APES+ COMMITTEE
Alastair Simpson
Alastair Simpson is a professionally registered Quantity Surveyor with 25 years of experience in a wide range of construction projects in both the Public and Private sectors. Alastair served on and chaired the Western Cape Chapter of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS), served on the National Board of the ASAQS and been a committee member of the Joint Construction Practice Committee (JPCC).
Alastair is a director at Shevel & Simpson Quantity Surveyors. He is currently serving as the APES+ secretary.
Margot van Heerden
Margot has been a member of APES Society for over 10 years and has served on the committee once before. A registered architect working primarily on heritage projects in Environmental Management at the City of Cape Town. She is also a member of SACAP and APHP.
After graduating from UCT in 1995, she started her career in Windhoek, Namibia with Kerry McNamara Architects, then WATG in London for 4 years, then back to Cape Town, at DHK, and Louis Karol Architects, until joining the City of Cape Town in 2005 as a planner. A year with the Matrix cc in Port Elizabeth peeked her interest in heritage and the built environment, which then led her to UCT to complete the MPhil in Conservation of the Built Environment.
Currently serving on the APES+ committee, she is enthusiastic about networking and learning from other disciplines as well as all things architectural.
Andrew Goodwin
Currently serving on the APES+ committee events portfolio, Andrew is a registered professional Architect, and APES+ committee chair.
After starting out as a student model builder for the CTICC in 2001, he progressed to architectural assistant at Arup Associates’ London office, before returning to Cape Town to complete his B.Arch at UCT in 2004. He has been in commercial practice ever since, working on construction projects ranging from adaptive re-use of existing structures and heritage interventions to education, residential and mixed use developments.
Andrew is currently a director at mlh architects & planners.
Stephen Townsend
Born Cape Town, 1947; matriculated at Kimberley Boy’s High, 1965; completed a B Arch at University of Cape Town, 1978 (second and third year at Delft Technical University, Netherlands); diploma in conservation studies at the University of Rome, 1985 (equivalent to a masters); PhD at UCT, 2003.
Worked as an architect in practice in SA and Italy, 1978 – 1985; worked for City of Cape Town, 1985 – 2004 (ten years as head of the then Urban Conservation Unit, nine years as Manager: Land Use Management); in private practice specialising in planning and conservation matters, 2004 – 2006 and 2008 - present; CEO of the provincial heritage resources authority, Heritage Western Cape, 2006-2007; HWC Council member, 2010 – 2013 (chaired its BEL Comm and IA Comm); currently on panel of MEC’s Appeals Tribunal.
Regular contributor to professional and legal journals and chapters of books since first publication in 1977.
Established and ran the M Phil in Conservation of the Built Environment as Adjunct Assoc Prof, 2008-2017. Teaching CPD courses (on heritage and its management) at UCT since 2005.
Registered as an architect since 1979; on Cape Institute of Architects main committee, 1987 – 2003 (chaired its environment and heritage committees), on its Heritage Committee since 1988. Founding member, Association of Professional Heritage Practitioners, 2003 (occasional member of its main and other committees). Corporate member since 2000, South African Planning Institute. Member since 1995, International Council on Monuments and Sites SA (occasional member of its main committee).
Special fields of interest: the legal and administrative system regulating development; the making and enriching of settlements; professionalization of heritage practice; road running since 1977 (approximately 60 marathons; 24 Two Oceans including two silver medals).
Ron Haiden
Ronald (Ron) Mathieson Haiden was born on 12 May 1951 in Bloemfontein. Matriculated at Selborne College, East London in 1968. Graduated with a BSc in Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town in 1973 followed by an M Phil in Urban Design & Regional Planning, University of Edinburgh in 1980 and a Graduate Diploma Engineering (GDE) in Transport Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand in 1991. Registered as a Professional Engineer on 4 October 1976. Member of SAICE since 1977. Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute from 1992 to 2008. Presented papers at many conferences and seminars as well as gave lectures in transport engineering at universities. Awarded the South African Institution of Civil Engineering Chairman’s Award for 2012 for outstanding service to the Transportation Engineering Profession. Elected as a Fellow of the SAICE on 19 Nov 2014.
Worked as a Civil Engineer in Cape Town & Port Elizabeth harbours from early 1973 to late 1978 including 18 months National Service in the Navy based in Simon’s Town. From late 1980 to late 1982 worked as a Planning Engineer in the General Manager’s Office, SA Transport Services in Johannesburg, followed by 9 months as District Engineer, Reef Construction, South African Transport Services.
Ron has always been passionate about applying his interdisciplinary professional education, experience and vision to improve the quality and sustainability of urban life in collaboration with professionals from other built environment professions. Over a professional working career of about 45 years he has had experience in harbours, airports, railways and all forms of urban transport project planning, evaluation and design.
Worked on all aspects of metropolitan scale transport project planning, project evaluation and conceptual design in the City of Cape Town and the CMC from 18 July 1983 to 31 May 2016, a municipal career of nearly 33 years. Responsible for and/or was on steering committees for the seminal Highway Capacity Study, Guidelines for Road Access Management, the Road Toll Policy (actually an anti-toll policy) for the CoCT, the Conceptual Design and economic evaluation of many road schemes including 30 km of Bus/Minibus-Taxi (BMT) lanes, the new Green Point Circle and Granger Bay Boulevard, the Hospital Bend upgrade, the Koeberg Interchange upgrade and the review of the Foreshore Freeway scheme completion of the inner viaducts to name but a few. Ron was also responsible, together with interdisciplinary consulting teams, for the conceptual design of over 50 Public Transport Interchanges in the City of Cape Town since 1983.
Played a leading role in the Integrated Rapid Transit Project together with international consultant, Dr Lloyd Wright, from August 2007 to retirement on 31 May 2016, Ron was largely dedicated to the planning, design and construction oversight of the MyCiTi Bus Rapid Transit Infrastructure, This project involved the wonderful creative inter-disciplinary co-operation between all the built environment professionals as well as BRT operational specialists and the various operators. The vision was to plan, design, implement and operate an Integrated Rapid Transit System that was car-competitive, efficient, operationally effective, was environmentally sustainable, had good quality, was universally accessible, restored dignity to passengers and gave them a degree of delight but was also affordable to all income groups, allowed easy transfers, enjoyed a cost recovery percentage which performed well in comparison with international norms and reduced potential fare evasion to a minimum. In addition to these attributes, the Phase 1A MyCiTi IRT system was based on provision of scheduled services to within a maximum of about 500m walking or cycling distance from 80% of all origins and destinations in the target coverage areas of service with buses and infrastructure designs that were universally accessible and bicycle and pram friendly. Phase 1A and the N2 Express MyCiTi IRT system were designed and implemented to be as safe and reliable as any road-based public transport system can be. This road-based modern transit system is eco-friendly within the constraint of relying on fossil fuel for its Euro 5 compliant bus fleet. It is smart and elegant and has contributed very positively towards improving urban design quality as well as built environment certainty, which has urban developers’ and property owners’ confidence and has increased property values. This confidence and transport/urban design quality has already resulted in some substantial new developments and increasing urban densities closer to the MyCiTi routes, stations and stops.
The NDoT and transport professionals from numerous countries have recognised Phase 1A of the MyCiTi system as a very good example of Bus Rapid Transit, comparable with the best internationally.
Since retiring from the City of Cape Town, Ron has worked on the large inter-disciplinary professional team led by MDA, which won the bid to totally redevelop the Cape Town Foreshore for housing and related land uses plus also complete the essential elements of the Foreshore Freeway without requiring any public funding. It is a huge pity that this project has been cancelled for the time being!
Ron became a Member of APES on 13 November 2001, not too long after attending a video presentation hosted by APES on 14 June 2000 featuring the work done by Sir Norman Foster, the famous British Architect/Engineer.
After serving on the Committee in 2017/18, Ron was elected Chairperson of the Society of Architects, Planners, Engineers & Surveyors in April 2018 and again in April 2019. The APES+ Committee worked enthusiastically to transform this 40-year-old interdisciplinary society into one which more fully embraces all built environment professionals plus affiliate members in order to better provide for regular creative dialog between the different professions in the pursuit of a better quality of life for all who reside in and visit Cape Town and surrounding areas.