Herbert Baker was born on 9th June 1862 on
the family farm in Cobham a small village near Kent in England. He was the
fourth son of Thomas Henry Baker. As a boy walking and exploring the historical
ruins found in the area were his favourite pastimes.
Baker’s father could not afford to send his nine
children to school as a result Baker’s primary school education was not up to
standard when he finally attended public school. Baker soon caught up and
trained as an architect at the Royal Academy and Architectural Association and
qualified in 1891.
In 1892 Herbert Baker arrived at the Cape of Good
Hope. Soon after he arrived he met Cecil John Rhodes who sent him to Greece,
Italy and Egypt to further his studies in classical Architecture. After which
he returned to South Africa and began work in the Transvaal (now Gauteng).
Herbert Baker was a founder member of the Institute
of Architecture in South Africa. He initiated many scholarships and completions
and did much to further the building industry in South Africa.
Herbert Baker left South Africa for New Delhi, India
in 1912. He was knighted for his design of the Legislative Building in New
Delhi, Soon Afterwards Sir Herbert Baker returned to England where he continued
practicing architecture until his death at eighty-four in the same house he was
born in.

FIGURE 1: The
Union Building.
(www.op-reis.com/06%20afrika/
zuidafrika/pretoria.htm
)
In 1910 Herbert Baker was commissioned to design the
Government Building of the Union of South Africa (which was formed on 31st
May 1910) in Pretoria. Pretoria was to become the administrative centre for the
new government. In November of 1910 the corner stone of the Union Building was
laid.
Baker chose Meintjies Kop as the site for the design;
he envisioned the design overlooking Pretoria in the same manner as Acropolis
city of Athens, Greece. The site has a clear view of Salvo Kop. The site was a
disused quarry; the existing excavations were used to create the amphitheatre.
Ornamental pools, fountains, sculptures, balustrades and plants can be found
within and surrounding the amphitheatre.
The design consists of two identical office blocks
(Figure 1), which are joined by a semicircular colonnade forming the backdrop
of the amphitheatre. The colonnade terminates on each side in two towers. The
colonnade serves to unify the two blocks, symbolic of the union of the two
white cultures (English and Afrikaans). The centre of the design is typically
undemonstrative (Keath, p177) Baker rather emphasises the blocks on either side
of the central entrance. Each offices block contains three inner courtyards
providing light and air to the offices. Each block has a basement and three
floors above ground. The central curved building behind the colonnade houses
the committee rooms, a library and conference rooms while the basement contains
the kitchen, dinning rooms and lounges.
The interior is treated in the Cape Dutch Style:
carved teak fanlights, heavy doors dark ceiling beams contrasting with white
plaster walls and heavy wood furniture.
Baker used indigenous materials as far as possible.
The granite was quarried on site while Buiskop sandstone was used for the
courtyards. Stinkwood and Rhodesian teak were used for timber and wood
panelling. The roof tiles and quarry floor tiles were manufactured in
Vereeniging.
The Union Building was completed in 1913, after
Herbert Baker had left for New Delhi from where he returned home to England.
The
commission for a high-profile memorial commemorating the Women's March to the
Union Buildings in August 1956 was awarded to the artist-architect
collaborative team of Wilma Cruise and Marcus Holmes.
The
design of the memorial is sensitive to the ideals and plans of Baker’s Union
Buildings The design consists of an 'imbokodo' or grinding stone(Figure 1),
placed in the vestibule of Baker’s design. The stone refers to the rally call
used by the 20 000 women attending the March: "Wathint' Abafazi, wathint'
imbokodo!" (Strike the woman, strike the rock).

FIGURE 1:
The imbokodo or grinding stone (http://artthrob.co.za/00aug/news.html#monument
)
The
imbokodo will rest on an octagonal base of bronze plates which is in keeping
with Baker’s use of material and central architectural motif. The imbokodo, as
a grinding surface for maize, represents sustenance and nurture, while the
bronze plates represent earth and fire.
As
one approaches the imbokodo, an infrared beam triggers 'the whispered voices'
of history, the rallying cry softly repeated and echoed in the 11 official
languages. The site is approached up two sets of stairs. Onto the stair risers
Cruise and Holmes have imposed text in raised bronze letters, taken from the
protest letter 'The Demand of the Women of South Africa for the Withdrawal of
Passes for Women and the Repeal of the Pass Laws'.

FIGURE 2:
The text imposed on the stairs.. (http://artthrob.co.za/00aug/news.html#monument
)
HARTDEGEN, P. 1988. Our Building Heritage: An Illustrated Guide. Halfway House: Ryll’s Publishing Company.
KEATH, M. Herbert Baker: Architecture and Idealism 1892-1913 The South African Years. Gibraltar: Ashanti Publishers.
SMITH, KATHRYN. ‘Wilma Cruise and Marcus Holmes
Awarded Commission for Women's Memorial at the Union Buildings, Pretoria.’
http://artthrob.co.za/00apr/news.html#cruise
(11 Febuary
2003)