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Looking at the house from the front garden, the living area is framed on the one side by a bedroom clad with weathering steel that’s been allowed to rust naturally, and on the other side by the rammed-earth wall. -
The large open-plan living area is roughly divided into a lounge, dining area and kitchen. The lounge, with its pale terrazzo tiles and plywood ceiling, invites in vast views of the grasslands and Magaliesberg in the distance. Gillian designed and made the cabinets – like she did all the other joinery in the house. Ivan contributed a number of designs, including the firewood rack and an avant-garde jungle gym for Noah. The furnishings include a selection of pieces by South African designers, such as the sofa with its overlapping, deconstructed approach to upholstery by Casamento. -
Gillian designed the teak kitchen cabinetry, with handles made out of recycled window frames, as well as the rosewood dining table. The tub chairs are by Vogel Design and the chandelier by Mud Studio. -
The rammed-earth wall runs from the entrance all the way through the house. -
Courtyards and walkways with lush vegetation create a sense of the house being part of the landscape. “You see birds right outside your window while you work,” says Gillian. -
The drinks trolley is by Pedersen + Lennard, and the vertical garden planted with herbs is by Urbio, Inc. -
A cantilevered concrete canopy provides shelter as you approach the front door along a path and a bridge over a koi pond. -
The main en-suite bathroom. -
The main en-suite bathroom, between the bedroom and the dressing room, features a freestanding bath that is positioned so it affords views as well as privacy. The cool palette of glass tiles and pale terrazzo is refined and calming, whereas details such as the steel I-beams pick up on the industrial elements in the architecture of the house. Gillian designed and made the vanity. -
Lanseria Estate Home -
Lanseria Estate Home -
The ostrich-egg pendant lamp in the master bedroom is by lighting designer Enzo Manna. Artist Adele Adendorff painted the oil-on-canvas portrait of Ivan and Gillian. -
The bunk bed in Noah’s room, which Gillian designed, is inspired by tree trunks and a forest setting. The desk and chair are by Pedersen + Lennard. -
The rammed-earth wall runs from the entrance all the way through the house. -
The pool pavilion, which reprises the architectural theme of steel beams and floating concrete slabs, provides a space for Gillian and Ivan to entertain outdoors. The plant-filtered pool is chemical-free and fosters a thriving ecosystem of fish, frogs and water- birds... and Cody the springer spaniel has fresh water to drink. Gillian says she promised Noah, who was about four at the time, that she’d get him two small fish for the pool once it was done. “We got the fish, and they flourished. Eventually we took off the net so nature could take care of them.” The waterbirds have helped to restore a natural balance.
PHOTOS Greg Cox/Bureaux WORDS Graham Wood
A contemporary house with views of the Magaliesberg and Rhenosterspruit Nature Conservancy offers an upbeat take on eco-conscious living.
When architect Gillian Holl set about designing a house for the generous piece of paradise she shares with her husband Ivan, an engineer, and son Noah, one of her first considerations was to create a space that did not simply blend in with the surrounding grasslands and Magaliesberg foothills, but was actually knitted into the landscape.
To this end, the Holls excavated to allow the steel-framed building with floating concrete slabs and swathes of glass to settle unobtrusively on the riverside terrain. But estate regulations required all excavated earth remain on-site – and even after creating the grassy berms that hug the garden, there was still plenty left over. The solution? A central rammed-earth wall that forms an axis from the entrance all the way through the airy house.
That is coupled with well-proportioned courtyards and walkways that create exterior rooms, making for harmonious indoor-outdoor living. And ample opportunity for the family to enjoy exceptional views of the setting sun.
Visit veldarchitects.co.za to see more of Gillian and her team’s projects.
Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at another eco-friendly home in Lanseria.
