House Sar

Atholl, Sandton, South Africa

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House Sar

Atholl, Sandton, South Africa

Firm

Nico van der Meulen Architects

Type

Residential › Multi Unit Housing

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2014

Photos

Barend Roberts (17)

Located within the leafy suburb of Atholl, Johannesburg, stands the latest contemporary stunner from Nico van der Meulen Architects. Designed by the highly acclaimed Werner van der Meulen, House Sar encapsulates luxury, comfort, and functionality in a minimalist architectural setting.

The clients approached the architects with a modest single-story pitched-roof house. Limited views and access to the garden resulted in the rooms being dark and thus the clients’ main request was to transform this house into a light-filled open-plan contemporary home. Ensuring that every room was naturally lit became the challenge for Werner van der Meulen, but one he proved could be overcome.

A framework of steel columns and beams surround the entrance while louvered planes conceal the four garages and floating roofs. It's as if each plane — whether wall, roof, or floor —has been intentionally treated differently, either in material, texture, or color, creating a unique entrance design.

Upon arrival, a suspended steel-framed cube hovers in midair while the frameless glass pivot door welcomes you into a minimalist yet homely entrance hall. Replacing the existing tiled roof with a floating flat roof resulted in the living rooms being instantly illuminated, while a raised passage roof lets in north light, not only into the passage, but also into the guest bedroom on the south side of the house where an atrium allows morning sun into the bathroom and ventilates the suite safely and naturally.

With natural light flooding even the deepest parts of the house, it is evident that the design of this roof became the solution of the lack of light and north sun in winter. A small atrium off the kitchen allows morning light into the kitchen, and it also allows the owners to leave the doors open at night to cool down the house naturally on hot summer days.

By incorporating large glass sliding doors, van der Meulen ensured that just about every room has direct access to the garden, while the double volume living spaces and high-level windows add a dimension of spaciousness to this predominantly single-story house.

The inclusion of a new study located on the first floor allowed for the staircase to become an architectural feature in the home. The staircase was built as a mezzanine overlooking the garden and family room. Framed by gray tinted glass, the steel staircase fluidly yet privately connects the study to the living room below.

The threshold between inside and outside becomes convincingly invisible when all the sliding doors are open, conveniently allowing for interaction between the open-plan kitchen, lounge, family room, and lanai.

Indoor/outdoor and open-plan living has been a trademark of the architects for many years and is most often achieved with the extensive use of glass and steel throughout their designs.
As is the case with House Sar, making use of expanses of glass ensures maximized views of the garden while allowing natural light and ventilation to flood the rooms.

The lanai overlooks both the swimming pool and the water feature, creating a contemporary landscape to complement this modern home.

The design of the main bedroom incorporates a private lounge area as well as an en suite bathroom. These are discreetly screened between the walk-in cupboard and the steel louvered screen that ensures privacy from the garden is maintained.

Direct access between the bedrooms and the garden provides a refreshing view of this contemporary landscape. An illuminated wall behind the headboard of the bed creates an intimate ambience to this space, while the horizontal louvers reference the architecture externally, confirming once again that the interior and exterior of this home were designed to seamlessly merge. This merging results in visual continuity between every room and every aspect of the home.

The M Square Lifestyle Design team set out to create a warm, practical family environment that echoes the architectural vision of the house. The objective was to not only capture the light created by the high level windows, but to also craft an interior canvas that would not compete with the shadows created by the louvered exterior façades. This balance was achieved by using long linear elements that visually connect spaces and simultaneously conceal various facilities and functions that could otherwise overcrowd the room.

The visual connection between spaces is further enhanced by the use of texture and materials, as can be seen by the OSB bulkheads and the oak paneling, which follows through from the entrance into the lounge and living room. The wall unit houses the fireplace and TV unit and conceals the guest restroom and garage doors, allowing for a simpler, uncluttered interior.

The monochromatic interior palette emphasizes the difference in textures rather than a hierarchy in color. This theme is mirrored in the selection of furniture whereby signature high-gloss and leather furniture pieces are offset against textured fabric sofas.

The selected furniture was sourced from M Square Lifestyle Necessities and includes international luxury brands such as B&B Italia, Molteni and C, Roda, Porro, and Ligne Pure.

From its striking structural features to the comfort it provides, House Sar is the perfect example of luxury in architecture where form meets function. Furthermore, the absence of columns in the design allowed for the home to be open and free flowing.