Simplicity in Steel

Words Alexia Loubser  Photos Bernard Viljoen

The inspired design by GASS Architects that unobtrusively amalgamates into its leafy surroundings.

When choosing an inspiring design, to say I was biased when choosing this house by GASS Architecture Studios, would be exactly spot on. The house is an oasis floating above the surrounding land. A house perfect in proportions and made of steel to create the lithe, unobtrusive structure had won me over from first sight. After talking to lead architect, Georg van Gass, we were able to find out the inspiration and the brief behind one of Johannesburg’s most magnificent unknown gems. The Westcliff Pavilion is a piece of architecture that sits comfortably in its natural environment by being respectful to its macro and micro surroundings”. Georg explains how the design of the house took its material inspiration from the Westcliff area, where the use of indigenous stone harvested from the site itself was incorporated along with steel usage. This allowed the house to nestle into the site without being an imposing edifice, but rather designed to be a structure that uses the natural environment to create flawless space and views. This is shown with how all rooms are able to open up onto the site and each have their own private spaces with which to engage, giving the house the freedom to feel expansive, while being the complete opposite.

When GASS Architecture Studios were given the brief, the owners wanted a two bedroom, two bathroom cottage as a second dwelling. There was no real look or feel that the owners wanted to achieve, purely a good piece of architecture made from predominantly steel and glass being the prerequisite. Other than the owners showing Georg an image of a steel and glass house on the edge of a cliff, not much more information was given and this allowed Georg and his team the creative licence to come up with the striking design that still today has people talking.
Georg garnered inspiration from Mies van der Rohe’s ‘Barcelona Pavilion’ and ‘Farnsworth House’ as well as Phillip Johnson’s, ‘Glass House’. These precedents allowed Georg to come up with the design of the entire house being elevated above the ground using steel, thus portraying the design to “touch the earth lightly”.

The standalone property in Westcliff, Johannesburg, is 110 square meters in size and consists of an open plan lounge, dining and kitchen space which overflows out onto two separate decks. The living space is flanked by two large sliding doors that allow the indoor/outdoor living to amalgamate simultaneously. One sliding door allows a gorgeous view of Forest Town and the ‘Joburg’ Zoo, whilst the other,allows the natural rocky outcrop to seep into the design. This second space is defined by the house and forms a natural covered patio where an existing tree has been incorporated to create the covering for the patio. This unbelievable design took Gerhard Maritz and his team at Vision5 Projects five months to construct from start to finish. The architecture and construction methodology was derived from the typography of the site and thus, it was not possible to utilise standard South African construction methods as they could not get concrete delivered to the site When asking Georg if the design was intended to be of the ‘Green’ or of the ‘Eco’ variety, he stipulates that green architecture is so much more than the perceived concepts out there, it is purely good architecture. “Good architecture means you need to get ventilation, insulation and orientation right to start with for it be a good design”. With this, it will be a building that uses little energy, thus, inadvertently creating an ‘eco’ home”.

Besides the magical site with its arresting views over the city, the most incredible highlight of the design is the floating stone wall that runs along the length of the pavilion. This wall turned the understanding of a solid wall on its head by creating a traditionally heavy, load bearing element that doesn’t rely on the ground at all for its solidity. Thus, the result is a stunning levitating stone wall which has become synonymous with the Westcliff home. With the help of structural engineer, Ferdi van der Kuil, from e-Struct Consulting, they were able to suspend the wall off of the already lofted steel framed structure, and this created a “floating wall on a floating building” as Georg likes to say.
The overall floating effect and the building’s resultant low-impact on the surrounding natural vegetation reflect the architects’ environmental goals for the home. The finished project does not only have a stunning aesthetic, but it is a home that sits comfortably in its breathtaking setting. When Georg answers what he loves most about this home, he believes it is the fact that it will be an example of timeless architecture, a building that will still be relevant in over forty years’ time for architects and home owners alike.

The Westcliff is gorgeous in its simplicity and makes every home owner and designer rethink the complexity of modern homes. For homes to be nestled in their natural surroundings makes it become so much more than a place to live, but rather a retreat or an escape into the bush, as one would feel in this floating pavilion.