Jaco Booyens Architect
  • Projects
    • Buffelsdrift Gold Medal Domus International Restoration Awards
    • Contemporary Mud House Buffelsdrift
    • Buffelsdrift Renovation
    • Buffelsdrift Staircase
    • Buffelsdrift Pumproom
    • Subsistance Farm Rysmierberg
    • Damaraland Clay Project
    • Big Tiny House Glencairn
    • Project Phoenix
    • Walvisbay Container Terminal Entrance
    • CAM Plywood Structure
    • Fort Haasbroek Swakopmund
    • Rammed Earth Desert House Swakopmund
    • Off the grid house Prieska
    • New BP Green Headquarters Cape Town
    • African trade mission in Rome
    • Vertical Village on the River Tyber
    • Staircase house du Plessis
    • Olijven Hof brick vault Montagu
    • Cape Town Offgrid Scyscraper
    • Gate to industrial park
    • Furniture design
    • Thesis 1996 - Emergency center for earthquakes
  • Design Philosophy
  • About
  • Publications
  • Sketchbook
Picture
Namport Container 
Terminal Entrance


Shortly after I graduated in 1996 I found employment with 
Bob Mould Architects with offices in Walvisbay and 
Windhoek, Namibia's capital. I worked under 
the lead architect from the Walvisbay office 
Conrad Scheffer. Conrad studied at the same 
university but was 5 year my senior. 

The office was commissioned to design the entrance 
building to Walvisbay Harbours Container Terminal. 
The project landed on my drawing board and was the 
first real building I worked on. 

I took the chance to sketch and propose the idea of 
a steel framed roof with a canvas stretched in a frame
in the shape of a wing after the dull suggestion to 
design a roof on brick columns covered with S-profile 
fiber cement roof sheets. I also proposed the building's 
footprint in the shape of an ellipsoid to reference a 
ship's bow.  To my surprise, this idea was entertained 
and developed. 

Walvisbay has extreme corrosion problems and 
the idea to replace the steel with fiberglass profiles 
was the next development. Finally skepticism for 
the rather crudely proportioned fiberglass profiles 
being a lot bigger than steel disqualified this idea. 

Namibia being an ex-German colony has some 
very skilled contractors and we found a contractor 
who was willing to in-situ cast the structure as seen 
in the photograph in reinforced concrete. We consulted 
a local engineer by the name of Bernie Volkman who 
did the steel reinforcement calculations. The edge of 
the suspended roof slab was only 70mm at the edge. 

The building received a merit award from the Namibian 
Institute of Architects after completion.
Picture
Picture
  • Projects
    • Buffelsdrift Gold Medal Domus International Restoration Awards
    • Contemporary Mud House Buffelsdrift
    • Buffelsdrift Renovation
    • Buffelsdrift Staircase
    • Buffelsdrift Pumproom
    • Subsistance Farm Rysmierberg
    • Damaraland Clay Project
    • Big Tiny House Glencairn
    • Project Phoenix
    • Walvisbay Container Terminal Entrance
    • CAM Plywood Structure
    • Fort Haasbroek Swakopmund
    • Rammed Earth Desert House Swakopmund
    • Off the grid house Prieska
    • New BP Green Headquarters Cape Town
    • African trade mission in Rome
    • Vertical Village on the River Tyber
    • Staircase house du Plessis
    • Olijven Hof brick vault Montagu
    • Cape Town Offgrid Scyscraper
    • Gate to industrial park
    • Furniture design
    • Thesis 1996 - Emergency center for earthquakes
  • Design Philosophy
  • About
  • Publications
  • Sketchbook