House with Supporting Wall by Drew Architects in Johannesburg, South Africa

Project: House with Supporting Wall
Architects: Drew Architects
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Area: 5,597 sq ft
Photography: Tristan McLaren

House with Supporting Wall by Drew Architects

The House with Supporting Wall is a stunning modern residence located on a plot with views of a golf course in Johannesburg, South Africa. This single-story home was designed by Drew Architects and offers just under 6000 square feet of spectacular living spaces, both interior and exterior.

The site sits on a rise above the golf course, located in the prestigious golf estate of Johannesburg. The orientation is northeast, offering views across the horizon beyond the golf course.

Access to the site is from the southwest, and it sits at a bend of one of the main thoroughfares within the complex. The land is mostly flat, without natural features except for two thorny trees at the boundary with the golf course.

The house was designed for a single man with limited mobility who seeks a modern single-story home with a strong connection to nature and views from all rooms. The client loves natural materials and the bushveld, so he sought a house that conveyed a sense of seclusion in the bushveld: a place of comfort, sanctuary from the world, but reimagined within a more contemporary urban context.

Considering the client's requirements for seclusion and privacy, as well as the site’s location at a bend of the main road within the complex, the large dry natural stone fence became the basis of design and defining element of the house. The goal was to create a sense of protection and seclusion from the inside, while also intriguing and setting expectations for approaching guests through strict use of lines, forms, patterns, and materials on the street.

The main part of the house is hidden behind the supporting wall, with only three chimneys serving as a hint to what lies beyond. These chimneys feature an intentionally exaggerated vertical scale, and the roof structure made of steel and wood above the main terrace space. Given the site's position, the architects felt providing access to breathtaking views from the first floor was too valuable an opportunity to miss. Therefore, they designed a covered entertainment area on the roof that maximizes panoramic views of the 13th golf hole and horizon accessible from the first-floor entertainment area.

The supporting wall also defines the main circulation path inside the house and, whether from outside or within, provides a strong visual orientation.

A naturally filtered pond with ducks runs along the wall on both sides, adding movement and life to the wall while also creating an illusion that it continues underground through reflection.

Natural materials such as the dry stone fence, solid wood, granite tile, and copper contrast with cleaner modern materials like glass and cast-in-place concrete.

–Drew Architects