Raymond Smith

In At Home in Nature

Dramatic landscape attracts kindred spirits

Maybe the correlation between a quality environment and a sense of contentment explains why city dwellers choose the Betty's Bay coastline as their terra firma to hibernate in winter and make hay in summer. Kindred spirits are attracted to Betty's Bay where you will find no fences that divides nature and architecture....

January 15, 2019

In Heritage

Brief overview of the IEREK conference on Conservation of Architectural Heritage held in Egypt, February 2018

During February this year I attended a conference on Conservation of Architectural Heritage in Egypt organised by IEREK (International Experts for Research Enrichment and Knowledge Exchange). It took place over five days while cruising down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan, stopping over to visit various heritage sites of the Pharaonic dynasties along the way....

November 23, 2018

Old Harbour, Hermanus during FynArts 2017

In Heritage

Contested space – Hermanus Old Harbour

The Old Harbour was the scene of some unusual activity on Friday as the first of the artworks that will form part of the Sculpture on the Cliffs Exhibition for Hermanus FynArts 2017 was installed. This is the first time that the Old Harbour heritage site, by kind permission of the Old Harbour Trust, will be used for the exhibition, which in previous years saw the large sculptures installed at...

May 4, 2017

Union Buildings with the Madiba statue in the foreground

In Heritage

One city, six spaces in 48 hours (Tshwane/Pretoria)

The Union Buildings, Church Square, UNISA, Freedom Park, //hapo Museum and Marabastad A peripatetic walk contemplating diversity, dislocation, overlap and cohesion within an urban environment strained under its conflicting past, yet bravely attempts to respond to contemporary demands with varying degrees of success. A colleague from Durban and I had to travel to Tshwane/Pretoria for a workshop on Museums and Cultural Landscapes. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Webber Ndoro representing...

February 6, 2017

In Heritage

Heritage unpacked

As architectural and heritage practitioner I am starting this blog to share information regarding events and concerns involving the built environment. I tend to be philosophical about the world we inhabit and am probably more partial to its poetic qualities than its quantitative value. My reasoning for this is simple – monetary value is time-bound while cultural heritage is infinitely valuable – it remembers our past and offers a way...

May 6, 2016