frankly speaking
Architect and urban designer Wessel van Dyk is going places – with a passion We posed some tongue-in-cheek questions to 44-year-old Wessel van Dyk, recently appointed partner at Nsika Architecture and Design, who believes an essential ingredient in the recipe for personal happiness is to really love the job you do By Mark Pettipher
Q If we came to your home and looked Q What keeps you motivated? inside your fridge, what would we find?
It depends which fridge you open. In the food fridge, you’ll always find cheese (my wife is Dutch), milk, cold meats, veggies, jams and all sorts of sauces. The drinks fridge I hope will never be without wooded Chardonnay.
Q Are you a good cook?
I love to cook but I’m a poor baker. I’m only good at pancakes and flapjacks, but I mostly leave the serious baking to my wife.
Q What is your favourite eating place? Dutchies restaurant at Grotto Beach in Hermanus. It has a relaxed atmosphere with a beautiful setting on the beach, and their bitterballen are my favourite.
Biography Wessel van Dyk has always loved a challenge and views his recent move to a partnership at Nsika Architecture and Design as an opportunity to make an important mid-career change – and to start a new venture. His speciality is design, with a focus on urban design and mixeduse developments. In addition to his various projects in South Africa, he has done work in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Egypt and Sudan. He is passionate about urban growth and the potential on the African continent, and is currently busy with projects in Mauritius, Kenya and Uganda. He’s also studying towards a master’s degree in urban design at the University of the Witwatersrand. Formerly a Director at Boogertman + Partners Architects, and a Principal Design Director at Bentel Associates International, Van Dyk considers the master planning for the Steyn City project and the Steyn City clubhouse to be the highlight of his architectural career.
Q If we gave you a camel,
what would you do with it?
Definitely sell it immediately! I’ve worked in the Middle East, and while there I quickly learnt from the locals how to negotiate fees. We jokingly called it “camel trading”! So I’d definitely trade it. Interestingly, one of the places I enjoyed spending time in most was Damascus – but it will be quite some time before anyone can visit there again…
Q Does your family have a pet? Do you talk to it? We have an elderly, much-loved dachshund called Bella. We took her with us to the coast this year, knowing it might be her last holiday with the family … and yes, she talks back.
Q You studied architecture. What is the
funkiest building that you like and why?
The Rietveld Schroder house in Utrecht, designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1916, would be my choice. It is a remarkable building for many reasons – not least because of the time around which it was built, and its location. It was designed on a grand scale, right down to the last detail. There was also an amazing client-architect relationship in its history.
In order to stay motivated, you simply needs to love your work. I cannot imagine getting up in the morning and saying, “I hate my job.” I love my job. Design and drawing are real therapy for me. I can forget all my problems when I’m drawing. Family, work, art and drawing – and of course good food and wine. Even better if you can draw with a glass of wine next to you – but the wine is at the weekend only!
Q If you weren’t in property what would you do for a living? Perhaps I’d be an orthopaedic surgeon – although I feel there is a chance that I might not have stuck it out all the way through medical school. Orthopaedic surgeons are required to sculpt, and that must demand a high personal level of creativity.
Q Would a 21-year-old Wessel be proud of you? At 21, you know nothing. At the moment I’m in the middle of my career, and I believe I’ve achieved more than I thought I would at 21. You need to grow constantly and not stagnate – which is the reason why I decided to do a master’s in urban design through Wits. I’m busy with final corrections to my thesis and should graduate by midyear.
Q What is your favourite shirt colour and why? I like white. It goes with everything, it’s cool and it’s practical. Very occasionally I’ll step out in something more colourful … but then it’s always back to white.
Q Would Nelson Mandela have made a good architect? Yes. He would have made a great architect. What he achieved was very creative in terms of the need to build and to create a new nation, so he certainly had to think “out of the box”. I do think this must have given him an excellent foundation for becoming an architect. SOUTH AFRICAN PROPERTY REVIEW
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