The project is a new Blower House Complex on the Athlone Wastewater Treatment Works just outside Cape Town. On Ground floor the complex consists of a large blower room with its Motor Control Centre (MCC room) and air plenums, a MCC for the future upgrade’s reactors, locker rooms for the ground staff, a laundry room, and stores. The nature of the first floor is more clerical and includes the control room, SCADA station, offices, boardroom, laboratory, and staff amenities. Connected at an angle to the blower house is the new electrical building which houses four large diesel generators and their associated plant to run the whole plant in case of a power outage.
Clifton Terraces apartments on Victoria Road, Cape Town, designed by SAOTA, makes a striking but sensitively integrated architectural statement in the area’s distinctive cliffside setting.
The development recedes from the street in a series of stepped, articulated terraces that follow the site’s natural contours, boasting panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and local landmarks such as Table Mountain and Clifton’s series of sheltered beaches.
SAOTA Project Team: Philip Olmesdahl, Mark Bullivant, Edward Peinke, Jo Nel, Christian Liebenberg, Melissa de Freitas, Peter Harel & Lichumile Monakali
Wilde Sering explores the South African tradition of living life on the front ‘stoep’ offering a bushveld hideaway that figuratively grows out of its surroundings by imitating the free flowing branches of the numerous Wilde Sering (Burkea Africana), Boekenhout (Cape Beech) Lekkerbreek (Ochna Pulchra) surrounding the home. A walk through the house feels like a walk on a bushveld path, with each room becoming a place to stop and appreciate nature. The front ‘stoep’ & living areas runs the length of the house, with rooms spilling off it. Some external cladding elements are allowed to weather and rust, imitating the natural hues and colours of the bushveld. A rusted steel door constructed from an old railway carriage slides open to reveal the main living area. This home purposely confuses the traditional boundaries between a home and its surroundings.
A creative collaboration between London-based architects Steyn Studio and Square One Landscape Architects’ South African office has resulted in the effortless fusion between architecture and landscape, with gardens that wrap over new buildings, which in turn are woven back into the landscape with intricate trellis structures. It’s a subtle celebration of the Breedekloof Valley in South Africa’s Western Cape region’s rich cultural history, and draws its inspiration from the San who first inhabited the valley and who were later joined by early Dutch settlers.
The client’s brief called for the new development, which included gardens, a small restaurant/café called ‘Die Spens’ (The Pantry) and gift shop (‘Winkel’), on the Bosjes Estate to be relevant and contextual, providing an inviting and inspiring journey between the two key attractions on the estate: the well-known Bosjes chapel and the manor house, whilst not interfering with the visual dialogue between the two.
Tinderwood is located on a gentle hilltop that overlooks the Indian Ocean, in Zimbali Coastal forest Estate, Ballito, South Africa.
An existing home faced the possibility of demolition to make way for a more contemporary interpretation of the governing design guidelines of the estate. A thorough investigation of the original design revealed a strong platform for the end goal, as such the decision was made to retain, yet strip down the existing structure to the point of completely reimagining what was possible on the site.
Summerveld is located within the lush rolling hills of Shongweni, situated half an hour inland from the port city of Durban, South Africa.
This tight knit horse racing and show jumping community is home to the Oban Estate, a contemporary residence and equestrian facility named after the Scottish seaside town from where the owner’s family originates.
The point of entry to this 4 hectare (430000 ft²) site involves driving through a raw concrete and corten gatehouse and along a curved, tree lined avenue. This provides an opportunity to catch obscured rhythmic glimpses of the home through evenly spaced Plane trees. Emerging from this leafy tunnel of dappled light, and passing under a low slung cantilevered canopy that opens up into an expansive parking court, signals the arrival at the private residence.
The official name we gave this project is Two-Close-Between, the name is derived from the actual constraints of the site’s surroundings along with the functionality of the building.
The drivers for this project were problem solving privacy aspects whilst preserving views. This is a dual living home built on a small 450m2 site, snug between two existing properties. The main objective was to retain the views of the ocean whilst maximizing privacy between the dual living and also from the surrounding homes, which are situated around all four sides of the site.
35 Lower Long, an elegant 86-metre glass-clad office tower, has recently been completed which will invigorate Cape Town’s emerging financial and hospitality district. The building, developed by Abland Property Developers and designed by dhk Architects, is characterised by a singular sculpted massing which is transformed via dynamic glazed planes that extend seamlessly over the office and parking levels. The two main corners of the building are chamfered towards the roofline and soar upwards, forming a striking wing-like effect – resulting in a distinctive, non-orthogonal addition to Cape Town’s skyline.
Victoria residence is set in the Waterfall Country Estate, on a site overlooking the waterfall development and a lush wetland.
The Residence occupies the width of its constrained site to maximize on becoming a receptacle for the views and expanse of nature to the north. The residence was conceived and developed as a monolithic stone remnant, which was sliced and excavated to reveal a softer and comforting interior. The exterior is rugged and purposefully reduced to two or three materials. In doing so, the transition to the interior enhances the crossover experience.
32 on Kloof, a heritage building situated along popular Kloof Street in Cape Town, has undergone a metamorphosis. Originally constructed in 1922 by prominent architecture firm Parker & Forsyth for the United Tobacco Companies Limited (UTC), the building once housed the company’s administration department. Transformed by multidisciplinary design studio, dhk Architects, 32 on Kloof’s rich history has been respected via a contemporary aesthetic that references, rather than replicates, its existing heritage.
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