award winning house design

This award-winning house design is situated in the Clifton Bungalow area. Clifton 475 House challenges the intricate Clifton Beach site constraints. Using the site as a basis, the design is not defined by its environment, but instead is the best possible response to it.

It is both highly visible and private, being one of the few sites in the bungalow area to have a large garden. There are particular privacy and view patterns for each room. The heights and positioning of windows are set to frame views precisely and to exclude the ever-present public traffic to and from the beach.

Within these constraints, it was sought to create a sculptural contemporary building sensitive to its context but free from style imitation. The pre-determined envelope set out a double-storey rear and single-storey sea/garden front. The Great South African Stoep is celebrated onto the glorious garden – a jewel in this context. Central to the planning was a north courtyard. This and the kitchen are the heart of the home. The courtyard creates a diversity of views and outdoor living connections and experiences. It floods the home with light, warmth and views.

The rooms meander and the spaces wander. The spaces are linked, and there is no overriding “diagram” or “conceptual framework”. The relationships between the building components are collected, derived and meshed together to form their own language. They have felt relationships.

In Print features: House and Leisure May 2010 Digest of South African Architecture 2007 / 2008 Elle Decoration Country 2014

Awards: Cape Institute of Architecture Award 2007 | Photography: Rob Mills

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