Tower renovation a bone of contention

A MODERN extension being added to the 100-yearold Altona Haus Tower in Swakopmund’s town centre has sparked criticism from architects and aesthetics experts.

The tower, built in 1902 as a lookout point by Swakopmund’s Damara and Namaqua Company, is now the property of the Woker family and will soon serve as the boardroom of a local law firm. To many, the new addition to the tower is an eyesore against the skyline of a town proud of its architectural heritage.”Swakop is a town of towers.When on the outskirts, the relief of the town is relatively flat with old towers jutting out.The Altona Tower is not a tower anymore,” says Peter Odendaal, former architect and member of Swakopmund’s newly established Aesthetics Committee.Swakopmund is the only town in Namibia with an officially proclaimed conservation area -mainly the town’s CBD.It is felt that the addition to the Altona Tower is not aesthetically acceptable.”The private sector should be very careful when preserving our old buildings,” Odendaal said.He said the project was given the green light by the Swakopmund Council and the National Heritage Council (NHC) before the local aesthetics committee was established.According to him, the committee would not have approved the project.”It’s an example of what we need to avoid in future to preserve the character of Swakopmund,” he said.”What would we do if Government decided to change the Woermann House Tower into a boardroom? People would be up in arms!” Karen Miller, a local architect and member of the NHC, is also not in agreement with the current addition.She said suggestions were made to the owners to make a clear distinction between the new addition and the old tower, to maintain the tower’s original character.She said the heritage council approved the plans although not everyone on the council agreed with the decision.”If we want to maintain the tower, we would have to do it now,” she said.”Changes will not cost the owners the erf – nor the value of the tower.”Marley Tjitjo, Chairman of the Building Heritage Committee in Windhoek, told The Namibian that the project was a “very sensitive issue”.He said the NHC would go back to the original drawings to see if the current work done was in compliance with the original plans.Another architect, Michiel Coetzee, said the “definition of tower” has been changed.”Any changes would change its character.We architects have the power in our hands to change the face of a building for generations to come,” he said.Gunther Kesselmann of the Swakopmund Art Association called the change “catastrophic”.”I did make my requests to council but they basically told me the bullet is through the church.Nothing can be done,” according to him.Annelize Swart, spokesperson for the Swakopmund Municipality, said nothing could be done because the green light for the project had been given, and that there were no official objections against the plans at that stage.Erhard Roxin, the architect of Haus Altona, and many other significant and aesthetically compliant buildings in Swakopmund, said those concerned must wait for the project to be completed.According to him, the former lookout point that was part of Haus Altona only became a “tower” later (in 1966) when it was made higher and eventually enclosed.”There are many heritage concerned architects serving on the NHC, and they approved the plans.I am one of the main people who started with the idea of conserving the heritage of Swakop, and I am still fighting for this preservation, but one also needs to adapt certain building to make them functional,” he said.He said the old tower was dilapidated and much work was needed to restore it.He said the new tower would be functional and its value would be enhanced.”There should not be fears of a wrong precedent being created.In fact, there is hope for our heritage with projects like these.”he said.”Good architects will always have positive and negative reactions.We make a statement with what we do.”According to him, to preserve the historic value of a building for the long term, one has to put modern functions into it.”You can’t just restore it if the functions have been outdated.The building will then just fall apart.In this instance, we had to add a proper staircase to the tower to make it accessible and safe,” he explained.Said Kristian Woker, owner of Haus Altona, who agrees that the current design is not aesthetically agreeable: “Designing this took a very long time, and cost us a fortune; it also passed all the tests.”We also cherish Swakop’s heritage.Why did no one address the concerns then? Why did the heritage council, who have expert architects serving on them, and the municipality, not object?”—–Police chief’s car burgled, suspects claim brutality * LUQMAN CLOETE TWO suspects who were arrested after being caught breaking into a car claim the Police at Keetmanshoop assaulted them.The two suspects are Erico Isaaks and Albert Rooi.The Karas Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner Josephat Abel, yesterday confirmed the arrest of the suspects.He said the Police used minimum force after the two resisted arrest.”If criminals take people’s property illegally, they must also expect physical force as people would want to protect their property,” Abel said.Abel said the suspects had a string of pending cases against them.On Friday evening, the two suspects allegedly broke into a car, belonging to Abel, parked in front of Shetu Special Shebeen.They stole a bunch of keys, groceries and CDs.The suspects allegedly threw the keys into a drain.The local Fire Brigade has tried unsuccessfully since Saturday to retrieve the keys from the drain.The two are to appear in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court today on charges of malicious damage to property, theft and resisting arrest.To many, the new addition to the tower is an eyesore against the skyline of a town proud of its architectural heritage.”Swakop is a town of towers.When on the outskirts, the relief of the town is relatively flat with old towers jutting out.The Altona Tower is not a tower anymore,” says Peter Odendaal, former architect and member of Swakopmund’s newly established Aesthetics Committee.Swakopmund is the only town in Namibia with an officially proclaimed conservation area -mainly the town’s CBD.It is felt that the addition to the Altona Tower is not aesthetically acceptable.”The private sector should be very careful when preserving our old buildings,” Odendaal said.He said the project was given the green light by the Swakopmund Council and the National Heritage Council (NHC) before the local aesthetics committee was established.According to him, the committee would not have approved the project.”It’s an example of what we need to avoid in future to preserve the character of Swakopmund,” he said.”What would we do if Government decided to change the Woermann House Tower into a boardroom? People would be up in arms!” Karen Miller, a local architect and member of the NHC, is also not in agreement with the current addition.She said suggestions were made to the owners to make a clear distinction between the new addition and the old tower, to maintain the tower’s original character.She said the heritage council approved the plans although not everyone on the council agreed with the decision.”If we want to maintain the tower, we would have to do it now,” she said.”Changes will not cost the owners the erf – nor the value of the tower.”Marley Tjitjo, Chairman of the Building Heritage Committee in Windhoek, told The Namibian that the project was a “very sensitive issue”.He said the NHC would go back to the original drawings to see if the current work done was in compliance with the original plans.Another architect, Michiel Coetzee, said the “definition of tower” has been changed.”Any changes would change its character.We architects have the power in our hands to change the face of a building for generations to come,” he said.Gunther Kesselmann of the Swakopmund Art Association called the change “catastrophic”.”I did make my requests to council but they basically told me the bullet is through the church.Nothing can be done,” according to him.Annelize Swart, spokesperson for the Swakopmund Municipality, said nothing could be done because the green light for the project had been given, and that there were no official objections against the plans at that stage.Erhard Roxin, the architect of Haus Altona, and many other significant and aesthetically compliant buildings in Swakopmund, said those concerned must wait for the project to be completed.According to him, the former lookout point that was part of Haus Altona only became a “tower” later (in 1966) when it was made higher and eventually enclosed.”There are many heritage concerned architects serving on the NHC, and they approved the plans.I am one of the main people who started with the idea of conserving the heritage of Swakop, and I am still fighting for this preservation, but one also needs to adapt certain building to make them functional,” he said.He said the old tower was dilapidated and much work was needed to restore it.He said the new tower would be functional and its value would be enhanced.”There should not be fears of a wrong precedent being created.In fact, there is hope for our heritage with projects like these.”he said.”Good architects will always have positive and negative reactions.We make a statement with what we do.”According to him, to preserve the historic value of a building for the long term, one has to put modern functions into it.”You can’t just restore it if the functions have been outdated.The building will then just fall apart.In this instance, we had to add a proper staircase to the tower to make it accessible and safe,” he explained.Said Kristian Woker, owner of Haus Altona, who agrees that the current design is not aesthetically agreeable: “Designing this took a very long time, and cost us a fortune; it also passed all the tests.”We also cherish Swakop’s heritage.Why did no one address the concerns then? Why did the heritage council, who have expert architects serving on them, and the municipality, not object?” —– Police chief’s car burgled, suspects claim brutality * LUQMAN CLOETE TWO suspects who were arrested after being caught breaking into a car claim the Police at Keetmanshoop assaulted them.The two suspects are Erico Isaaks and Albert Rooi.The Karas Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner Josephat Abel, yesterday confirmed the arrest of the suspects.He said the Police used minimum force after the two resisted arrest.”If criminals take people’s property illegally, they must also expect physical force as people would want to protect their property,” Abel said.Abel said the suspects had a string of pending cases against them.On Friday evening, the two suspects allegedly broke into a car, belonging to Abel, parked in front of Shetu Special Shebeen.They stole a bunch of keys, groceries and CDs.The suspects allegedly threw the keys into a drain.The local Fire Brigade has tried unsuccessfully since Saturday to retrieve the keys from the drain.The two are to appear in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court today on charges of malicious damage to property, theft and resisting arrest.