A bright and open family home is an ode to creativity and playfulness, but it has a strong element of responsibility underpinning all that vibrancy and innovation.
An open-plan space that takes in living, kitchen and dining area. The floors are simply cement screed and the ceilings raw concrete. The cylindrical feature houses the fireplace, and also plays a structural role in supporting the large uninterrupted ceiling.
In the lounge area, natural light from a slit-like skylight at the edge of the room washes the wall. The black brick wall illustrates use of repetition and variation throughout the house, creating dramatically different effects by varying grouting techniques and brick combinations.
An outside entertainment area off the living space includes some 70s influences such as the sunken lounge. The change in volume, emphasised by the circular skylight above, gives this area a very different spatial quality from the rest of the house, opening it to the sky even as it is sheltered from the sun and rain.
The kitchen area is not only beautiful, but highly functional. The granite kitchen island and the counter have a leathered finish, adding to the richness and tactile variety of the finishes throughout the house. The kitchen counter is black Zimbabwean granite.
A large window above the kitchen counter opens a portal that draws the eye all the way through the living area and the courtyard beyond to the bedroom wing opposite, and, most importantly, catches a glimpse of the trunk of the tree in the courtyard. From this perspective, the ‘outside’ flows right through the house, becoming a feature of the interior, the spirit of the site is uninterrupted.
The kitchen areas is not only beautiful, but highly functional.
The sunken lounge with its barbeque and pizza oven, creates a cosy nook and a significantly different spatial experience from the rest of the house. Departing from the linearity of the house is an arrangement of dynamic, asymmetrical steps. Behind the counter, a diagonally laid breezeblock pattern creates a ‘veil’, letting cool air circulate freely on hot summer’s days.
The wavy grass covering the rooftops makes it appear as if the ground as been ‘lifted’ above the footprint of the house, creating an almost subterranean quality in the interiors, and blending beautifully with the surrounding trees. It also doubles the size of the garden.
Connecting the two wings of the house is a stripped back minimalist glass box that acts as a kind of mental and emotional palate cleanser or decompression zone between the living and dormitory areas.
The master bedroom has a somewhat pared-back, neutral palette with a simple, sculptural, low-slung multi-functional bed unit and floor-to-ceiling built-in cupboards receding into the background, keeping the space serene and uncluttered.
The material palette is consistent, but never monotonous, lending the interiors a cohesiveness without allowing them to become uninteresting or overwhelming.
Architect – Gregory Katz | gregorykatz.co.za
Right page & below: In the bathrooms, the walls are tiled with vertical brick tiles in slightly different shades, exemplifying the notion of repetition and variation throughout the house. The material palette is consistent, but never monotonous, lending the interiors a cohesiveness without allowing them to become uninteresting or overwhelming. The bathrooms have been treated as ‘wet rooms’, there the bath and shower efficiently share a space.
Above right: In Jamie’s bedroom, a feature wall behind the bed has been clad in cork, adding a warmth and tactile dimension to the interior, and revealing fondness for the simple but expressive use of natural materials.
