At Earthworld Architects’ House Dreyer at the Mooikloof Estate in Pretoria, the way the home engaged with a nearby lake became the most important design informant. The lake was used as a natural backdrop and view to be appreciated in every single room of the house, writes Arné Gunter at Earthworld Architects.
The house blends in with the natural environment and compliments the natural features of the site. Image credit: Earthworld Architects
House Dreyer is located adjacent to a small lake on the large residential farm of Mooikloof Estate in Pretoria East. The property, a little bigger than one hectare, is in a valley on the southern part of the estate. The house is hidden among bushes and trees but reveals itself on the bank of the lake at the centre of the site.
The manner with which the home engaged with the lake became the most important design informant and in turn this was used as a natural backdrop and view to be appreciated in every single room of the house.
The floating timber box of the first storey functionally holds the bedrooms of the house. The complete first storey is constructed from timber. The timber box floats over the brick box below and its floating effect is accentuated by the skew angle turn of the timber box above the brick box. The massive cantilever to the west further accentuates the floating timber box.
Emphasis was placed on the timber construction that consist of the use of Finish Larch on the exterior, a laminated Saligna structure and a Birch Plywood interior.
See the full project and images in the next issue of Timber iQ.
