HOMES SOUTH AFRICA

In perfect IN BRIEF
–

alignment
LOCATION Cape Town,
South Africa
TYPE OF PROPERTY
New-build townhouse
BEDROOMS 4
PROJECT STARTED
This striking new-build has been carefully positioned December 2013
PROJECT FINISHED
to make the best of a tricky sloping site December 2016
SIZE 788sqm
WORDS JULIET BENNING
PHOTOGR APHY GREG COX /BUREAUX

Compared to the lower

levels, the upper floors, The ceilings of the
with their cantilevered verandas are lined with
design, are less imposing concrete to give the
on the skyline and stone and mortar wall
against the backdrop an urban edge
of the mountain

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A
  HOMES SOUTH AFRICA

fter living in their 1940s-built home for

a couple of years, architect Jan-Heyn
Vorster and his partner realised that
their plans to redesign the property, which is on a clifftop
in a suburb of Cape Town, would involve too many
compromises. ‘The house was perched at the top of the
plot and there was a long, steep climb up from the garage
to the front door, which made it difficult when carrying
groceries inside in Cape Town’s wet winters,’ Jan-Heyn
recalls. ‘Also, we’re on the Atlantic seaboard and although
traditionally the houses face west for the views, that
orientation brings in very direct sunshine in the late
afternoons, which is too harsh for comfort.’
The couple decided to knock the house down and
design a new-build on a north-south axis, rather than
the original east-west one. They had their hearts set on
a four-storey home but were faced with certain constraints.
‘There were limitations on the property’s height, its
distance from the street and neighbouring houses,’ says
Jan-Heyn. The solution was to dig out a basement level
for a garage at the foot of the sloping site, an operation
that proved to be one of the project’s greatest challenges.
‘We had to be very particular about the retaining walls
and with the groundwater drainage,’ says Jan-Heyn.
‘Obtaining the necessary permissions to proceed with
the build was a lengthy six-month process.’
The construction took a further two years to complete F L O O R PL A N S
due in part to the large amount of concrete used. ‘There’s
a need to be very precise when casting off shutter concrete
as any mistakes are obvious, and you only have one shot at BALCONY POOL
getting it right,’ says Jan-Heyn. BATH-
ROOM BALCONY

LIVING ROOM

BEDROOM
WC LIFT
WC LIFT

VOID

DINING ROOM
KITCHEN
BEDROOM EN
VOID
LOUNGE SUITE

GARDEN
BATHROOM
WC BEDROOM

SECOND FLOOR THIRD FLOOR

GRASS
WORKSHOP BALCONY
BALCONY/ALCOVE The wall-mounted
sideboard in the dining
KITCHEN BEDROOM PLANT AND room is one of Malan
LIVING HEAT PUMP
GARAGE BATH- Vorster’s own designs
ROOM
WC WINE STORE ABOVE LEFT The laser-cut
CELLAR WC
LAUNDRY steel staircase was
designed to be as
LIFT LIFT transparent as possible,
to allow clear views
through the house,
ABOVE A path leads up from the street to the front door, which is on and into the garden
the second floor. The door is made of western red cedar timber BASEMENT FIRST FLOOR

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   HOMES SOUTH AFRICA

THIS IMAGE AND RIGHT

Bespoke cabinets
are oiled oak, with
worksurfaces of
bush-hammered granite.
The Shadows suspension
lamps are by Brokis and
animal paintings by
Hanneke Benade

‘Obtaining the
necessary permissions
to proceed with the
build was a lengthy
six-month process’

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  HOMES SOUTH AFRICA
From the street, the front of the house appears rather like
a giant staircase, with the lower concrete floors supported
by grey steels and, on one side, by a stone wall, while
timber cladding and screens add further character to
the property. The building opens up as it rises. At the
basement or street level, a slate wall hides the garage and
creates a solid supporting base for the house, while the
first floor takes the form of a white-painted concrete
frame inset with a run of windows covered by a sliding
exterior timber screen.
In contrast with the closed look of the two lower
storeys, the upper two levels are open and airy. There are a
pair of concrete-ceilinged verandas, one on top of the other
at the front of the house, and large balconies overlooking
the garden at the back, with its swimming pool and deck
overlooking the sea. ‘Higher up, the contrast between solid
and void is more apparent, to make the house appear less
imposing against the skyline and the backdrop of Lion’s
Head mountain,’ Jan-Heyn explains. ‘At the back of the
60 SEPTEMBER 2019 /  MAGAZINE.COM
LEFT Wall-mounted BELOW The oiled oak built-in
cabinets in the cupboards are a bespoke
main bathroom design and were made
provide an elegant by custom furniture-maker
storage solution and Versfeld. The floor is lined with
saves floor space pre-finished brushed oak
house, we’ve planted the balconies with wild rosemary,
which will creep over the edges and soften them.’
Below, the garden and its abundant planting add to
the effect of a home more at one with nature than many
of its neighbours. ‘Lots of the homes on this seaboard
are apartment buildings that don’t have greenery, and we
wanted the opposite. The house had to feel as though it
had been placed in a garden,’ says Jan-Heyn.
The couple’s green vision also extends to their home’s
power supply, using an efficient E3 Energy heating system
for the domestic water, underfloor heating and the pool.
There is also a GreenSun photovoltaic system. ‘We wanted
the house to be as self-efficient as possible,’ says Jan-Heyn.
Looking at the their home now, he and his partner are
In the main bedroom,
delighted with the way it has settled into its surroundings. the oiled oak bed was
‘The maturing planting makes the building look much designed by Malan
softer and as the stone, timber and concrete develop Vorster and made by
Versfeld. The artwork
a patina, we hope it will age gracefully and become more above the bed is by
integrated with its natural surroundings.’ Lyndi Sales
   HOMES SOUTH AFRICA

In contrast with the

closed look of the two
lower storeys, the
upper two levels are
open and airy

Wherever possible,
timber or concrete
has been used for the
walls to avoid the need The outdoor kitchen is
for render or paint. a Malan Vorster design;
The panelling is oak the furniture is from
B&B Italia’s Gio range

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  HOMES SOUTH AFRICA
PROJECT TEAM
Architect Malan Vorster Architecture Interior Design
(malanvorster.co.za)
Structural engineering
Robert Hart Design Tech (+27 21 794 0655)
Quantity surveyor Shevel & Simpson (+27 21 465 8585)
Builder Berrisford Construction (berrisfordconstruction.com)
STRUCTURE
Corten external kitchen frame and specialist metalwork
Link Engineering (linkengineering.biz)
Windows Aluplan Architectural Aluminium (aluplan.co.za)
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S U PPL I E R S
–
Swimming pool Pool Designs (pooldesigns.co.za)
Photovoltaic and heating systems
E3 Energy (e3energygroup.com)
Solar equipment supplier GreenSun (greensun.solar)
Garden design Mary Maurel Gardens
(marymaurelgardens.co.za)
FIXTURES & FITTINGS
Timber flooring Hakwood (hakwood.com)
Shower mixers and taps Vola (vola.com)
Miniwash undermount basins Flaminia (ceramicaflaminia.it)
Bathroom supplier Still Bathroom Gallery (stillbathrooms.co.za)
Durable Brazilian
walnut wood has been
used for the decking
area next to the pool.
The L-shaped rim-flow
pool appears to
connect to the ocean
Beaune range cooker Lacanche (lacanche.com)
Shadows suspension lamps Brokis (brokis.cz)
FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES
Kitchen cupboards Valcucine (valcucine.com)
Built-in furniture Versfeld (customfurniture.co.za)
Gio outdoor furniture B&B Italia (bebitalia.com)
Oak dining table Pierre Cronje (pierrecronje.co.za)
Sofas and armchair Roche Bobois (roche-bobois.com)
Bamboo silk rug The Rug Company (therugcompany.com)
Art Hanneke Benade (hannekebenade.com);
Lyndi Sales (lyndisales.com)