Kloof 145, Cape Town

Designed by SAOTA, Kloof 145 is a private residence that enjoys spectacular views over sandy beaches, boulder outcrops, and the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. The space was designed to reflect the surroundings in which the project was built, and conceived as an arrangement of staggered blocks that rise along the side of the mountain, with the upper, private levels shielded from both visibility and street level noise.

“The conceptual approach to the design was to reinstate the qualities of a natural landscape,” says architect Phillippe Fouché of South African architectural firm SAOTA, who led the project. The lower part of the building, an independent apartment, has a cocooning interior of dark stained oak and off shutter concrete reflecting the mountainside. All levels of the house are connected via a sculptural timber staircase, like a folded ribbon that gradually lightens in tone as it rises.

To duplicate the effect of sitting under a tree, a vertically slatted box hovers over the terrace, with screens that can be opened or closed to adjust the amount of natural light filtering into the interior. The structure was engineered from a durable yet lightweight aluminium, in a finish that mimics the different tones of bark. The uppermost level, the master bedroom, sits above the treetops and as such, the materials (white marble and pale timber) and use of skylights brings in a feeling of openness to the space.