Site Location & Orientation

The site is located in a peaceful residential estate called Helderfontein, in the fast-paced hustle and bustle of Fourways in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs. The house faces directly north along its longest side and gestures to the north and east to capture the best daylight and surrounding shallow mountain views. 

Situated on the corner of the residential block, the design provides for openness to its eastern and northern sides whilst turning its back on its only two neighbours to the south and west. With close direct access to a green belt situated across the road, the house is well positioned to enjoy a tranquil park with its many small lakes that filter down, joining into the Jukskei river. 

Linear Form & Minimal Aesthetic

The linear form of the house makes the best use of its long northern exposure. This creates a minimal sleek aesthetic and an overall lightness also achieved through the use of delicate, thin structural concrete and steel elements.

Outdoor Living & Connection to Nature

The house enjoys vast outdoor covered entertainment areas that frame diagonal views of the green belt and L-shaped private garden surrounding it. The inside and outside spaces merge on opening large multi-track sliding doors that divide the open-plan kitchen, dining lounge from the covered terrace. The use of a folded concrete overhang wrapping around the eastern and northern facades create a strong unifying architectural element that defines the aesthetic of the house and acts as an essential means of controlling the sun. The low-lying proportion of the folded concrete form set the scale for the rest of the house to follow.

Bedroom Layout & Mezzanines

The bedrooms float effortlessly above the covered entertainment area allowing the kitchen, dining and lounge running parallel to the terrace to enjoy a single storey mono pitched roof. Lounge and dining rooms are subtly separated via the use of a double sided slow combustion fireplace to heat and to be enjoyed on both sides. A long axial circulation space runs through the length of the building allowing views right through the house on both ends. The space created under the mono pitch in the children’s symmetrically designed bedrooms is utilised by small mezzanine spaces to act as play areas or extra sleeping accommodation. The mezzanines face each other across a flat roofed shared bathroom for both rooms to enjoy. Both bedrooms enjoy north facing garden views from their respective covered Juliet balconies. The main bedroom is located on the North – East corner providing for panoramic views over the surrounding mountains. A large east facing triangular window that site below the angled roof plane celebrates sun-rise and provides sky views throughout the day. The main en-suite bathroom celebrates a free standing bath by cantilevering it over the edge of the building and framing it around a frame-less glass corner towards the mountain views.

Studio Space

A studio is strategically located above the garages facing the open driveway with separate access  from the street. This positions the studio within the public domain and helps separate work space from private spaces. The studio achieves an industrial working loft charisma conducive to creative thinking by making use of vast vertical space and useful mezzanine spaces. This is also achieved through the selective use of contrasting industrial finishes such as exposed concrete, exposed brick, plywood and steel. 

Voluminous Spaces & Human Scale

The mono pitched roofs that encompass most of the house create voluminous open spaces making rooms feel larger than reality. The vertical scale of the spaces are kept at a human scale using lower horizontal defining elements such as flat concrete slabs and suspended bulkheads where more intimacy is required such as the balconies, passageways, bathrooms, sleeping areas etc…

Lighting & Roof Design

The exposed laminated rafters and the white tongue and groove ceilings creates a light airy roof plane helping reflect light down into the spaces below.  Hanging light fittings were chosen over autonomous downlights due to their ability to fill space and create unique identifiable spaces for each of the rooms in the house.

Entrance & Lobby

The minimal entrance is defined by a floating entrance canopy growing out from the underside of the covered entrance porch. This light weight steel frame with timber pergola beams within it help constrict the space below and help channel the visitor into the house as well as dapple the harsh northern sun.

The entrance lobby is modelled on a New York style apartment foyer that celebrates the act of entering through the use of an open reception with a focal point at its centre. The entrance lobby is a multi-functional space as well as an entrance lobby. The entrance lobby frames the floating steel and concrete staircase located on axis with the main entrance. The sculptural staircase acts as the lobby’s focal point. The transparent glass wall behind the staircase frames a small outside winter courtyard to be intricately landscaped to bring nature into the house.

Private TV Room

A private TV room is located just off the entrance lobby with corner windows framing a private courtyard on the western corner of the property.