Thursday, May 5, 2011

Chancellor House refurbishment project completed

Chancellor House refurbishment project completed


Article by: Christy van der Merwe
Former President Nelson Mandela’s legal office at Chancellor House, which he occupied with Oliver Tambo in the 1950s, was saved from being demolished and turned into a parking garage, by the City of Johannesburg, which on Wednesday unveiled the results of the restoration project.
The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) was responsible for the R7-million refurbishment project in central Johannesburg, and the building, opposite the Magistrates Court, would house an exhibition centre on the ground floor, and was seeking tenants for the first and second floors.
Human rights advocate George Bizos, who was part of the legal team that defended Mandela, Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu at the Rivonia trial, spoke at the launch function, and expressed of desire for Chancellor House to be “a living structure”, not only for tourists.
Bizos said he hoped to “persuade the legal profession to put its money where its mouth is”, and gather funding to establish a legal library and consulting rooms, allowing people to come over the road from the Magistrates Court, and use the space.
“The legal profession is not a poor profession, and there are enough lawyers with a social conscience – we are going to appeal to them,” reiterated Bizos.
Discussions were said to be taking place involving the Bar Council, the Law Society of South Africa, the Black Lawyers Association, and a number of leading law firms, to find a way in which they, rather than Johannesburg ratepayers, could take responsibility for running expenses of the building, so that it could be used as a legal resources centre.
This was in line with Mandela’s wishes, as Johannesburg executive Mayor Amos Masondosaid, quoting a letter from Mandela which stated: “ I am fully supportive of the project. I would like to see it not merely as a historical monument but used by our young people as a library and training centre for candidate attorneys.”
Explaining the history of the building, Masondo said that Mandela and Tambo Attorneys occupied the offices for eight years from 1952 to 1960. Following that time, the building fell into a state of disrepair, and after 1994, a number of historical and cultural activists called for restoration of the building, and preservation of its heritage.
Urgency was brought to bear when the owners of the building announced plans to demolish it to erect a parking garage. As a result, Chancellor House was declared a provisional monument in 1999.
“After years of unsuccessful negotiations to purchase the building, a bold decision was taken in June 2010 by the City of Johannesburg to expropriate it and to start immediately with restoration work,” said Masondo.
The building was illegally occupied by 68 people, who were evicted and provided with alternative accommodation.
JDA COO Nkosinathi Manzana explained that the restoration project took 11 months to complete, and it was hoped that the building would be fully operational within three to five months.
He added that without intervention the building would have collapsed as it was severely affected by fire damage and water ingress, and a significant amount of structural engineering was required.
The recognisable facade of the building was kept intact, as was the canopy, and the original door from the building was refurbished and kept. A number of old pictures of the building were studied to restore it to its former glory as much as possible.
Trace Heritage Company director Lauren Segal explained that the company found “many amazing documents” related to Chancellor House, which would be included in the exhibition. These included the original plans from the council, and letters written from Chancellor House, as well as a letter of protest from the Johannesburg City Council, which was against “natives occupying the building”.
Edited by: Mariaan Webb

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