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Architecture > Hill Sites
Hill Site House
Areas of Dam House Concept:
- Internal Area: 322 m²
- External Deck Area: 218 m²
- Entrance Court: 155 m²
- Pool/Pond Area: 25 m²
Schedule of Accomodation:
- Open Plan Lounge/Dining Room: 66 m²
- Kitchen Laundry Area: 45 m²
- Double-Enclosed Garage: 38 square miles
- Entrance Hall and Passage: 50 m²
- TV Lounge: 13 m²
- Main Bedroom-en Suite: 36 m²
- Guest WC: 3 m²
- Bedroom 2: 15 m²
- Bedroom 3: 16 m²
- Bedroom 4: 16 m²
- Family Bathroom: 14 m²
Materials:
- Concrete and plastered and painted walls
- Packed natural stone feature walls
- Aluminium or timber windows
- Steel and timber screens
- Pre-painted alumium corrugated roof material
- Natural Grass covered roof
Pricing:
- Ranges from R1,2 to R1,5 Million
The positioning of the houses on the hill sites has a direct relationship with the spectacular views over the Balgowan Valley. The conceptual design is sensitive to the preservation of the skyline whilst at the same time give each residence as much visual privacy from each other as possible, by using the undulating hills as a natural screening mechanism.
It is this soft undulating layering of the hillside covered in natural grass, a natural simplicity and stillness of the landscape that inspires the aesthetic of the architecture. The concept of the undulating line is expressed in a contemporary manner in the bedroom façade that overlooks a natural forest. The individual areas in the house are divided by buttress walls forming a progressive layering of space from the private bedroom areas to the more social areas of the house, which flows onto an open deck and pool overlooking the Balgowan valley and the natural forest.
This concept of progressive layering is explored on another level by using contemporary materials and detailing on the façade facing the forest, with a gradual transformation to natural materials and building methods as the house interacts on a more direct level with nature. This connection with nature is expressed with a natural grass roof that visually integrates the house with the landscape. A connection with the history of the area is also made in the form of natural packed stone retaining wall reminiscent of the stone cattle enclosures built by 19th century settlers.