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04 September 2019 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Charl Devenish
Jon Jacobson
Delivering the 31st Sophia Gray Memorial Lecture and Exhibition in Bloemfontein, was Jon Jacobson from Metropolis Design in Cape Town.

What is inside and what is outside? What is coming alive in the light? Minimalism. Hugeness. Shadows. Soft. Art. Complex. Conversation. Ambiguity. Clarity. All phrases and words used by the most recent Sophia Gray laureate, Jon Jacobson from Metropolis Design in Cape Town, to describe aspects of his work.

He delivered the 31st Sophia Gray memorial lecture in Bloemfontein. The name of his lecture at this prestigious event, organised by the UUFS Department of Architecture, was in [de] finite. Jacobson is the first graduate in the department’s MArch with Design.

Nature plays a big role in many of his projects, with a blurred distinction between the inside and the outside of the structures he builds. His designs fulfil the desire of a union with nature. 

A detailed investigation

Jacobson creates places and spaces to celebrate being. “Architecture is undeniably art, but it is also embodied in the completeness of the lived moment,” he says. 

Every project starts with a detailed investigation. “What social theory will we engage with? How progressive is it? What attitude will we take to the environment, to the theory of family? What other personal concerns will we be worried about? It is important to engage critically with this information. Important to build a philosophical base for each project,” says Jacobson.

He also believes it is important to consciously ensure that form follows idea with the same intensity that it follows function and that it does not blindly follow other form. 

At Metropolis, Jon and his team are client centred in their approach to design. Jon explains the process: “Some of the content is brought from the client’s personal and social aspiration and some from contemporary architecture culture, but the most potent component is the hidden set of ideas that emerge from our own engagements with the living world such as popular science, geology, art, music, literature, philosophy, theology, mysticism, and many others. And this emerges in the hidden sense of the word, in its architecture content.”

Content approach to design

In house design, Jon categorises the content that informs the architecture of the house: content pertaining to the individual, their philosophy, values and beliefs, content derived from culture, architecture and the arts, passion, religion, politics, and content referring to the natural world and its processes. Content from each of these spheres is present in any of his work. 

Jon says a major implication of a content approach to design is that it requires a design framework that is largely operative at a level of idea rather than at the level of form. This contributes to creating architecture rather than just buildings. 

His design method allows conscious control over the relationship between the ideas, the forms, and the poetics of the projects. “And at any point in the building process, it is possible to trace back and to critically assess whether any particular form is aligning with the core ideas of the project,” Jon indicates. 

Jon’s first taste of grappling with the infinite of architecture was with a garden pavilion he built for rest and relaxation. “For the first time I felt that we integrated planning, content, sight, programme, structure, and materiality into one unified whole that was expressed with a minimum of means and that was more than just the sum of its part,” he states.

He strongly believes that the individual is at the centre of every architectural project. He says the belief systems, type of social needs, family dynamics, physical habits, and spatial practices of their clients need to be investigated in detail in order to facilitate a meaningful spatial experience.

He continues: “We see our role as designers to saturate the environment with the meaning that enhances our clients’ daily experience in every possible way – from the ergonomic and the practical to the spiritual. In the process, the logics and tradition of architecture and the ego of the architect sometimes need to make way for human need and aspiration.”


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Make the right choices and you will succeed, Prof Jansen advises learners
2014-05-30

“You can make a choice today that will end up with you being pregnant, having babies, being unemployed, sitting at home like some of our brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts. Or you can make a different decision – and that decision is about you working so hard that you earn entry into the University of the Free State, get your degree and become great, not only in South Africa, but in the world.”

This was the message from the UFS’s Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen, who addressed prospective Kovsies during our Open Day on the Qwaqwa Campus on Saturday 24 May 2014. Prof Jansen advised all learners to always make the right decisions.

“The first right decision is to pass well. You must go for 60%, 70% and 80% passes. Set yourself a target and do not just strive to pass, but to pass well,” Prof Jansen told a packed Rolihlahla Mandela Multi-purpose Hall, with learners coming from as far as Ficksburg, Lindley and Koppies.

“The second thing that you need to do, is to believe in yourself. Do not believe people who tell you what you can or cannot do. Believe in what you can do,” said Prof Jansen.

“Thirdly, you have to get up and do things for yourself. You have to work hard, sleep less and study hard. Don't accept excuses. If you can do these three things, then the best place to study is the University of the Free State. Believe that the sky is the limit.”

“We learned a very valuable lesson here today,” said Tumelo Mofokeng from Nkarabeng Secondary School in Kestell.

The fun-filled programme included performances and messages of encouragement from current students who have been part of the unique Leadership for Change Programme. This programme equips first-year students with skills to reflect, dialogue and engage on issues of diversity and leadership.

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