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From the finishes and furniture to artworks such as Jonah Sack’s Monsoon, the interior of Invermark is characterised by a tranquil, monochromatic palette. -
The four-metre overhang of the cantilevered concrete slabs affords the homeowners total privacy from passers-by. -
The open-plan living area overlooks an infinity pool that seemingly spills over into the sea and city view. -
The living area is furnished with several OKHA originals, including the Repose sofa, Tectra coffee table and Miles armchairs. -
Materiality is a hallmark of the interiors, evident in the combination of off-shutter concrete walls and marble island in the kitchen. -
The city view becomes part of the interior thanks to floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that blur the line between inside and out. -
The city view becomes part of the interior thanks to floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that blur the line between inside and out. -
A work-from-home space features a bespoke table and chairs by Adam and an Arrangements chandelier by Michael Anastassiades for Flos, as well as a view of the garden mural by graffiti artist Nardstar* -
Featuring Pierre Vermeulen’s Sweat Print Nr. 23 above the fireplace, the main bedroom occupies the entire top floor of Invermark, and is characterised by luxurious textures, from silk bedding and velvety throws to timber flooring and leather. Enshrouded by a canopy of trees, the room still boasts expansive views from the wraparound deck. -
Featuring Pierre Vermeulen’s Sweat Print Nr. 23 above the fireplace, the main bedroom occupies the entire top floor of Invermark, and is characterised by luxurious textures, from silk bedding and velvety throws to timber flooring and leather. Enshrouded by a canopy of trees, the room still boasts expansive views from the wraparound deck. -
Yet another material element in the home is the main bedroom’s articulated walnut wall cladding, serving here as a backdrop to a 1412 side table by OKHA. -
The north-facing bedrooms are protected from glare by timber screen facades that open to create a bay-window effect. -
An elevated bridge spans a protected stream, flowing from the main bedroom to a secluded private outdoor space. -
An en suite bathroom in moody marble, complemented by a Teardrop seat and a faceted Stump stool by sculptor Adam Birch, illustrates the interplay of dark and light that’s evident throughout the interior.
WORDS Annette Klinger PHOTOS Niel Vosloo
Perched on a coveted plot of land against Table Mountain, Invermark carries the architectural DNA of Pierre Koenig’s Modernist Stahl House – and is just as immediately iconic.
Invermark is the type of residence that makes its presence known to passers-by. Situated in the Cape Town suburb of Higgovale, its facade is distinguished by a pair of parallel cantilevered concrete planes jutting out authoritatively from the undulating skirt of Table Mountain. Seen from the road, the home’s wraparound floor-to-ceiling glazing disappears from view thanks to the floor and roof slabs’ four-metre overhang – a function that allows the owners complete privacy and a view that need not ever be interrupted by blind or curtain.
Architecture nerds will no doubt see the influence of Pierre Koenig’s Stahl House, a Los Angeles landmark and a seminal building in the Modernist canon, which protrudes similarly from the Hollywood Hills over the cityscape below. Like Stahl House, Invermark is inherently site-specific, characterised as much by its functional, minimalist design as by the panoramic views that unfold around it. Unlike the original, however, Invermark is the reincarnated version of an existing residence that its new owners felt didn’t make the most of its lofty perch.
Award-winning firm Kritzinger Architects was brought on board to design a contemporary three-bedroomed house that would maximise the property’s views while preserving as much of the indigenous landscape as possible. In practice, this entailed demolishing most of the original residence (except the double garage), and craning in large granite boulders that echoed the site’s existing ones to serve as a plinth for the new structure. Invermark 2.0 comprises three levels, with the double garage and gym on the lower ground, an open-plan kitchen/living area and two guest bedrooms above it, and a sprawling en-suite main bedroom on top.
“We aimed to create a lightness and openness similar to what Koenig achieved, but with more grounded and earthy materials such as off-shutter concrete, stone and blackened timber,” says architect Jed Kritzinger.“ The cantilevered roof and floor slabs were designed to appear as thin as possible around the edges in order to achieve a real sense of lightness, while at the same time offering solar protection to the fully glazed facades.”
Complementing the architecture is a markedly monochromatic interior by OKHA director and furniture designer Adam Court, who deployed differentiating tones, textures and geometric lines in lieu of a defined colour palette. “The intention was to create a space of serenity and calm,” he says. “I wanted minimal distractions, and quiet, subtle details that take time to register. Take away colour, and you allow natural light to shade and shape a space more effectively. In neutral, monochromatic tones, form and texture are allowed to communicate.”
Extrapolating from the materiality of concrete, timber and stone are several bespoke pieces of furniture that Adam designed for the house, handcrafted in materials that range from marble and mild steel to leather. “The architecture of Invermark is powerful, clear and overtly masculine,” he says. “I wanted to work with and also temper that; to introduce some sensuality with curves and organic forms.” One of the most eloquent expressions of this vision is Adam’s Proxima dining table, its wire-brushed carbon ash-wood base simultaneously rough-hewn and streamlined, and its leathered black pearl marble top a juxtaposition of seemingly haphazard shapes contained within a perfect circle.
The art collection, featuring works by big hitters such as Cameron Platter, Sanell Aggenbach and Paul Edmunds, was also carefully curated. Adam roped in contemporary Cape Town galleries Whatiftheworld and Southern Guild to source pieces that would be in keeping with the interior’s reduced palette, but boldly expressive nonetheless. “Before we came on board, the clients commissioned an outside mural by Nardstar*, which is brilliantly unexpected,” says Adam. “To me, it illustrated their willingness to go out on a limb and do something very different and personal.”
Ultimately, the main cast member in the visual production that is Invermark is the city view – a constant yet constantly shifting presence, seeing the house’s spirit renew itself with each sunrise. | kritzingerarchitects.com
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