South African interior designers and architects GASS Architecture have completed the Westcliff Pavilion project. The contemporary steel-framed property can be found in Westcliff Ridge in Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to the architects: “This two bedroom contemporary South African home, nestled away in its wooded surroundings, is positioned just before the inception of a major sheer face of the Westcliff Ridge. This means the building is in a private, tranquil hiding place in the trees juxtaposed with a feeling of floating above the ridge combined with magnificent views of Johannesburg.
“Steel framing was a natural choice of construction method, as it married the environmental and access requirements to the desired architectural aesthetic. Simply put, we wanted a structure that would touch the Ridge as lightly as possible combined with an elegant, timeless aesthetic that would allow us to use the steel elements not only as primary structural elements, but also as the primary architectural motif.
“One of the main identifying features that advances this work beyond the scope of a simple modernist box is the floating stone wall. Many of the houses on the Westcliff Ridge and vicinity are famous for their use of native stone work in their facades, including works by architectural greats like Sir Herbert Baker. We wanted to continue in this tradition of using local stone in our design and as such, we wanted included a wall made from stone harvested on the site itself. However, we wanted to give this wall a twist; something that would differentiate this wall from all other enclosures in Westcliff.
“Thus we chose to turn the understanding of a solid wall on its head, to theoretically re-conceive what a wall actually is. Thus, we chose to dispose of this concept of sturdiness and solidity that is inherent in the historical understanding of a wall, and do the exact opposite: create something that does not rely on the ground at all for its founding. Thus we created a floating stone wall.”
Images courtesy of Bernard Viljoen.
