The aim of this research is to contribute to the concept of authenticity for the conservation of historic places. The focus of this work is a development of a set of criteria to assess authenticity in order to contribute towards the conservation of historic places in Western Europe.The purpose is to define a set of authenticity criteria. Firstly, this thesis describes the concern of the concept of authenticity in conservation of the built environment and, based on a review of relevant research and theories on how authenticity criteria fit in conservation in general and how it is important to define a set of authenticity criteria in order to conserve historic places in Western Europe. Based on this review of relevant research and theories, the researcher understood the need to define a set of authenticity criteria in order to facilitate the conservation of historic places in Western Europe. The set of criteria to assess authenticity in the conservation of historic places is based on the spirit of UNESCO criteria to test authenticity with the definitions of the criteria used by the USA Parks Service to evaluate integrity of the property in order to be listed. The initial set of criteria is composed of seven qualities as follows: Location, Settings, Design, Workmanship, Materials, Feelings and Association. Linked to the "state of the art " of Conservation of Historic Places in Western Europe, these criteria were applied to four case studies that showed the evidence in all of them, but strongly demonstrates that Location, Feelings and Association are not important criteria for Western Europe. However Function / Use is an important criteria for all Europe. According to the case studies' conclusions and the review of literature, the model of research created is based on five parameters which define the qualities to assess authenticity in conservation. Four of these parameters (Design, Materials, Workmanship and Settings) are based on USA Parks Service definitions.The fifth parameter (Function / Use) is based on the case studies' conclusions. With the support of a sounding board of experts, the author developed a conceptual model for checking the propositions. This model and the propositions were checked by the Delphi Process with a further group of twenty experts from Western Europe and through a continuous analysis of the data. The set of authenticity criteria established was sent to the Delphi panel of experts in Portugal, the UK and West European organisations involved in the conservation of the built heritage with statements in order to find an agreement on the evidence and definition of each criterion. This procedure was based on the assumption that the achievement of a consensus was possible. Consensus was, in fact, obtained about the criteria. The final criteria achieved highlight the emerging importance of function and use in historic places for the future. The final criteria are: Material Design Workmanship Function/Use Setting DEFINITIONS The physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form an historic property. Combination of elements that create the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property. The physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. The degree of continuity of original or significant uses in a property. The physical environment of a historic property. Due to the fact that the sounding board of experts and Delphi members were made up of people with different backgrounds, ranging from Academia, Architecture, Construction, Industry of Culture, NGOs (Non Governamental Organizations) and other built heritage organizations (UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, Europa Nostra and Council of Europe) the final set of criteria to assess authenticity for conservation of historic places in Western Europe has an holistic point of view.

This dissertation examines heritage as a social construct by way of critically accessing the precursors, proponents and processes of the Tulbagh restoration. This research is focused on understanding the reasons why and how, after the earthquake of 1969, Church Street was reinstated to its 'historic' 18/19th century appearance. This reconstructive restoration is unpacked within its South African socio-political, 20th-century situation to examine the motivations of the proponents behind the restoration as well as their conservation philosophies that underpinned the stylistic reconstruction of Tulbagh back to what was regarded as its Cape Dutch 'best'. The study comprises of an examination of both the theoretical development and practical application of reconstructions. Research traces the development of conservation in South Africa, first under the Union government and then under the Afrikaner Nationalist government to understand how Afrikaner Nationalism was superseded by the creation of a white South African identity. Pierre Nora's theories around memory and identity are explored and applied in order to contextualise the Tulbagh case study in a theoretical framework to highlight similarities and differences. The proponents of the Tulbagh restoration consisted of a wide and varied selection of the South African conservation fraternity and included the National Society, the Cape Institute of Architects, historian Dr Mary Cook, the Simon van der Stel Foundation, Anton Rupert and his Historic Homes Company, Gawie and Gwen Fagan and Dr Hans Fransen, as well as the National Monuments Commission/Council. These same role players came together in the decade before the earthquake to formalise their association, conservation resolve and philosophies. The findings of the study suggest that although united with a common vision, philosophy and determination, these conservation advocates all had their own agenda and differing motivations for their involvement in Tulbagh's restoration. Motivations ranged from straightforward conservation concern and a response to the threat of cultural devastation on one hand to ideological nation-building ideals and Afrikaner nationalism on the other. Although politics impacted early on and all three levels of government funded the bulk of the restoration costs, the diversity of the proponents suggests that this project was more complex than being motivated primarily by nationalism.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-110). / Kolmanskop Ghost Town is situated within the Sperrgebiet National Park on the South-West Coast of Namibia. The diamond-mining town was established in 1908 and abandoned in 1956. Kolmanskop's status as a tourist attraction has been readily established and it is regarded as an important economic resource by the nearby community of Lüderitz. The key question of this research project is whether the site is also able to fulfil the criteria of an industrial heritage resource? The principal method employed is that of values-based conservation. The study relies principally on the survey of a broad range of individuals and stakeholders in order to establish present values as they pertain to Kolmanskop.

Includes bibliographical references. / This dissertation examines the heritage significance of Rust-en-Vrede as a structure with little surviving building fabric from its earliest years, but a rich history of four diverse uses since circa 1808. It is located in Durbanville to the north of Cape Town, an area which has changed over the years from farmland to suburban/urban fabric. The building is styled with a combination of Cape Dutch, Georgian and Victorian architectural elements. The building is not “pure” or mono-stylistic from an architectural point of view. However, its significance is found in its layers of associated meanings. This paper seeks to understand the shifting notions regarding authenticity in conservation. It identifies how a dominant prevailing idea of authenticity was challenged in heritage debates, particularly since the Nara Conference on Authenticity (1994). My intention is to confirm a hypothesis that a building with multiple layers of meaning can be perceived by many to have sufficient heritage significance to satisfy the assertion that it has heritage value. This heritage value can reside in the design, material and workmanship of such a building, with context providing a lesser, but also not insignificant contribution. As Stovel has pointed out, authenticity does not automatically on its own provide the best marker of heritage value.1 Rather, authenticity can be unpacked and qualified in a particular instance to arrive at a composite, nuanced understanding of value that looks beyond the “completeness” of a building.

This study is specifically concerned with the impact of cultural tourism on the valorisation of two African fortifications; Castelo São Jorge da Mina (Elmina Castle) in Elmina, Ghana and Casteel de Goede Hoop (Castle of Good Hope) in Cape Town, South Africa. The commodification of national and world heritage, primarily within the context of cultural tourism, is the process by which tangible and intangible heritage are transformed into cultural commodities to be bought, sold and profited from in the heritage and tourism industry. The perception, however, that these commodified heritage sites are contaminated, and less authentic, is based on an outmoded discourse. The South African government has placed a fair amount of focus on redressing highly emotive colonial or dissonant heritage sites with the intent of correcting misinterpreted Eurocentric histories or present non-represented pre-colonial history. The study is structured around addressing the issue of commodification and its impact on the understanding and interpretation of heritage both as an emotive commodity and as a means of providing economic benefit to a community. The literature review locates the research in Marx's theories on commodities together with Urry's tourist gaze. It furthermore includes an analysis on valorisation, with the focus on associative value, in the context of national and world heritage. Fortifications as fortified military architecture in an African context are considered; as is the European influence on African culture and fortifications as colonial structures. Elmina Castle, as a much-researched heritage site, is explored in detail. It includes a legislative analysis; the perspectives and interpretations of the two largest stakeholders groups, the Akan-speaking Fanti population and the African American Diaspora tourists is key to the analysis of the impact of commodification. A detailed history of Europeans on the Gold Coast, the development of Elmina Castle and the impact of trans-Atlantic slavery on the consumption of heritage is studied. The commodification of the Castle of Good Hope is written within the context of the prevailing South African heritage discourse. Much has been written on the commodification of Elmina Castle, while very little has been said about the Castle of Good Hope as a commodity. The prevailing authorised commodification of the Castle of Good Hope necessitated the analysis and comparison of the Castle with the selected comparative case and the study draws comparisons between the powerful emotive significance and contestations attached to Elmina and the contrast that this poses to the Castle of God Hope as a place of heritage significance despite the fact that it has been seen to symbolise the introduction of repressive European influence and control in South Africa. The research supports the notion that cultural tourism and events have impacted on the valorisation of cultural heritage and, in particular, the associative and emotive values. However, the cultural significance of the two African fortifications as important heritage sites are not at risk.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / The unique knowledge that teachers possess Shulman called pedagogical content knowledge or PCK. In the following 25 years many scholars have conceptualised PCK, and only recently, with an international PCK Summit, have attempts been made to consolidate this field. South Africa’s primary and secondary public education system is continuously under scrutiny, as it continues to perform poorly in international benchmarking assessments. The need to understand what is happening in our classrooms, especially in science and mathematics, is now more important than ever. In response to this need, this study investigated the classroom practice of a dedicated and experienced science teacher over a period of three years, as she taught the organic chemistry section of the Grade 12 Physical Sciences syllabus. PCK was used as a lens to focus on how teacher knowledge manifests in practice.

This study focuses on three projects by Gabriel Fagan, one of South Africa’s most respected and awarded architects, namely The Dias Museum in Mossel Bay, the SA Breweries Visitor’s Centre in Newlands and the University of Cape Town’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine. These projects are all essentially contemporary interventions in historic fabric and each contains easily identifiable and iconic new portions – the sail-like roof of the Dias Museum, the glass lift shaft at SAB and the circular glazed pavilion at UCT’s Medical School.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-86). / These studies aimed to investigate the sustainability conceptions held by engineering students and to assess their level of knowledge on sustainability concepts. The findings revealed that the level of knowledge is poor and engineering students had varying ideas on what sustainability is.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-113). / A lacuna is a disruption in a figurative image and impedes comprehension of the unity of the whole. It is something missing, a void, in material form and, in some cases memory. The urge to eradicate or minimize a disruption to an aesthetic whole has long been a dilemma in conservation, particularly in painting and sculpture, but also in the repair of historical buildings. Any solution must address the issue of authenticity, as repair will be an insertion into an ancient, perhaps layered artefact. The solution requires a theoretically based methodology if the aim of the conservation intervention is to conserve the value and meaning of the building or artefact. The repair of lacunae at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town has had a distinct aesthetic impact on the complex and has changed the perception of the complex. The extensive three-decade-long intervention undertaken by Gabriël Fagan Architects is a re-establishment of the Castle complex as a VOC/Dutch fortified citadel as envisioned by the Architects and reveals the issues that must be confronted in order to conserve authenticity.

This dissertation examines how cultural significance has changed through the reuse (conversion) of an existing religious building to perform a new religious function. The conversion of the former Johannesburg West Nederduitsche Gereformeerde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) to become the Masjid-ul-Islam is used as a vehicle for this study. The history of the Afrikaner and South African Muslim communities and their architecture is explored as well as the history of the changes to the building. The post-colonial concept of hybridity is used to understand the new identity of the building. This new identity determined as being hybrid. Concepts of memory and its use in the construction of identity are further examined with the former church being understood as a site of memory. Through the personal perceptions of significance expressed by both the mosque and church communities the change in significance is explored. It is determined that the building is the site of hybrid memory, with multiple layers of significance which have created a sense of continuity for both communities creating a sense of place and continuity in the post- Apartheid city. The building has come to be a symbol of the changes that have occurred in post-Apartheid South Africa through its layering of history, sense of inclusivity and regeneration.