Materials to integrate into the environment. The Forest House by Bloc Architects
12/12/2018.
[Durban] Sudáfrica South Africa
metalocus, ANDREA GONZÁLEZ
metalocus, ANDREA GONZÁLEZ
The house was designed by Bloc Architects to respond to the sub-tropical Durban climate and the young client’s social lifestyle.
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
The Forest House by Bloc Architects. Photograph by Peter Oravecz
Ground floor plan. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
First floor plan. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
Section. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
Section. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
Elevation. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
Elevation. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
Elevation. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
Elevation. The Forest House by Bloc Architects.
The home celebrates raw materials, which helps soften the transition between built form and the precious landscape that surrounds it. Conceptually, the house consists of two rectangular boxes on ground (‘Service’ and ‘Storage’ boxes), on either side of the site. On top of this another box, the ‘Living’ box, bridges across the two lower boxes.
Description of project by Bloc Architects
The Forest House is an exploration into materiality, light and the integration of architecture into the landscape. Situated in an exclusive forest estate in Durban, South Africa, the forest house strives to frame the landscape with clean horizontal lines.
The home celebrates raw materials, which helps soften the transition between built form and the precious landscape that surrounds it. This raw materiality reinforces the honesty behind the architectural tectonics of its construction.
Through subtle manipulations of materials and forms we sought to alter perceptions. By chamfering brutal edges, we revealed concretes cool elegance. Concrete Frames are propped off steel columns converting heavy and cumbersome to light and agile.
The pool straddles inside and out, pulling ephemeral reflections of sky and clouds deep into the house. The indigenous wild grasses on the roofs blur boundaries between the landscape and architecture. Besides adding an animated aural experience, the planting offers a more pragmatic insulating layer from the outside.
Conceptually, the house consists of two rectangular boxes on ground (‘Service’ and ‘Storage’ boxes), on either side of the site. On top of this another box, the ‘Living’ box, bridges across the two lower boxes.
The ‘service’ box, to the West, houses the triple garage, laundry, scullery, staff apartment, gym and office. The ‘Storage’ box to the East, houses general storage and specialized equipment. Both are clad with timber screens to ensure privacy from the open plan ‘play’ area, which sits directly under the ‘Sleeping’ box.
These two ground floor boxes serve to provide privacy from the neighbors, and frame the prized views over the Northern landscape and distant sea views.
All doors and timber screens slide away seamlessly into cavities, ensuring cavernous volumes interact directly with the landscape.
This house was designed around the sub-tropical Durban climate and the young client’s social lifestyle.
More information
Architects
Collaborators
Structural Engineer.- Bischoff Ramphal
Contractor
Stefcon
Dates
2017
Suppliers
HB interiors, Aluminium doors
Kitchen Classics, kitchen and built-in cupboards
Greenline, engineered oak and tiles
Geberit, toilets
Blanco, mixers
Hansgrohe, mixers
Mier, black mixers
Photography
Peter Oravecz.
Brandon Robertson - Ryan Harborth - Partner David Nelson Bloc Architects
Bloc Architects is the amalgamation of the renowned and established commercial practice Michael Tod Architects (MTA) and the dynamic young practice of BLOC architects. This marriage ensures that clients are assured of over 30 years of established commercial practice, incorporating the full range of typologies and over 1000 built works, and award winning contemporary technological driven design. Through a strong partnership with their clients they strive to produce solutions that exhaust all possibilities, and form spaces that respond harmoniously to all parameters. Bloc Architects explores the boundaries of technology as a tool to represent and test their ideas in a format that the client can clearly understand.
TEAMBrandon Robertson - Partner
Ryan Harborth - Partner
David Nelson - Partner
Rochelle Hamberger - Financial Controller
Kylie Harborth - Interior Designer
Justin van Rensburg - Architect
Tiaan Zietsman - Architect
Ian Rall - Architect
Zane Atkinson - Architect
Simon Bothma - Architect
Peter Oravecz - Architect
Faraaz Sayed Essop - Technician
Gareth Moran - Technician
Phillip Warren - Technician
Tevin Du Toit - Technician
Catherine Tod - Technician
Karl Fischer - Technician
