Union Buildings

The Union Buildings stand atop Meintjieskop in the Arcadia area of Pretoria and form the official seat of the Government of South Africa, housing the offices of the President. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker and completed in 1913, the complex is built in a Neoclassicism drawing on the Italian Renaissance, with Cape Dutch and Edwardian details, and is constructed of light sandstone along a curved facade about 285 meters long. Two office wings, representing the country's formerly divided peoples and its two official languages, English and Afrikaans, flank a central colonnade behind which sit committee rooms, a library and conference rooms, with kitchens and dining rooms in the basement; each wing encloses three inner courtyards, and window heights diminish toward the top of the building to create an illusion of greater height. The interior is finished in a Cape Dutch style, with carved teak, dark ceiling beams against white plaster walls and heavy wooden furniture.