Boekresensie * Book Review 

Paul Kotze 

BLUEPRINTS in black and white: the built 

environment professions in South Africa -

an outline history by John Bizzell

B
LUEPRINTS in black and white, is intended as a brief history of the 
built environment professions in South Africa. Its aim is to assist in the 
understanding of the role of these professions in the South African 

society. The content of the book is broadly based on the assumption that 
South African built environment professionals have always reflected the 
dominant societal values and attitudes of the day. 

The author, Mr John Bizzell, is an architect who graduated from the 
University of Natal. In the aftermath of the Rivonia trial he and his wife 
were forced into exile. They settled in Toronto, Canada. He received a 
Master's degree in Urban Design from the University of Toronto. After l 994 
the couple returned to South Africa. 

Broadly speaking, the content of the book is chronologically arranged 
from pre-colonial times up to the present. In each of the chapters a 
range of topics is covered. A constant attempt is made to discuss the 
issues relating to the physical development of the country against the 
background of the social and political processes operative in South 
African society. 

The theme of BLUEPRINTS in black and white is a worthy area of study 
and the author has set high ideals for the book. The personal history of 
the author, in conjunction with the stated aims of the sponsors of the 
book, provide a broad position from which the subject matter is viewed. 
However, the contents. of the book fall dramatically short of these ideals 
mainly due to the lack of a properly defined positional statement. It is dif­
ficult to ascertain what readership profile the author had in mind. Is it the 
general public, the interested professional or the serious scholar? 

John Bizzell currently practices as an architect and project manager near Durban in 
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. 

The book is reviewed by Professor CP Kotze of the Department of Architecture at the 
University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. 



Acta Structilia 2002:9(2) 

If the work is viewed against the assumed requirements of such groups, 
it is severely lacking in all respects due the absence of any form of well­
defined focus. It makes one wonder who would actually be interested 
in reading this book other than those who have commissioned the work. 
The narrative is descriptive and it rambles rather aimlessly through the 
subject matter. No serious attempt is ever made at analysis or compar­
isons to other situations or positions. The text is often pointless as it makes 
no real contribution to much of the more serious academic work which 
has been done in South Africa and elsewhere on the development of 
the South African physical landscape. It also seems that the author has 
hardly taken note of this body of work. Due to this oversight the author 
does not make a credible contribution to the debate. BLUEPRINTS in
black and white is not groundbreaking work whereas it could easily 
have been just that, if the author had allowed himself a more critical 
position. Due to the lack of focus it does not address a perceived need, 
or niche, within the South African intellectual landscape on the built 
environment. The author dabbles here and there without ever making 
an in-depth observation or contribution. 

The layout of the book is neat, but rather conventional with mostly small 
and sometime illegible illustrations and comments appended in the 
margins of the pages. It is not always clear why specific illustrations were 
chosen, as the illustrations do not always relate to the adjacent text. It 
is as if the images are used simply to fill up space. While on the topic of 
illustrations, it should be mentioned that the main image used on the 
book's cover has also been used by a major commercial bank to illus­
trate its advertisements for student loans. Such carelessness does not 
support the publication's credibility at that crucial moment of making a 
first impression. Furthermore, the author follows an unconventional ref­
erencing system that makes it difficult to trace sources. Thorough edit­
ing could have obviated this problem. Alongside the aforementioned 
illustrations, blocks containing snippets of information have been incor­
porated. Herein, as sometimes in the text, amazingly interesting and rel­
evant pieces of information can be found. For the seriously minded 
reader this subtext can offer some rewards. In this way, the book might 
have value in that it points to work that still needs to be done. 

In general, the content of the book is a valuable opportunity squan­
dered. The Department of Public Works must have provided a sizable 
sponsorship to enable the production of this work. This in it self is a 
unique occurrence in South Africa, where such support is in short supply. 
However, the work generally fails to introduce any new insight to the 
debate on the production of the built environment in South Africa, 
mainly because it relies too heavily on 'accepted' concepts and myths 
without any rigorous analysis or comparisons. 

128 



Bizzell/BLUEPRINTS in black and white 

BLUEPRINTS in black and white: the built environment professions in 
South Africa - an outline history 

Bizzell John, 2002 

Sponsored by the South African Department of Public Works 

© Department of Public Works 

Durban: Solo Collective 

Rl 25,00 

144 pp 

ISBN 0-620-28492-7 

129