Hermer, Manfred

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HERMER, MANFRED

HERMER, MANFRED (1915– ), South African architect. Born in Volksrust, Transvaal, he practiced in Johannesburg from 1939. Later he became a leading authority in South Africa on the planning and construction of theaters. His major work in that field was the Civic Theater in Johannesburg, forming the nucleus of the complex of buildings for the city's projected Civic Center. Hermer designed other theaters and also country and social clubs, industrial buildings, and several private hospitals and clinics including the Ashkelon hospital in Israel. His most prominent building is probably the Ponte City Apartments, a 54-story block in Johannesburg, built in 1976, which was once the most luxurious in the city. His firm is now known as Manfred Hermer, Grosskopff and Lombart. He later made his home in Canada.