Tin House

2007

This beautifully positioned holiday home at the mouth of the Breede River in the Western Cape embraces the site, the client’s brief and, with its simple barn-like configurations and corrugated iron roofs, the vernacular style. Sea views are maximised by the use of stepping, opening placements and glass doors – the latter adding a sense of expansiveness to this deceptively small home. A central sunny north-west facing courtyard provides shelter from the prevailing offshore winds. Sliding timber screens assure wind protection and privacy to the wraparound verandah. Vital rainwater tanks became part of the design by placing them on top of the linking building and in the courtyard. Corrugated building materials, which break the reflectivity of the walls, also serve to lighten the placement of the building on the ground. We retained the simplicity of the “holiday home” feel with many of the fittings readily available at the local co-op – this sense will be enhanced as the house ages and weathers.

Awards:
2007 CIA Award for Architecture: House Langham.
2007 SAIA Award of Merit: House Langham.

Published:
10 years+100 buildings: Architecture in a Democratic South Africa – Ora Joubert.
Elle Decor 2008/2009.
Habitat July/August 2007.