Architecture firm SAOTA just sent us these images of the impressive Glen 2961 House, located in Higgovale, Cape Town. The clients who owned and lived in an existing house on the property for nine years – needed to rebuild the house in order to suit the demands of their family with 3 teenage kids.
SAOTA commenced the design process by analysing preliminary massing designs to confirm the principal objectives which sought to screen the heart of the home from the South Easterly, create large semi-enclosed gardens which allow the 2 lower levels of the house to seamlessly connect to garden and terraces at all times, whilst enjoying high levels of natural light and an abundance of views. The success of the integrated approach to the garden relies on two factors. Firstly, the client had successfully raised a lower portion of their garden – in which the pool and a small garden gazebo are located, which helped to establish the lower level of the garden and the West facing courtyard garden – into which the kitchen faces, rely on new trees on the boundary to screen the adjacent development. Once the garden establishes, the success of the integration of house and garden will be more pronounced.
In terms of the clients objectives to have a casual feel to the interiors, SAOTA relied on robust uncluttered finishes of off-shutter concrete for soffits and various walls, painted bagged brickwork, specialized polished concrete topping and oak cabinetry and ceilings. This mix – whilst not unique – complements family living well. To amplify the sense of openness of the rooms and the gardens, the living rooms have large openings of sliding aluminium doors – this openness is further enhanced by glass handrails to successfully blur the boundaries of interior and exterior
Photographs by Adam Letch
images: courtesy of SAOTA
