HERITAGE SITES

The oldest colonial building in South Africa, the Castle of Good Hope (first completed in 1679), is also considered the best existing example of a Dutch East India Company (VOC) fort worldwide.

Henry Fagan Consulting Engineers & Project Managers have been involved in the latter phases of a lengthy (over four decades long) restoration of this monument, involving extensive research and archaeological investigation by the architect, and careful attention to the building’s layering. The programme included reinstating the castle’s moat, dolphin pool, and various gables as well as extensive structural stabilisation, while keeping the building open to the public.

Structural work included the anchoring and strengthening of the 9m high stone retaining walls with rock brought in from Robben Island, as well as repair of the original teak rafters whose ends were substantially rotted, and in some cases contained longitudinal cracks.