Architects |

Usually representing spirits, ancestors or the primordial couple, these figures were placed in shrines and treated with great respect. Through a wide range of style, scale, belief and function the couples depicted share a timeless, serene equality necessary to the continuity of their societies.

La Lucia House / SAOTA

LA Lucia is a dream transformer house. The view from the street is a closed in house with a veiled approach to it that is both secretive and introverted. A certain sagacity of arrival is created by a serious entrance between two milk-wood trees; the cinematic panorama is only revealed as one enters the double-volume hallway. To highlight that moment of connection, the architects clad the ceilin...

Victoria 73 House / SAOTA

The property had an existing house, which completely under-utilized the site’s fantastic characteristics. The brief called for a dynamic response to capitalise on the site, creating an environment where the young family could enjoy an outdoor lifestyle offered by the site. This outdoor area is protected from the prevailing winds, and enjoys views of the sea, and more immediate views of large bo...

BeachyHead / SAOTA

SAOTA has just shared with us their latest house, Beachyhead 46, a contemporary skin that imbues the style that the South African firm has been known for. The house invokes a sense of contemporary rhetoiic that resonates well with the Plettenberg, Bay sky, if ever the sky resonated with architecture. It is a touch of materials that carefully and lightly transition into each other within a frame...

OVD 919/ SAOTA

The Brief was to create a spectacular home which encapsulated the expansive 360 degree mountain and sea views. Though views out were paramount this needed to be carefully balanced with the required privacy from within. The living areas were to be open plan – enhancing everyday life. “The architecture needed focus on creating a contemporary, uncluttered and sculptural building,” said Tamaryn ...

Cove 6 – Pezula Knysna/ SAOTA

Designing out of context and non site-specific projects has been one of the most criticized approach of modern architecture. It follows then in these modern days a project brief that requires the integration of design into its locality, site and context is not a walk in the park. The challenge is even more pronounced when the architects wants to make a statement of the current time, materials a...

Cove 3 – Pezula Knysna/ SAOTA

Most successful projects are those that the architect clearly understands the objectives and needs of the client. The product is usually a value addition to the basic needs of the project. For the Cove 3 house Project Partner Greg Truen had this to say, “The brief was to create a home for a Johannesburg based family that could eventually be used as a family home but would initially be used for...

Mzamomtsha Primary School/ SAOTA

The Mzamomtsha project from SAOTA is a fresh take on the relationship built between a community and their school building. Located in Driftsands, it branches out and improves on the design brief and style of schools which was previously dictated by the Department of Education and Training in Pretoria.

Mankgaile Limpopo Primary School/ SAOTA

Members of the PetroSA group commissioned with the noble task of supplying computers to a rural school in Mankgaile, a rural village outside Polokwane were humbled by the appalling conditions they encountered there. Impressively though, they weren’t thrown back by the situation instead they were inspired to build a pilot project and a school for the community. The school was later transferred t...