-45). Moreover, in 1979, 78% of the congregation voted against secession and in favour of the construction of the new church hall as a means to solve the issue of space for the burgeoning congregation. In 1982, the estimated cost of this new structural addition amounted to R 300 000. Completed in 1983, the new hall, alongside the original church interior, provides seating for approximately 1700 people (Smit, 1994:24- 25). At present, this congregation consists of an estimated total of 4200 members, of which between 900 and 1100 attend church services on a Sunday (Viljoen, 2015). As such, the tall white obelisk of Pelser’s church structure not only announced the establishment of an affluent congregation in 1974, but continues to declare the existence of a formidable and overtly religious Afrikaner community.