Context:
The powerful vistas and natural setting of Hout Bay, Cape town offer an incredible potential to have good integration into the landscape and to be respectful of the slopes. The adjacent, poorly considered development limits the vistas of this particular site.
Design Response
The decision to set additional goals to provide a contemporary design under tight budget constraints was essential towards dealing with this special site in a sensitive manner.
The design approach is based on two critical aspects.:
1: promoting a minimal impact on the environment
2: designing the building in response to location issues, capturing views and ensuring a sensitive private realm that is respectful of neighbors but maximises value for the client.
This is achieved by:
Reducing the amount of ‘cut and fill’ on the site to minimal levels. We believe the steep slopes form a key part of the character of the region and spatial genius loci. The building is conceived as a celebration of the mountain and sea vistas of Hout Bay. It obeys the prescribed setbacks of the area without collapsing the form into unimaginative architecture and is oriented towards adjacent features in the landscape, rather than forcing a generic architectural response onto the sensitive site.
The building has a small ground floor plate. This is to reduce the negative impact on the slopes, reduce the extent of substantial foundations and uses the ground plane as a series of public terraces for entertainment and interaction. Light and shadow are tools to animate the façade and a minimalist palette of materials completes the composition. A large double volume entrance connects the private upper floor to views that are designed to take into consideration adjacent and future development options. The result is a plan based on two shifted rectangles, the lower responding to contour and topography, the upper responding to spatial opportunity and dramatic views.
House Talbot responds to its neighbors by ensuring that windows and openings are related in such a manner as to minimise overlooking. Devices such as walls and screens locate vistas and simultaneously shield the community.
The product is a light contemporary architecture tailor made for an adventurous and creative couple.
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