We were commisioned by a young family, with two children, to convert an historically significant and graded house which, at the time, was functioning as a guest house, into a family home on the slopes of Signal Hill in Cape Town’s City Bowl. The original house was designed by renowned architect of that era – William Fagg for Edmund Matson in 1902. Victorian houses are generally characterised by self contained, separate rooms. This is usually at odds with a more contemporary way of open plan living. The challenge in this project was to try and not stray too far from the Victorian planning ethos of the time, while opening up the house in a way more suited to our clients’ contemporary lifestyle.
To do this, we introduced internal french doors, connecting the entrance hall with the lounge on one side and the dining room on the other. We then connected the dining room with the kitchen with yet another opening. The result being a ‘Broken Plan’ house, respecting its Victorian roots while at the same time addressing our clients’ more contemporary needs.
Project Status: Construction Completed 2016