Vanderbijlpark — Vanderbijlpark Map Poster & Print

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Vanderbijlpark Map Poster & Print

Vanderbijlpark was designed in the 1940s as a new town for the workers of a large state steelworks, and it still reads that way from above. Residential suburbs curl around crescents and cul-de-sacs, and green strips run between the neighbourhoods. The industrial complex sits apart from the housing as a block of long rectangular sheds and rail sidings. It is one of the clearest examples of mid-century town planning in South Africa.

The Vaal River forms the boundary with the Free State to the south. It bends through wide meanders lined with riverside plots, resorts and boat clubs. On a monochrome print the river becomes the strongest line on the sheet, a soft dark curve against the tight pattern of streets. The town takes its name from Hendrik van der Bijl, the engineer behind South Africa's early electricity and steel industries.

Together with Vereeniging and Sasolburg, the town forms the Vaal Triangle, an industrial region south of Johannesburg. A Vanderbijlpark map poster frames the planned core, the river frontage and the edges where suburbs give way to open veld. A wider frame brings in more of the river's bends, while a tighter crop brings out the looping geometry of the residential streets.