Kloof House by SAOTA

_project: Kloof House
_architecture: SAOTA
_location: Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is known for its natural beauty, but it is also a hotbed of design with some of the most remarkable architecture projects. It is geographically and culturally complex, which contributes to its vibrancy and richness. As a city, it is constantly changing and evolving, and as a result, its architecture is both varied and unique. Because fragments of the older built layers are still intact, it makes it a beautiful central city that sits between the mountain and the sea grounding the city in an exceptional way. 

Development is essential but not at the cost of the character and value of the city, says Nicola Irving, the President of The Cape Institute for Architecture. With development comes gentrification across the city which highlights the enormous inequity that is its apartheid legacy; for it’s essential to continue addressing and engaging around how to house everyone. 

The Kloof House, a project by Saota, is a house in harmony with nature. It was designed to be a place that worked in unity with nature, a place where indoors and outdoors coexist. The inverted pyramid roof, which creates a clerestory window around the upper level, is the most powerful gesture. As a result, views of Table Mountain and Lion's Head are preserved that would not have been possible otherwise.

In this project, the boundaries between inside and out are blurred and unimportant. In fact, many contemporary architecture projects in Cape Town share this personality, valuing expansive views, simple geometry and outdoor spaces; they simultaneously rethink and celebrate the spaces and natural landscapes.

_written by Daniela Moreira Silva
_film by Architecture Hunter & Mavix
_cover image by Adam Letch & Mickey Hoyle
_drawings by SAOTA:

1. Ground Floor
2. Upper Floor
3. Section A-A
   
4. Section B-B
   
5. East Elevation
   
6. North Elevation
   
7. South Elevation
   
8. West Elevation