The brief: To restore the dilapidated Victorian historical façade to its original state and to transform the interior to reflect a modern duplex housing for a young couple. The building needed to work in concert with its existing heritage fabric and the environment, while the design celebrated the simple beauty of historical Victorian architecture and the interior is expressed in a minimalist, modern contemporary way. The design echoes the simple, clean lines, the openness, the site sensitive design, the strong connection to the landscape and the unadorned, neutral finishes that belie a rich combination of textures and materials.Situated on a narrow linear stand, the Eastern and Western sides of the house were intrinsically exposed. The new entrance foyer leads onto a beautiful floating staircase that connects the two wings and the levels of the house. Here the staircase forms the focal centrepiece.
The ground floor of the eastern wing houses the living area. It is an open plan space with glass sliding doors connecting it to the garden. Stack doors open up onto the patio on the western end, and allow it to be either separate from or part of the living space. The western wing’s ground floor area contains the master bedroom and on-suite bathroom. Upstairs the living room occupies the prime western position in the western wing with glimpses of the city scenery and a generous outdoor living space on the balcony with impressive views of Table Mountain. The marble top kitchen is situated on the eastern end of the east wing. One modification involved replacing the old sliding patio doors with stacking doors, making the transition from indoor to outdoor space even less noticeable. Windows were replaced with double glazing, and solar geysers and energy-efficient heating and lighting systems were introduced to lighten the energy consumption footprint.
Holloway & Hound
Justin Coetzee Consulting
Gino Bassi
01 August 2017
Heritage, Residential, Restoration