Park House Remodel:
Emmarentia, Johannesburg
For this residential remodeling, we were asked to accommodate the needs of an expanding family while establishing a relationship with the adjoining park, one of Johannesburg’s largest and most beautiful public spaces.
The main feature of the house is the new double-story braai and patio deck that affords sunset views into the park and a generous entertainment area at the pool. Its concrete roof slab could only be 2.1m high which led us to use shallow concrete vaults (cast on corrugated iron) to increase the head height. This decreased the weight of the slab, resulting in a much lighter (and cheaper) steel structure. LED strips installed on top of the flanges of the I-beams transform the entire ceiling into a big light fitting, accentuating the corrugations in the concrete.
A new guest bedroom and study overlooking the park were inserted into the existing roof which was hollowed out after inserting a large steel girder through the side of the house. These additional spaces were created cost-effectively, without expanding the footprint or envelope of the existing house.
The playroom is a three-in-one space that joins all the children’s bedrooms. It can be subdivided into separate hobby, gaming, and study zones. An acoustic ceiling and glued-down timber floor dampen the sound between the spaces.
All the interventions were designed to be super practical but with an appreciation for proportions, lighting, materials, and textures. The result is not a particular ‘look' or style but rather a clear and understandable aesthetic in which every design decision solves multiple needs.
