The Problem With 'Boere Toskaans'

The Problem With 'Boere Toskaans'

The Problem With 'Boere Toskaans'

The current fashion in architecture lends itself towards buildings that follow the stylistic elements of homes and buildings in the Tuscany region of Italy. Some of the elements include plastered walls, small windows, terraces, walled patios and shallow tiles roofs. These elements are being seen in more and more developments throughout Pretoria. Architects are being called upon to design houses, offices and shopping centres that all follow this architectural style that certainly didn't originate in South Africa.

As the name suggests, the architectural style comes to South Africa straight from the Tuscany region of Italy. People around the world have been enamoured with Tuscany for many years. The sun drenched rolling hills of Tuscany are known world over as the home of some of Italy's finest artistic and architectural wonders. Now home owners and developers are hoping to bring some this old world elegance to Pretoria but architects are pulling their hair out in frustration.

Pretoria architects have a number of issues with this Tuscan architecture in Gauteng. The two that are often listed first are price and suitability to the South African climate. To create this Tuscan architecture in the southern hemisphere requires that materials be imported from Italy to create the authentic look that clients are looking for. Local producers are suffering from the lack of business and the price of these new developments is easily double the price of developments built with local materials.

While the Tuscan architecture is fine for Italy, Pretoria architects are having a hard time explaining that it is not suited for the African climate. The orientation of Tuscan architecture does not take the often unpredictable weather of Africa into account leading to increased deterioration of the buildings. Small windows also make the homes unbearably warm in the summer and do not allow the sun to warm the home adequately in the winter.

To compensate for the climatic conditions, architects are forced to make alterations removing the architectural style from the original Tuscan image. These detractions, while practical, remove many authentic Tuscan elements in the process creating the so-called Boere Toskaans' style. To many, both architects and home owners, this is nothing more than a cheap way to create a sense of opulence and is better suited to a theme park than architecture.

Despite these misgivings, Boere Toskaans' architecture is still going up all over the place and Pretoria architects are finding it hard to persuade home owners and developers otherwise. The concern is that South Africa is sacrificing its own cultural identity by allowing these foreign architectural styles to invade our neighbourhoods. People should embrace that which South Africa has and be proud of it before Pretoria does turn into little more than the Little Tuscany that so many people are referring to already.

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