The century celebrations of the Union Buildings

Abstract

They came in their thousands to pay homage, with many eventually being turned away. As Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918–2013) lay in state, the significance and meaning of the Union Buildings seemed yet again to evolve. On the eve of his inauguration as the country’s first democratically elected president nearly 20 years before, the Union Buildings, washed in electric light, the amphitheatre set up with raked seating for the dignitaries right into the columned hemicycle loggia and decked out with new South African flags, made it all seem that this was the very moment for which these buildings had been intended.