INTRODUCTION

Credited with making a significant contribution to the evolution of the modernist house, this building never loses contact with the expansive views of the man-made landscape of Johannesburg and the Magaliesburg beyond. As one drives past the squat, mushroom shaped columns supporting the water body of the swimming pool above, one is constantly aware of the interconnection of landscape and built form.



RATIONALE

The experience of walking up the narrow ramp animated by the electrically operated vertically sliding core-ten steel gate and the glass door behind it, is one of spatial squeeze as the expansive landscape disappears and we only have the giant stone walls on either side inviting us to touch them. The ramp transforms into a double volume colonnade serving as an anteroom to the living room. The sculptural and beautifully executed columns, frame the view to the living room, the terrace, the swimming pool and the panorama beyond. The living room floor, the terrace and the swimming pool beyond are all nearly on the same plane. The open space framed by these architectural elements resembles a courtyard that allows the surrounding landscape to be the primary focus.



COMPLETION DATE

2002