The art and science of architecture

Architecture - both an art form and a meticulous process - is often regarded as a complex topic of interest for many.

Sophia van Greunen, architect and lecturer at the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST), has 17 years of experience in the industry. She sat down with My.Na Properties’ Aina Raiza Kweyo to dissect the complexities of her profession and give insight into the exciting and mundane elements to it.

On the design process, Van Greunen said: "Every architectural design process begins with a client who has a brief," but emphasised the importance of the site as the biggest informant of the design process.

“The very first thing you do, as quickly as possible, is make your way to the site so you can see where the building will be located. This includes looking at the shape of the site, the lay of the land, the orientation – where does the sun come up, the lighting.

“All those things are very important. Then it’s a challenge of organising functions. This includes looking at what the best way is to place things in a building, and what is the best way to move through a building. It has to make sense. There is a certain sequencing,” she explained.

Van Greunen also expressed excitement about where her inspiration comes from and the fulfilment of seeing a building come to life.

“Sometimes you can’t explain it. You go through the motions, you sketch, you draw and when it clicks - you know this is the solution and I am going to pitch this to the client.

“Sometimes they don’t understand and they don’t buy into it initially. So, I think it is most exciting when you have a brilliant idea, and the client gets your brilliant idea,” she said.



Architects as principal agents

Regarding the industry, Van Greunen said: "The hardest part is the challenge of working with people”, as architects have to coordinate with various consultants, contractors and clients.

“As an architect, you are what we call the ‘principal agent’, which means you coordinate all the other consultants. Those include your engineers and quantity surveyors. You are the one communicating with the builders on site.

“At all stages of this process, you will be working with people; clients, contractors, colleagues – people from all walks of life.

“I think that is possibly the biggest challenge, because you have to be diplomatic and a great communicator. It is a lot of management and paper trails; it’s not just all fun and design, unfortunately,” she said.

She also touched on the importance of public buildings and the need to figure out what they portray to people.

“What bothers me is a lot of the new monuments we are building. The Swapo building, the ministry of home affairs building, the new museum and the State House – there is this certain trend of constructing buildings that are masculine and boisterous. So, you always have to look at a public building and ask yourself what the building is saying to you as a human being,” the veteran architect said.

“I think we still have a long way to go to figure that one out. We need to figure out what a good public building should be and what it should portray to people.”



Modern and clean

When asked about her design style, Van Greunen said she prefers modern design and clean buildings, but always puts the clients' needs and expectations first. She also expressed her aversion to boxing herself in with a specific trademark style.

“I think for some architects, it is their money-making card, because they can say ‘this is my style’ and people go them because they want that look and they know what they are going to get,” she said.

According to Van Greunen, her most memorable and exciting project was designing a modern village homestead in the north of the country.

“We used to fly up north to Ondangwa and we would visit the site often. I got to see how village life works, and I got to understand how Wambo homesteads work - which was fascinating.

“I got to design a modern homestead. So, I tried to employ all the things I learnt from the traditional homesteads and tried to translate it into a modern homestead,” she said.



Tricky contractors

Van Greunen also shared what kind of contractors she prefers to work with after her many years in the architecture industry.

“What often happens is that a contractor makes a mistake or does not following the drawing 100%, and then you point it out to them and the way they react tells me a lot about what type of contractor they are.

“You get those who are always trying to blame-shift. It is not about whose fault it was. I love it when you point something out to a contractor and they are willing and eager to fix the mistake. That is what I want in contractor.

“It should be someone I can trust, so that you don’t have to be on site, worrying about the work, because it makes my job much more difficult.

“I am not being paid to be a site manager - I am just there to oversee quality and progress,” she said.