Publication: InsideHomePage

A marvellous Dutch blog has done a feature on of House E on InsideHomePage!

Award for Residential Architecture

Proud to announce that the house won the Pretoria Institute’s Award for Residential Architecture.

This modest three-levelled and two bedroom house for an architect and her husband was constructed on a restricted north facing and steeply sloping site in the dense and nondescript Gift Acres Estate in Lynnwood Ridge. The presence of a large rock decreases the garage frontage of this dwelling, which is ubiquitous in the estate and hides a large basement parking area and water storage tanks. The compact house is well positioned, taking advantage of the south views to the nature reserve and koppie and north westerly views over Pretoria. The functional organisation is unusual with circulation and bathrooms on the north facade and bedrooms on the south. Living spaces have the advantage of front and rear frontages providing direct contact with the garden terrace at first floor level and views as well as sun on the north. Solar control is integral to the design through overhangs while sufficient thermal mass provides year-round internal comfort. Material choices and detailing are innovative, integral and unobtrusive.

Citation by: Arthur Barker

The kitchen

After much anticipation, the kitchen is designed, ordered and installed. All the drawers have push-open mechanisms eliminating the need for handles.

Smart home

My wonderful electronic engineer husband is developing a unique home automation system for the house. Each light and light switch will be connected to a micro controller. The micro controller will enable us to use any switch to put on any light and change the switches according to whim.  A switch at the front door or next to the bed can switch off all the lights at once. Motion sensors will be allocated to certain lights switching them on automatically when you move into a room, for example illuminating the outside stairs when you arrive home.

Additional software development will allow us to control the system with a cell phone to switch lights off remotely whilst not at home.

In future the irrigation system will also be connected to the micro controller and we will be able to water the garden while on holiday!