Sian Fisher and Kim Benatar of Three14 Architects were asked to help a client find his new dream house.Realising the unique opportunities his current location offered, they persuaded him to let them re-design and rebuild the entire house, unlocking the full potential of the site.

Stunning views:

“The home is located on a steep mountain side with stunning views of the Atlantic seaboard”, says Fisher. “We capitalized on those views with large glass facades, while strong, shielding walls on both flanks ensure maximum privacy from the adjacent houses.”

“Being on the Atlantic coast, Cape Town has a very abrasive climate, which is a nightmare for timber and steel. Hakwood is our go-to flooring product because of its stability and its hard-wearing quality.”

Engineering challenge:

“We are quite rigorous when it comes to achieving what we envision”, says Benatar. “We weren’t allowed to stretch beyond the existing building envelope. In order to create extra living space we let the master suite cantilever dramatically over the external area. This provided the engineers with a real challenge, but with something this important to the concept, we push just a little bit harder. Our client was open to a design that’s pushing boundaries; he allowed us the freedom to explore.”

Easy to live in:

Fisher: “The building has simple lines but quite complex detailing, making the whole very elegant and a design statement at the same time. Inside, we started from a minimalistic idea, and imbued it with warmth and tactility. We combined materials like concrete and blackened steel with beautifully textured flooring by Hakwood. The result is clean and simple, and very easy to live in.”