Thibault's architectural legacy uncovered

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Louis Michel Thibault, considered the father of South African architecture, will feature at the next Van Plettenberg Historical Society presentation.

Rodney Grosskopff, well-known Plett raconteur, renowned architect and amateur historian, returns to the podium to delve into Thibault's "truly South African style".

Among Thibault's legacy are the Drostdy in Graaff-Reinet, built in 1804, which currently lodges a five-star hotel.

Groot Constantia homestead also reflects his work – he was definitely responsible for the wine cellar, while Anton Anreith contributed to the celebrated pediment.

Brilliant student
Born 1750 in Picquigny, France, a small town on the River Somme near Amien, little is known of his early life.

He enrolled at the Royal Academy of Architecture in Paris and proved to be a brilliant student.

He then went on to study military engineering and joined a Swiss mercenary regiment.

Thibault arrived in the Cape in 1783 as part of a team of Swiss army mercenaries employed by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) to protect the Cape against the British.

After peace was declared, he remained in the Cape, where he set up a private architectural practice in collaboration with Anton Anreith, a young sculptor and woodcarver from Freiburg, and Hermann Schutte, a young architect and builder from Bremen.

Tempered by local taste and his use of local labour and building materials, he established a "South African" architectural style.

Wine tasting
Grosskopff's talk is also appropriate as part of Heritage Month: September marks the 100th anniversary of the cultivation of South Africa's signature red wine, derived from crossing pinot noir and hermitage grapes (now known as Cinsaut or Cinsault) to create the pinotage cultivar.