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The thick masonry walls keep the house cool in summer and insulate it from the cold in winter. -
The view of the interior from the front doors. -
The garage sits at the back of the property and is linked with a glass walkway which looks onto the central courtyard. -
"I used sliding doors instead of stacker doors because I didn't want their vertical lines to block the view when in a closed position," says Erik. -
The living area opens up and extends onto a large covered veranda with the rim-flow pool just beyond. -
The kitchen, which sits at the front of the house, has a large window which provides an unobstructed view. "The window opens all the way leaving a 2,66 metre wide and 2,26 metre high space from the counter to the concrete soffit, with the window being able to slide away into the cavity," says Erik. -
For the clients, the kitchen serves as an integral part of their living space. "I connected the kitchen to the main living area and covered patio. The window which looks onto the patio opens and slides into the wall so that the clients can entertain or serve guests directly from the kitchen," explains Erik. -
The shiny exposed metal items on the solar panels were powder-coated black to help integrate them with the dark slate roof. -
Danie Steenkamp, a landscaper from DDS Projects, lined the courtyard with olive trees to help protect it from the wind. The bronze sculpture of the donkey is by Marco Olivier. -
The main bedroom has both lockable adjusted cavity shutters and cavity sliding doors. The clients can close shutters at night and leave the doors open to let in the cool mountain breeze. -
The touches of olive green and purple which run through the house closely mirror the verdant shades in the courtyard and the mountains beyond. -
A view of the rim-flow pool and Drakenstein Mountains across the Paarl valley.
WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Shaun van Wyngaardt, Cindy Pascoal Photography ARCHITECT Erik Grobler CONTRACTOR Energy Master Builders
Perched high up in the mountain above Paarl, this house offers sweeping panoramic views of the valley below.
“Standing in the courtyard, looking straight through the wide doors and over the rim-flow pool, you get a magnificent view of the Drakenstein Mountains at the other side of the valley,” says architect Erik Grobler. It’s this breathtaking view, the plot’s proximity to nature and the client’s love of natural materials which ultimately set the scene for Erik’s minimalistic design.
“The client wanted a house that was honest, sincere and incorporated natural materials like granite, oak, slate and concrete,” says Erik.
The house consists of three single-storey pitched-roof sections connected by a flat concrete roof. Wrapping around the north, east and west edges, the concrete tapers to a thin line and helps screen the house from the sun. “The house is defined by the concrete roof that extends beyond the outer walls. We wanted to keep the concrete line as thin as practically possible,” says Erik.
‘Space’ is a key element in the design of the house. “The decision to incorporate large-scale 3 by 8 metre doors and windows had a direct effect on the sense of spaciousness that runs throughout the design of the house. By increasing the scale of the windows and doors, we maximised the view over the valley below. If you’re standing in the courtyard looking out through the living area to the veranda, you can still see the very top of the mountain across the valley,” explains Erik.
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“The doors and windows continue up to the concrete soffit of the ceiling. This increases the sense of connection to exterior.”
To make the most of the view from this plot, the living area, kitchen and main bedroom were moved forward as much as possible. The other three bedrooms in the house all lie along the south boundary of the property and face the central Mediterranean-style courtyard which was designed by landscaper Danie Steenkamp from DDS Projects. Lined with olive trees and protected from the wind, the courtyard serves as an inner sanctum.
“Towards the end of the construction stage, the client had the idea to put a large granite block in the middle of the courtyard. It works quite well. The large granite block gives a visual gravity and strong definition to the courtyard and counterbalances the house surrounding it. The natural and slanted block contrast with the linear and rectangular controlled house and thus sets the courtyard apart with an own identity,” says Erik.
In the interior, the subtle homage to nature is evident through the choice of colour palette and soft furnishings.
“The clients spotted this particular green hue in a gallery in McGregor and they fell in love with it. The colour just seemed to resonate with the house,” Erik says of the kitchen. “They wanted a clean and soothing aesthetic that sits quietly but boldly”.
The touches of olive green and purple which run through the house closely mirror the verdant shades in the courtyard and the mountains beyond.
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