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In the entrance hall, the staircase creates a dramatic, sculptural curve and a change in volume. The Hawker bench is by Tonic Design. The artworks are by Nelson Makamo – “My first serious purchase when he was still at August House, before he became a global phenomenon,” says homeowner Nothando Ndebele – and Teresa Kutala Firmino. -
Perched on Parkview ridge, the home is the cherry on the top of a once-forgotten stone-terraced garden, which has been reinvigorated by Tim Steyn Landscaping. -
The curved window of the “Vanity Bar”. -
A “clipped on” glass box at the back extends the kitchen and allows views right through the house. -
View of the pool from the slim pavilion that extends from the house. -
The view back towards the house from the cantilevered rimflow pool shows the distinctive original design of irregular cubes and blocks. -
The new balcony with the planter from above and spectacular views of Joburg’s urban forest. -
A sculptural cast-concrete planter and skylight hovers above the covered outdoor seating area. -
The contemporary glass box at the back of the house draws light into the interior and opens views onto the garden. The artwork is by Phumzile Buthelezi, a local artist Nothando met at Ellis House. -
Architect Vedhant Maharaj calls this the “Frida Kahlo” kitchen because of its vivid blue colour and relationship to the courtyard. -
In the pyjama lounge upstairs, the artwork is by Zimbabwean-born artist Thamba Tabvuma. -
The “Vanity Bar” – decorated with covers of Vanity Fair magazine featuring strong and inspirational women – is all about the scalloped concrete bar with marble top, juxtaposed against velvety Art Deco furnishings. The rugs are from the Masterpiece collection by Hertex. -
Beautifully restored vintage furniture and an artwork by Lindani Nyandeni adorn the guest bedroom. -
The corner windows in the master bathroom – painstakingly designed by Rebel Base Collective – stack open completely. -
An artwork in the living room by Solomon Omogboye, a Nigerian- born artist resident at August House. -
The upstairs linen cupboard. -
The Art Deco-inflected staircase is Vedhant’s favourite feature of the house. The original parquet floors have been stained dark, to dramatic effect. The artwork is by Thokozani Madonsela. -
Vedhant added a circular skylight to the top of the stairwell, which naturally lights the beautiful original staircase and emphasises the cathedral-like volume. The artwork is by Mbongeni Fakudze, another August House resident. -
Nothando and Vedhant on the landing at the op of the stairs. The artwork is by Nelson Makamo. -
The master bedroom opens onto a private study with a daybed, and a generous dressing room/walk-in closet with an arched window that overlooks the roof garden. -
Parkview House
WORDS Graham Wood PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes PHOTOS Dook
A forgotten gem – and a secret garden – were uncovered and celebrated in this curvaceous Parkview house alteration that pays homage to its hidden architectural roots.
“I think the sunset sold it,” says architect Vedhant Maharaj. The outlook from this house on the crest of the Parkview ridge stretches across 270 degrees of the city’s urban forest – and the sunsets are spectacular. The character of this unexpected Modernist gem was buried beneath various additions and alterations, not least a steel mono-pitched roof that had been plonked on top. “But it had good bones. You could see that,” says Vedhant, who founded Rebel Base Collective, the multidisciplinary architecture and design studio, in 2017. A little investigation revealed the home had been designed in 1935 by a firm called Small and Schaerer, who created several well-known Joburg buildings, including Central Fire Station. By the 1930s, they were known for “an eclectic Modernistic style, with balconies jutting out at irregular spacings” as one account on architectural heritage database Artefacts describes it. It also mentions that their designs “tend towards the picturesque” – an approach that emphasises not just formal beauty but also a sense of the sublime.
Now owned by Nothando Ndebele, this Parkview home fits that description pretty well. With the tacked- on additions cleared away, a double-storey Modernist house emerged with, as Vedhant describes it, “little pull-out balconies and cubes and blocks”. Inside, many of the original features remained intact, from the wooden floors to the sweeping, Art Deco-inflected staircase and balustrade. Vedhant and Nothando both refer to the soaring interior as having something of the “church” or “cathedral” about it.
Even more of a surprise: buried beneath the overgrown vegetation below the house was the skeleton of a long-lost garden that dated back significantly further than the house. Extensive terraces and stone retaining walls with built-in benches, stone paths, columns and even a viewpoint of sorts – a gazebo with a breathtaking outlook – were uncovered as renovations began. It has subsequently been beautifully landscaped by Tim Steyn, creating a magical park-like setting for the sleek home above it.
With the house stripped back to its core, Vedhant could figure out its proportions and understand its essence. His idea was to offset the old and the new rather than try to blend them seamlessly. He saw the additions as “contemporary clip-ons” that would emphasise the views and create outdoor living and entertainment spaces around the edges of the original structure. He also sought to soften the overtly masculine, vertical character of the architecture, while emphasising some of its more thoughtful detailing, such as the intricate steelwork and the sensitive use of mass and shadow. To integrate the old and new, a finely drawn canopy creates a graceful, curving line, expanding the living areas and extending outwards on one side to form a slender pavilion (with roof garden) that leads to a swimming pool perfectly placed to reflect those orange sunsets.
The additions are finely cast in concrete that’s been left in its raw state – not only to distinguish it from the original sections, but also to express and celebrate the craft of building, which for Vedhant is a profound part of the meaning of any architectural project. The interiors, rather than being open-plan, are more what you might call “broken plan” – interlinked but separate.
As a collector of art with an eye for vintage design, Nothando was largely responsible for the interiors. While the house was being built, she was quietly treasure-hunting in Joburg’s vintage stores, and had amassed some lovely restored Modernist and Art Deco furnishings. Without being too premeditated – “It was about how you create a beautiful space in any given room,” she says – she’s created a remarkable dialogue with architecture.
She was delighted that there was plenty of wall space to hang art. “This house was almost like a blank canvas,” she says. She’s made a pastime of visiting artists in their studios and talking to them about their work, so hers is a very personal collection. “When I see a work, I remember when I sat with the artist and what we discussed,” she says. “There are good memories there.”
Each area of the house has a lounging, gathering or entertainment space: somewhere to sit and chat, from a kitchen lounge to sleek Modernist chairs in the cellar, and even a chaise in the dressing room. Every aspect of the house, Vedhant says, offers an opportunity to “see it and feel it and experience it”. It has been designed to be lived in and enjoyed, not just to be functional.
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