Portfolio: a suburban Karoo house

This house illustrates that small and affordable may also be beautiful where the necessary care is taken with the design.

The stand is located in an established middle-class neighbourhood of Pretoria. It is a subdivided panhandle property, intersected by a restrictive servitude. An existing outbuilding was converted to a garden flat. The client, a bachelor who enjoys entertaining informally, stipulated a modest budget and a clear preference for simple and honest design and materials. The accommodation schedule comprises two bedrooms, bathroom, toilet, lounge and dining room (to accommodate eight people each) as well as an ample kitchen inclusive of laundry, scullery and store rooms. The house shields a north facing courtyard with a concrete stoop from the prying eyes of visitors arriving at the vehicle gate. A double carport has been added recently.

The design focused on floor plans inclusive of detailed furniture layouts and circulation routes arriving at the most economical solution possible while maintaining a feeling of spaciousness. Ground floor: 93 square meters. Loft: 17. Total: 110. The interior is defined by the use of open space planning (unsightly kitchen elements are tucked away neatly out of sight), abundant natural light (most rooms receive north sun) and a double volume dining room (which also serves as a study and entrance hall). An attractive wooden staircase to the loft guest bedroom is the main focal point of this space.

The form of the house resembles that of traditional rural Karoo architecture: the main roof is a rectangular double pitched corrugated iron roof with flush barge board gable ends. A smaller "flat" lean-to roof joins the main roof. A traditional porch at the front door provides protection against the elements. The use of corrugated iron roof sheeting, porches and simple square and rectangular footprints unifies this home with its post-WW2 neighbours.

Basic and inexpensive building materials were used throughout. The bulk of the building's exterior is a neutral sand coloured flush jointed face brick. Plastered boxes, surrounding various windows, were introduced to create depth and shadow. Shadow has been used as a conscious design element elsewhere too. Very few off-the-shelf premanufactured elements were used, except for the wooden windows. The double front door, for example, is made of pieces of welded mild steel piping containing corrugated iron sheets. Tar poles feature extensively as both beams and columns. This gives the building a pleasant hand-crafted feel.

Additional PDF files

To download these files (instead of opening them), right-click on the pictures or links, then select 'Save Target As'. You will also need the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to view them:

1. PIA exhibition poster (497 KB)
2. Poster from a private exhibition (597 KB)
3. Some drawings to scale (228 KB)