stonehouse, pretoria
We were commissioned to design a home for a young family with two adventurous boys. The clients bought a hectare stand in a rural estate with koppie and magnificent view over the landscape to the east of Pretoria. They wanted a home where all of this could become part of their lives. The design consists of a series of over scaled, red, 'ysterklip'; walls reminiscent of the dry-packed kraal walls in and around Pretoria. These stone walls, housing all the services, were staggered and positioned in such a way to create sheltered spaces between them, privacy from the neighbours on the sides and their main function; to concentrate and frame the important east and the west views. All the stone were collected from the site. Carefully placed roof lights allows north light to wash into the house against the stone walls, compensating for the east/west orientation of the site.
