Rudolph Cornelius Edward (Rudi) Hamelberg was born in 1944 in Freetown, Sierra Leone and educated at St. Edward’s Secondary School, Freetown, from 1958-61, before studying at Christ the King College, in the city of Bo, from 1962-65. Between 1963 to 1966, he also gained work experience within the Buildings Maintenance Branch of the Sierra Leone Ministry of Works. He was then awarded a full bursary from the Sierra Leone Government to study at the Architectural Association, London, where he joined in September 1955, as a First Year student. After completing his AA Third Year in 1969, he undertook a year’s practical training at John Laing Construction in London, before returning to the AA for his final two years. As part of his final year studies at the AA, in 1971-72, Hamelberg elected to attend the Department of Development and Tropical Studies. By the course start date, the Department had moved from the AA to University College London, where it was re-established as the Development Planning Unit (DPU). It appears that Hamelberg was permitted to participate in the course at the DPU, which contributed to his award of an AA Diploma in 1973. Following graduation, Hamelberg is recorded as working for Markus, Nocka and Payett, in London, in 1973, but by the 1980s appears to have returned to Sierra Leone, where he is noted as being amongst the founding members of the Sierra Leone Institute of Architects (SLIA).

 Sources

• Architectural Association Student Register 1945-1972, AA Archives
• Architectural Association Student Records, Microfische, R.C.E. Hamelberg. AA Archives
• Sierra Leonne Institute of Architects. ‘ABOUT US – Sierra Leone Institute of Architects (SLIA)’. SLIA.SL. Accessed 24 November 2024. https://slia.sl/about-us/.