    the union buildings (afrikaans: die uniegebou) form the official seat of the south african government and also house the offices of the president of south africa. the imposing buildings are located in pretoria, atop meintjieskop at the northern end of arcadia, close to historic church square and the voortrekker monument. the large gardens of the buildings are nestled between government avenue, vermeulen street east, church street, the r104 and blackwood street. fairview avenue is a closed road where only officials can enter to the union buildings.union buildings â google maps though not in the center of pretoria the union buildings occupy the highest point of pretoria, and constitute a south african national heritage site. the buildings are one of the centres of political life in south africa; "the buildings" and "arcadia" have become metonyms for the south african government. it has become an iconic landmark of pretoria and south africa in general, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and an emblem of democracy. the buildings are the location of presidential inaugurations. ==architecture== thumb|the eastern wing of the union buildings represents the english population of south africa these buildings, built from light sandstone, were designed by the architect sir herbert baker{{cite web|url=http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/main.asp?include=about/presbuildings/office.htm|title=union building
Buildings_and_structures_in_Pretoria Executive_branch_of_the_South_African_government Government_buildings_completed_in_1913 Herbert_Baker_buildings