Kromme Rhee
Stellenbosch, Cape Town
Kromme Rhee is a government training facility located close to Stellenbosch in the Western Cape.
The facility consists of several buildings, two of which date from 1759 and 1825. These two buildings are of significant cultural, historical and architectural importance and required substantial restoration and repairs.
Jacobs Parker oversaw the design and implementation of major structural repairs, repairs to external plaster, stripping of PVA paint, the lime washing of external façades and the re-thatching of roofs.
Leeuwenhoff
Gardens, Cape Town
Leeuwenhof is the official residence of the Premier of the Western Cape and was originally a farmhouse dating back to the time of the Dutch East India Company.
Jacobs Parker was commissioned to oversee the external restoration of several buildings on the estate, including the slave quarters,Bo Tuin, Oak Lodge, tea garden and the Main House.
Elsenberg Old Cellar Refurbishment
Stellenbosch, Cape Town
The Old Cellar on the Elsenberg farm is currently used as a teaching facility by the Department of Agriculture. In addition to various internal refurbishments, the brief called for the complete refurbishment of the building’s facades.
The process involved researching the history of the building, in order to understand its evolution over time. Through this process, it was discovered that the existing plaster was was not part of the original building fabric, and its cement content was exacerbating the problem of damp internally. This plaster was painstakingly removed, revealing the many varied layers of brickwork added to the building over time.
It became evident that several openings were added and closed over the years, and a detailed survey was undertaken to plot precisely where these openings and varied brick layers occur. The facades were plastered with a lime plaster and coated with a lime wash, to re-instate the original condition.