F O R E S T   H O U S E

Residence - Newlands, Cape Town

2009

Forest house is situated at the edge of the Table Mountain Nature Reserve, at the highest permissible contour level for development.

Essentially configured as an ‘L shaped’ building, the middle portion is a double volume, fully glazed, entrance lobby containing the vertical circulation and separating the two lengths of the ‘L’. This visual gap allows for the site to truncate the building, linking the terraced and landscaped foreground of the house to the forest beyond, which sprawls behind the house and up the hills to the rock face of Table Mountain itself.

The site has magnificent views, and is dotted with tall vertical pines which have been retained. The footprint of the house preserved the existing pines and side stepped a variety of granite boulders which were incorporated into the structure and design of the building.

The views have been taken advantage of by means of full height glazing whilst the resultant sun gain tempered with deeply over hanging canopies and sliding shutters. The shutters are made of timber, in continuity with the external timber cladding of the building.