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
