Westridge House and Garden
Gauteng, South Africa
This development, a radical alteration to what existed, gave rise to the creation of a hybridized suburban environment, the architects own 'Piece of Paradise'.
The 'Raumplan' of Adolf Loos inform the articulation of internal inter-leading spaces, while embracing spatial notions of diagonal extensions and linkages. Detached and semi-detached pavilions articulate and define a forecourt, entrance courts and internal courts, which function as outside rooms.
The Palladian dictum "A House is not a Home unless it is a City", applies to the layered furnishing as an autobiography of the occupants. Here the Architect, in paraphrasing Palladio, further develops the African notion of Home or Imuzi, whereby
"A House is not a Home unless it is a Village".
The southern sloping terraced garden and house are in dialogue with one another, becoming a collage, a synthesis of opposites. Rough-hewn stone contrasts with cracked porcelain; rectilinear geometries contrast with the organic layers of vegetation set on stone terraces. Embraced by the changing light of day, these materials enhance the intimate ambiance of the house and garden.
