Norman Musgrave Easton (1902–1966) was a South African architect, born on October 11, 1902, in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, who is best known for his design of banks and houses. He died in a car crash on July 19, 1966, in Pretoria. After schooling in Pretoria and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, he enrolled in 1922 to earn a degree in architecture at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

. There he met architect

Gordon Leith George Esslemont Gordon Leith (1885–1965) was a South African architect. Career He started his career working for Herbert Baker. Leith served as a captain in the Royal Field Artillery (and was later recovering from a Western Front gas attac ...

, with whom he apprenticed from 1922 to 1930 while completing his studies. Leith hired Eaton as director of his Pretoria office in 1926. Eaton was awarded a nine-month residency at the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture. History The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...

in 1929 and then visited various European countries in 1930 and 1931. He founded his own firm on his return to South Africa in 1933. He specialized in unpainted brick houses with African elements, including motifs reminiscent of

Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. Con ...

. Later designs also incorporated aspects of

ancient Egyptian architecture Spanning over three thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles diff ...

as well. His houses emphasized regionalism through the use of local material and forms, including small windows, awnings, and eaves adapted to the warm climate; traditional wooden shutters; and large patches of earth-tone paved stone. In 1940, he earned his first major commercial commission, the Land Bank in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

. That same year, he entered a partnership with Alan Fair that continued until 1945. In 1945, he traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

as well as parts of southern and central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. On his return, he was invited to restore the Reinet House in Graaff-Reinet. Among his best-known works are the Greenwood House, the Nedbank building on Church Street, Polley's Arcade, and the

Little Theatre Unisa The Little Theatre Unisa () is a classical drama theater in the heart of the central business district of Pretoria, South Africa. The theatre was designed by the South African architect Norman Eaton. It seats 292 and hosts a variety of performance ...

(all in Pretoria) as well as the Nedbank Building on Smith Street in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. His other designs for Landbank buildings include those in Potchefstroom,

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, and Kroonstad.

Recognition and awards

In 1960, the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns awarded Eaton its Gold Medal. Several artists and architects, including

Alexis Preller Alexis Preller (6 September 1911 – 13 December 1975) was a South African painter. He trained at the Westminster School of Art from which he graduated in 1934 and later at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris (1937). He was especia ...

, expressed their praise of him at a memorial service a year and a half after his death. In 1968, the

South African Institute of Architects The South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) is an association of affiliated and regional institutes that promotes excellence of architectural design in South Africa. It replaced the Institute of South African Architects and a number of regional ...

posthumously awarded him their Gold Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Easton, Norman Musgrave 1902 births 1966 deaths 20th-century South African architects University of the Witwatersrand alumni Road incident deaths in South Africa