This minimalist pavilion set in the landscape of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site is a modernist-inspired yet uniquely African ‘glass box’ structure with a rich and complex local resonance.
Words — Graham Wood | Photography — Greg Cox
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The utter simplicity of brothers Lee and Wesley De Wit’s family’s modernist-inspired pavilion in The Cradle of Humankind is deceptive. Not only does it attain a complex and delicate aesthetic balance between its levels and volumes, but it also continues a dialogue with the landscape that does justice to its setting of mankind’s earliest origins.
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The lower stairs of the pavilion are reminiscent of Mies van der Rohe’s famous Farnsworth House, at times making the pavilion seem as if it is floating despite its being rooted to the ground by a base of locally quarried rock. Together with the staircase leading to the roof and the horizontal pattern of the interior shelves, they create an interesting visual interaction between the different levels of the site. The glass doors of the pavilion slide away, opening the interior to the elements and making it possible to see right through the pavilion so that it frames its surroundings rather than disrupting them.
The deck that runs along the front of the pavilion not only aesthetically unites the tower and pavilions, almost like a shadow of the tower, but also includes a built-in seating area.
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The second pavilion has been dubbed the ‘fire house’. Its darker, sheltering, enclosed interior space and fireplace hint at the caves early hominids living in the area might have inhabited, and create a counterpoint to the lightness of the main pavilion. The walls have been drip painted by Wesley’s wife, German artist Tatjana Doll, using Plascon enamels.
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The interior of the ‘fire house’ has been painted by Tatjana Doll, using mud from the farm mixed with bonding liquid. This represents the building continuing to respond to its natural setting, accommodating another layer of interaction with its environment. The lighting of the ‘fire house’ is cleverly controlled, filtering from the side and above, conjuring a subterranean, cavelike atmosphere. The artwork above the fireplace is by Stefanus Rademeyer, who is well known for exploring nature’s underlying mathematical patterns and recreating them with algorithms that represent nature’s deep, hidden logic and structures.
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The dim interior of the ‘fire house’ can be opened to its surrounds by retracting a sliding door.
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The pavilion is in many ways an experiment in excluding traditional household paraphernalia, creating a minimalist lifestyle to match its ‘ less is more’ aesthetic.
Lee designed the built-in units inside the pavilion, including the shelf and kitchen island, so that additional furnishings would be all but unnecessary. The pavilion is in many ways an experiment in excluding traditional household paraphernalia, creating a minimalist lifestyle to match its ‘less is more’ aesthetic.
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The WC is secreted below the stairs that lead to the roof, and is the only enclosed interior space in the pavilion. The bath area is located between the living and sleeping quarters, doing away with the traditional idea of a bathroom. The bath is sunken into the floor, which creates a feeling of being submerged. The bath makes one of the best vantage points from which to enjoy the views from the pavilion.
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The sleeping area can be enclosed with a curtain on an oval ceiling rail. The pavilion’s interior divisions are suggested rather than delineated with physical structures. The bed and shelving unit in the sleeping area were also designed by Lee.
The outdoor shower is a luxury that creates an opportunity to engage with the surroundings with a sense of challenge and luxury fitting hand in hand.
