A contemporary residence in South Africa with tropical style and texture that makes use of light, shade, materials and site responsive design, as crafted by Pretoria based Thomas Gouws Architects.
The house is situated on a golf course in a residential estate close to Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa. The brief called for a contemporary minimalist house that provided security and privacy, while exploiting the golf course views. The site is exposed to extremely windy conditions year-round and protected outdoor living areas were a necessity. A priced collection of antique Cape furniture and contemporary art also needed to be a displayed.
From the outside the house is a simple minimalist box with bold clean lines. Warm wood and stone textures links the building to the more conventional neighbouring houses. The house is based on a traditional H-plan shape. The two courtyards created by this layout are screened off and treated as outdoor extensions of the interior spaces. A central double volume living area forms the heart of the house, which opens up onto both courtyards and also connects the side wings with supporting services and bedrooms. The building responds to the climatic conditions of its setting.
On the northern side sliding screens can open or close to provide wind and sun control. This also provides various degrees of privacy from the golf course and act as a security screen. A pergola over the pool courtyard provides shading in summer, but let’s through the lower winter sun. An evaporative cooling system, solar geysers and a water under floor heating system provide the additional green and energy efficient heating / cooling for the house.
With the design of the Interior the clients’ extensive collection of art and antique cape furniture is combined with modern pieces and finishes. Bold accent colour is used throughout as link between old and new and gives a sense of fun and playfulness to the interior.
