An 18th-century monastery in the Cape Winelands – later an avant-garde artist’s studio – has been converted into a spiritual retreat for a young family.

It was six years ago, while exploring a “potential art project” in the small Western Cape town of Tulbagh, that Abigail Rands stumbled on this remarkable building. Her family owns a wine farm nearby, so she feels a strong connection to the area; and besides, she says, “I like beautiful architecture, raw materials and good art.” And this house had all three in bucketloads.

It is one of the oldest buildings in the town – the first monastery and mission school established in 1797 – and its distinctive gables, thick whitewashed walls, wooden rafters and thatched roof were the very embodiment of traditional Cape Winelands architecture. More recently, however, the artist Christo Coetzee lived there from the 1970s until his death at the turn of the century. For a time afterwards, the house was a museum dedicated to his life and work.

“A friend of Christo’s took us around and told us stories about each artwork. Everything I took in that day stayed with me,” says Abigail – and it wasn’t long before she came back. This time, she’d had an idea: she wanted to turn the house into a retreat of sorts; a place where, as she puts it, “you can let go and connect with how you really feel”. Later, her vision came to include a yoga studio in the old monastery building (which had once served as Coetzee’s studio).

Before settling in Tulbagh late in his career, Coetzee had lived for long spells in various parts of Europe, and was fascinated with Japan. He was influenced by the Gutai Art Association, a Japanese post-war group of radical avant-garde artists who pushed the boundaries of conceptual and performance art. In her 20s, Abigail had also spent long periods of time in Southeast Asia and Italy, and the fusion in the building’s history between East and West resonated with her.

Of course, the heritage of the building set some tight parameters. Luckily, Abigail’s neighbour happened to be a heritage consultant, so they worked closely on preserving and restoring the heritage features. The ability of good design to transcend time was central to their approach. Rather than hiring an architect, Abigail chose to work with a local builder and craftsmen from the valley. When it came to the interiors, she enlisted the help of THEFOURTH, an artistic and design practice founded by the couple Maybe Corpaci and Rodan Kane Hart, who is best known as a sculptor. Abigail was particularly drawn to their sensitivity to the quality of space in architecture, and their attention to detail, especially when it comes to choosing furniture and art. She asked them to furnish the house with found or repurposed pieces rather than new items, which resulted in an eclectic selection of furniture, from Modernist gems to “old humble objects”. And so the cavernous, atmospheric rooms, beautifully restored, were filled with a vision of Modernism meeting tradition, East meeting West, contemporary African art meeting avant-garde 20th-century art. THEFOURTH also created two fabulous bespoke pieces: a four-poster bed, and a circular brass-chain shower in the wet room.

Rodan made the bed with half-moon detailing on each post. “It came about when Abigail decided to call the residence Dar el Qamar – Monastery of the Moon (as translated from the Arabic phrase),” says Maybe. In the main bathroom, the shower, with its circular cast-concrete base, is ringed by a curtain of more than a hundred brass ball chains that, says Maybe, “creates a shiny curtain that dances hand in hand with the African beaded armchair in the bathroom (which also has gold details)”.

Perhaps Abigail’s favourite spot, however, is the internal courtyard with a beautiful old cypress tree that grounds the space. “We wanted the garden to be stark and sculptural,” she says. She wanted it to conjure a feeling of desert, moon and stone – a gravitas that is juxtaposed with a covered poolside lounge designed to look like a postcolonial African club.

This rich, multifaceted character is the key to the new spirit of the place. “Light and dark, old and new, masculine and feminine – it creates a kind of tension that leads to a dynamic creative process,” she says. That “tension”, however, is also at the heart of the sense of balance and peace at Dar el Qamar. It’s an atmosphere at once peaceful and stimulating; grounding, but inspiring – perfect for restoring the spirit and the senses.

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A seaside cabin in the remote town of Romansbaai by Neo Architects draws inspiration from the surrounding indigenous flora and coastal landscape.

With the instructions from clients to minimise the carbon footprint on the surrounding landscape, the team at Neo managed to keep the size of the space down to 90m2. While this may seem small to some, the firm designed the home in a way that incorporates indoor/outdoor flow, breaking boundaries. The seamless transition allows for the views and scents of nature to meld with the home, enhanced by the presence of natural light. At the same time, the architects designed the cabin with the Swedish notion of Hygge in mind – a concept of cosiness and contentment, which translates to the rainier and contemplative days.

Made from concrete, natural stone and diamondback sheeting, the home blends well with the raw materials of the climate. Large windows allow the guest the choice of whether to be immersed in nature or to enjoy the landscape through a barrier, protecting them from the elements.

A large bedroom opens up onto the pool area, with a second deck offering vast vistas of the protected fynbos fields. The highlight of the bathroom is a shower and bath with the same breathtaking views. Designed around a centralised fireplace, the entertainment area is comfortable and accommodating in both winter and summer.

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The recent renovation of an old stone cottage in the picturesque cape coastal village of Pringle Bay is a model for respectful yet innovative updates to seaside holiday homes. 

As in most coastal locations, the ever-changing weather governs most activity here. When the VISI team visited to photograph this Pringle Bay house, our shoot began in peaceful sunshine at low tide, with the sea calm, and breathtakingly clear visibility right across False Bay. Then, as the tide came in and waves began crashing onto the rocks, a rainstorm crossed the bay, washing the crisp vista clean away and instead creating a dramatic, moody outlook.

Accordingly, this home is designed to suit all of these possibilities: it’s equipped with everything that might be required for indoor cocooning, as well as a glazed sea-facing facade that maximises the views no matter the weather conditions. The north-facing glass facade also opens up onto a generous deck, with a new all-natural swimming pool – built in a location-appropriate, raised “plaasdam” style – in the foreground.

It took a while to arrive at this design solution, though, and the owners had seen a few architectural proposals for its renovation come and go before appointing Chris Bakker of GASS Architecture Studios to oversee the project. Among them was a scheme to replace the existing stone cottage with the sort of imposing structure that has unfortunately become ubiquitous in Cape coastal villages, and a proposal to revamp only the interiors. Chris and his team found a third way to solve the architectural conundrum: as he explains, they elected to “maintain the humble character of the low-slung existing cottage, while also updating and freeing up the interior spaces”.

The premise underlying the design, says Chris, was “to retain the simplicity of the old stone building via a sort of neutral architecture… using an approach that is almost like a ‘non-architecture’”. What this translates to in practice is a genuine lightness of touch combined with a purposefully minimalist approach to the architectural interventions. The resulting renovation cleverly blends support for the requirements of contemporary holiday-makers with the old-fashioned appeal of the traditional stone dwelling.

Entering the property from the street through a slatted wooden gate, you get glimpses of the home through the foliage. It’s a mature garden that includes milkwoods and other species endemic to the Cape coastal thicket that makes up the area’s natural vegetation. The flashes of the facade offer hints of floor-to-ceiling glass, which somewhat unexpectedly turns out to be a sort of envelope or “external gallery”, as Chris puts it. The glass external passageway wraps around and forms a frame for the exterior wall of the pre-existing cottage, focusing attention on the beautiful old stone masonry.

“We decided to shift the movement space outside of the plan,” says Chris, “then added a new master suite on one side.” And movement between the home’s various spaces – which include an open-plan kitchen-dining-living area and two smaller bedrooms (both now en suite), as well as the new master bedroom and bathroom – is certainly facilitated by this “outside corridor”. But there are other evocative effects of this unique, glassed-in part of the house: it is a sort of transitional space and also forms a “second skin” for the building. Whichever descriptive terminology is most apt, however, the results remain both aesthetically pleasing and very practical.

Careful attention has been paid to the renovation of the interiors, too: above-eye-level clerestory windows in the open-plan living area further amplify its levels of natural light, and the compact kitchen has plenty of storage space, integrated major appliances and a discreet side scullery. The two bedrooms situated within the original building now both sport striking picture windows within extra-wide, custom-designed wooden windowsills, which function as window seats and create a suitably bold frame for the arresting vista beyond.

The pleasingly eco- and site-sensitive ethos of this resolutely unpretentious project is encapsulated in the new master bedroom suite, which is placed to “float” slightly above the ground and is reached via a similarly suspended passageway. Taken together, all of this rejuvenated home’s “quiet but contemporary additions”, as Chris describes them, constitute a respectful design approach that is a compelling aesthetic model for coastal renovation.

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An ancient farmhouse in Tuscany is reimagined into a contemporary space for two close families to live together in a way that allows for both separate spaces and communal living that embraces a rustic lifestyle.

In Tuscany, one century seems to blend into the next. Who hasn’t dreamt of lingering in the land of the Renaissance, between cypresses, olive trees and rose gardens? In the off-season, mist-enveloped panoramas dominate the countryside and, standing on the hillside that is home to the Podere Bussolaio estate, you look out at a landscape that’s changed little over the past five centuries.

Nestled among the orchards of Travalle, the original estate was built in the 15th century for the wealthy Strozzi family of Florence. Today, the 700m2 property is the home of two sisters involved in the fashion industry, Elisa and Claudia, and their families.

READ MORE: Monteleone Apartment

This made for an interesting brief to the architects. There’s tight bond between the families, but also a need for independence. And while both shared a desire for a home that combined contemporary design with the rustic architecture, they also wanted each half to have its own distinctive personality.

Before the sisters bought it, Podere Bussolaio estate had been used as a piazza by the neighbouring villagers. It was the home of theatre performances; there was a vegetable garden; an artist kept his sculptures there, and the butcher stored his artisanal sausages there. This heritage meant the last thing the families wanted was a cold, technological stronghold – creating a space that was all about sharing and community was a key part of the brief. Tasked with the project were architects Alessandro Capellaro and his partner Sabrina Bignami of B-arch, a practice started by Alessandro in 2000. “In 2013, this house was in a bad state,” recalls Alessandro. “The tower was on the verge of collapsing, there was no roof. Our challenge was to keep as much of the original stone as we could. Unfortunately, all the timber structures had to be replaced.”

As a result, the project was a long one: wooden roofs had to be rebuilt from scratch, crumbling masonry structures restored using stone found on site, and plaster surfaces re-created by hand based on traditional techniques. As a contemporary addition to the two existing structures, B-arch designed a minimalist timber box that not only creates a link between the two family homes, but essentially connects the past to the present.

READ MORE: Sardinian Hotel

Casa Elisa and Casa Claudia both share similar architectural foundations and modern, functional, open- plan layouts, with a canvas of soft colours and Albanese stone flooring that binds them. It’s the interior decor that distinguishes the two spaces, giving each a unique personality.

Acknowledging Podere Bussolaio’s heritage, B-arch created a modern rustic aesthetic with an interior that combines natural textures and artificial materials. This constant contrast between rough and smooth surfaces makes for a contemporary space that reflects the identity of both families while allowing their individual tastes to shine through.

Claudia’s home in the old barn features a large, open-plan living area with glazed openings, while Elisa’s contains a large kitchen that’s the focus of the home. Both share a communal outside space, which includes a vast garden, the estate’s ancient orchards and a gym. It’s the pool, though, that is always the natural gathering point for the families, friends and guests who enjoy lazy Sunday lunches at its outdoor cooking area.

As an architectural study, Podere Bussolaio has remained true to its Tuscan roots, and is a beautiful balance between old and new, and traditional and modern. More than that, it is also a wonderful home for two close families, where they can enjoy each other’s company and raise their children.

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Tucked in the Onderstepoort veld just outside Pretoria, the stylish but laid-back De Harte puts other event venues to shame.

Who hasn’t had at least one run-in with a bad event venue? Faux-Tuscan trauma, sad finishes, and bathrooms that went out of fashion with VHS tapes are etched into the collective wedding and celebration psyche of many South Africans. But praise be, De Harte is breaking that mould: this complete package of eventing offers 10 rooms, a chapel, a reception area, even a restaurant. And here’s the kicker – they’re all a delight to behold.

They’re the newly completed creation of design duo Llewellyn Steenkamp and Henk Henderson, co-owners of local furniture and homeware brand Dekas & Co. Theirs is a thoughtfully designed environment, where the lines between interior and exterior blur. They’ve paid homage to nature by introducing natural materials, textiles and botanical motifs, but it’s a series of open-area archways that lets the setting connect through windows of playful vantage points and careful moments of concealment. Rooms, verandas and walkways are always in conversation with the property’s established trees and grasses, and the brilliant blue sky. What bride and groom wouldn’t want this as the backdrop to their big day?

“We wanted it to evoke bold design with heart and soul,” says Llewellyn about the project. “Our aesthetic is about combining clean, confident design with the raw, authentic textures of Mother Nature.”

READ MORE: Ashia Cheetah Sanctuary

The architectural work of SCULP Architecture and Design brought the build to life by using linear geometry, rounded corners, curves and bold, black steel detailing that contrasts with the bag-washed brick. The result is contemporary, but with a nod to both mid-century Highveld vernacular architecture and the bucolic setting. And for a touch of luxury, gold finishes are dotted throughout the interiors.

When brainstorming the architectural brief, Llewellyn and Henk’s idea was to create a space just outside of Pretoria that has the feeling of a Cape country escape. We think they’ve taken this a step further – harnessing all the serenity of a farmland getaway, but in a way that celebrates its Gauteng setting beautifully. More like this, please!

For more information on De Harte, visit deharte.co.za.

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Local brand Popstrukt offers budget-friendly flat-packed furniture that’s designed to fit your space and your budget – and it looks great too. VISI spoke to director Adriaan Louw about this nifty concept.

What was the thinking behind the launch of Popstrukt?

At the time – four years ago – we believed there was a space for a furniture brand that was easy to understand, well designed and readily available. We went in with an open mind, hoping to serve the needs of the discerning South African buyer. We tested various products, materials and manufacturing methods, as well as different furniture pieces – and the result is the Popstrukt range you see today. At its core, our range consists of six pieces that are versatile, modern with a dash of fun, considered and readily available.

How did the company come about?

I have a background in industrial design, and I wanted to build my own business. Furniture design is a medium I understand, and starting an online business appealed to me. Combining the two passions resulted in Popstrukt.

For you, what’s the standout piece?

The Bon-Bon chest of drawers is one of my favourites. As all our items are flat-pack, the Bon-Bon required an extensive design process to ensure easy assembly while taking into account the minimum viable size of the item once packaged. So it arrives in a remarkably small box, and the assembly is incredibly intuitive.

How does one assemble an item?

For the most part, no tools are required, other than a single screwdriver. Our products all follow the same core method of assembly, so once you’ve done one, the rest are easy. Additionally, we offer clear instructions as well as assembly videos to simplify the process.

What are your colour options?

We currently offer nine colourways, with more pending. We want to add to our existing range in the coming months in terms of product and colour depth. Looking further ahead, we’re also exploring home storage solutions to complement our range.

Looking for more on South African design? Read about Haldane Martin’s design journey.

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Carved into the western slopes of Lion’s Head, this tiered hideaway – Kloof 145 – takes its cues from the indigenous trees and fynbos that once covered the landscape.

Five levels. Authentic materials. A clear design narrative. This sleek yet organic residence in Kloof Road, Clifton, makes a dramatic statement.

From the gabion-walled ground-level exterior that mimics the mountainside strata from which it emerges to the fold-away glass doors, skylights and pale timber used in the uppermost level, each floor of Kloof 145 tells a convincing story of natural progression. Most notably, a vertically slatted box hovers over the middle terrace, with space for the forest bushwillows from the second tier to grow. These lightweight aluminium screens, which can open and close, filter the amount of natural light entering the interiors.

“The idea was to architecturally express the varying relationships to the site and the greater context of mountain, sea and sky,” says lead architect Phillippe Fouche of SAOTA. Cécile & Boyd did the interior design, led by partner and designer Paul van den Berg, who focused on organic interior furnishings and finishes to reinforce the unfolding experience of natural elements that the house affords.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at this modern Pretoria home.

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WORDS Kerryn Fischer PHOTOS Elsa Young PRODUCTION Luanne Toms, Frank Features

There are 360 degrees. Why stick to one?” said the late starchitect Zaha Hadid – and this philosophy could well describe Mica and Marcel Angel’s Llandudno home. At its entrance, concrete slabs suspended over a body of water deliver you to a pair of angular, concrete planes that defy gravity as they slant casually skywards. The entrance is straddled by two linear concrete boxes, one of which is home to an outsized sculptural staircase that runs the full height of the double-volume space. It’s an astonishing first impression.

But then this home is designed to marry not just the disparate aesthetic predilections of its owners – an aspiring clinical psychologist and a racing driver – but also the splendour of its setting. Set on giant granite boulders between Llandudno and Sandy Bay, it was designed by M&B Architects’ Christo Botha in response to its spectacular surrounds. United by a passion for fast cars – and having worked together previously on commercial projects – Christo had

a good idea of Marcel’s love for contemporary, modern architecture. However, his challenge lay in incorporating that with Mica’s preference for a more sculptural, eclectic, lived-in feel, as well as her brief for a space that could accommodate the five children (from 28 to 11 years old) they share between them. And of course, their three dogs, Sishi, Valentino and Paris.

Inspired by the likes of Santiago Calatrava and the aforementioned Zaha Hadid, Christo immediately saw the opportunity to create a sculptural building that could play to Mica’s sensibilities while satisfying Marcel’s penchant for modernism. “My starting point was to mould the house into the rocky landscape so as to create a strong, stable construction, much like an amphitheatre, that could open up to the ocean,” he explains. This allowed the house to adapt easily to the dramatic and changeable microclimate that occurs on the coastline, where the sea can go from gentle lapping waves to giant swell in a matter of hours. “The house definitely moves with the climate – barriers such as the sliding doors on the seafront can disappear into the walls on warm summer days to create a seamless flow between indoors and out, and then act as both insulation and a contained aperture to the elements on Cape Town’s wild, wet winter days,” he adds.

Laid out over three levels with just four bedrooms, the 1 000m2 house is surprisingly intimate given its size and the drama of its entrance façade at street level. To accommodate the varying architectural elements, Christo proposed off-shutter concrete – an easy material to shape to create the kind of cantilevers that were required, but also because it’s honest and grounded, and would provide a consistent materiality throughout.

The subterranean lower level is home to Marcel’s study, as well as the ample parking, laundry and storage areas. The ground level is where the extensive living, dining, kitchen and entertainment areas are located. A guest suite on this level leads out onto the pool and terrace too, while the guest loo is located in an arc of asymmetrical offshutter concrete walls. Upstairs, the main bedroom sits in the centre of the house, flanked by two more bedrooms and Mica’s study. At the back of this level, a pyjama lounge and playroom lead off the main staircase.

“Our Sunday family lunches, when all five children – some with partners – converge, are a highlight, while our Christmas table seems to increase in size every year. And we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Mica says. For Marcel, who is collaborating on the launch of a new international racing series in South Africa, the house offers a respite from a busy working life, and an opportunity to watch the Grand Prix in his soundproof man cave with friends. “It’s a home that caters to our differing needs perfectly,” says Mica. “Marcel is a social animal while I’m more solitary – yet the house allows space for both our personalities with effortless ease.”

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at this Keurbooms Lagoon home or this Swartberg holiday home.

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Believe it or not, this extraordinary award-winning home was once a disused water tank.

The distinctive Water Tank at the Grade II listed Keeling House in Bethnal Green, London, UK comprises one bedroom, one bathroom and an open plan kitchen and living area. The award-winning renovation is described as a masterstroke in space maximisation with concealed shelving and wardrobes wrapped around door frames, landings and stairwells.

The disused water tank was renovated by architect Brian Heron in 2017 into a unique apartment. It sits at the top of Keeling House, the first tower block to be listed in the UK.

The apartment has won awards such as the Best Historic Intervention at the NLA’s Don’t Move Improve Awards 2018 and was shortlisted for a RIBA London Award.

The renovation of the Water Tank cost £400,000 due to the height of the water tank as the architect’s had to pay for eighteen floors of scaffolding and the public roads surrounding the tower block were closed on three separate occasions in order for windows to be fitted to the quirky apartment via mobile cranes.

The property has exquisite views of London’s cityscape which can be seen from the walkway and bathroom. The apartment is clad in Oriented Strand Board and exposed pipework which gives a nod to its utilitarian development. The plywood-walled water tank has 653 sq. ft of space over two floors that has been cleverly configured to maximise space.

The Water Tank at Keeling House is currently on the market with Aucoot for £570,000.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Check out this small urban cabin in Italy.

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Local brand Antelo creates leather bags that embrace minimalist design and contemporary colour. Simple, modern and stylishly practical, these pieces will stand the test of wardrobe time.

Antelo’s owners Carin and Pietie Nelson have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the local manufacturing industry, and have used their love of nature, the outdoors and classic simplicity to inspire their chic designs. “We want to keep it simple and classic, with a focus on contributing to the local economy, job creation and skills development,” says Carin when asked about their brand’s identity.

“In 2015 – by complete coincidence – my childhood dream of owning my own fashion lifestyle brand became a reality when, while I was searching for potential suppliers on Google, a classified ad popped up saying ‘Leather goods factory for sale in Cape Town’,” she says. “It immediately grabbed my attention. The business was called Antelo Collections; within a few days, we bought the business and registered the name as our trademark.”

The Nelsons strive to grow the brand organically and keep it South African driven. “I am very grateful to see the consumer support for locally produced goods,” says Carin. “Covid-19 has shown us how vulnerable we are as a nation, and the importance of being self-sufficient as a country. Hopefully, this can be the boost that the local textile industry has needed for many years now.”

With a focus on colour and trend forecasting, Antelo’s collections are added to regularly, and range from trendy wristlet and cross-body bags to classic totes in both earthy and bold statement tones. They are likely to be able to provide just about every shopper with the perfect accessory for their chosen look.

For shopping and more information, visit antelo.co.za.

Looking for more on local design? Take a look at Luke Radloff’s Public Forum label.

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