Mooikloof Heights: A Spectacular Home with Natural Stone and Rusted Steel Panels

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Situated on a north sloping 15000sq.m. site, Mooikloof Heights is a spectacular home that can be stretched to extend to nearly 85m from east to west. This big house is located in East of Tshwane in Gauteng, South Africa, designed by Nico van der Meulen. Clad with natural stone and rusted steel panels, the house ables to frame the openings in the facade and provides a style of open plan living for its residents.

Design

This house is completely transparent when it is approached from the north. It becomes a collection of stacked rusted boxes because of the driveway curves around the west side. The house can be stretched to extend to nearly 85m from east to west due to the site size. With deeply recessed glazing to create sun control, the north elevation of the house is glazed across the three storeys.

Materials

The openings in the facade are framed by the natural stone and rusted steel panels. These materials are the client’s taste, including the environment. The deep slate rock of the soil is covered and crushed with topsoil to create the garden or excavated and used for the gabion walls. On the lowest level, the stepped landscape with a large retaining pond is created by the reduced sloping landscape to the different terraces.

A symphony of textures can be created with a combination of exposed steel beams, glass, and stone cladding, supported by rusting steel walls and screed floors. With double story glass to the west, the staircase cantilevers out of a massive stone wall and protected from the sun by an indigenous tree and steel louvers.

Details

There is a “Weathered” at the front door, a steel sculpture by Regardt van der Meulen. The beautiful view across two water features can be seen from the double volume entrance hall. The first feature is a part of the atrium at the core of the house while the other is a large reflecting pond in the garden that also acts as a rainwater collection tank. The interiors are complemented with several paintings by Santa van der Meulen.

Rooms

This house is designed to deliver the feeling of indoor-outdoor living from almost every space with stunning views. The style of open plan living can be seen clearly through the house while the connectedness is created by a combination of the ground living and entertainment areas. A few steps down, there is a formal lounge, informal family and dining room, open plan kitchen, and breakfast room.

On a perch above the family room, there is another sculpture by Regardt van der Meulen. A bar/ barbeque, dining area, and lounge are combined to create the lanai, a vast space suited to the Highveld lifestyle that adjacent to the pool and jacuzzi. There is access to the garages on the opposite side of the hall, a lift that connects the first floor and basement floor. A large home theatre is located in the south of the family room.

There are three suites with a lounge area on the guest wing. The two kid’s suite has an internal balcony with the wall painted with a whimsical map of the world. The main suite of the house is a private sanctuary with a fabulous dressing room and bathroom. The third suite and a gym are located to the south of the bridge across the double volume family room.

The Project

Nico and Werner van der Meulen of Nico van der Meulen Architects works with some companies to complete this house project. The interiors are designed by the architect interior design company, M Square Lifestyle Design. The accessories and furniture are supplied by M Square Lifestyle Necessities.