Architect Xavier Huyberechts weekend getaway on an ancient geological site reprises traditional building techniques using earth and stone to create a sleek, sustainable house that provides a glimpse of a possible future.
The vast volume and sliding doors, which dissappear into pockets in the walls, seamlessly connect the inside areas and those outside, making the dining area seem almost like a pavilion in nature.
In the large, open living space, on the far side of a double-sided fireplace, the dining area and kitchen flow into each other. “The dining table we designed and built ourselves,” says Xavier. He adds, however, that designing chairs is “an art in itself”, so he and Damien found secondhand chairs rather than attempting his own design, mixing two sets from around the 70s. They have all been reupholstered in the same fabric. All the cabinetry was made by a local joiner more used to working with melamine kitchen cabinets, but Xavier and Damien convinced him to build their cabinet using rough planks they spotted in his workshop. Friends of the Huyberechts family, Darryn and Kellé, prepare lunch at the kitchen island in some images. The vast volume and sliding doors, which slide away into pockets in the walls, seamlessly connect the inside areas and those outside, making the dining area seem almost like a pavilion in nature.
At the centre of the house is a sunken dome, lit only by a skylight.
At the centre of the house is a sunken dome, lit only by a skylight (which is flush with the grass roof). The dome has been built using earth bags filled with soil on site and stacked to create a dome. “It’s very fast, it’s economical and super-strong,” says Xavier. To the mud and straw plaster finish, he’s added a handmade Swedish paint, made with a mixture flour, water and a little bit of soil for colour. “It’s quite a nice place to siesta or for the kids to play or listen to music,” says Xavier.
The rich variety of textures, from the combination of timber, stone, granite, adobe and rammed earth, imparts a textural and sensory richness to the otherwise restrained and minimalistic arrangement of furnishings.
The master bedroom includes a study nook. The shower in the en-suite bathroom opens to the exterior. The rich variety of textures, from the combination of timber, stone, granite, adobe and rammed earth, imparts a textural and sensory richness to the otherwise restrained and minimalistic arrangement of furnishings. The artworks include a painting by Deborah Poynton, ‘Cottage and figure in valley’ as well as a charcoal and gold candy wraps work by Xavier Huyberechts, ‘Madonne’.
Photography — Elsa Young
Words — Graham Wood
Find out more at witklipfontein.co.za
