OVD525 by Three14 Architects

Hakwood flooring adorns a sweeping, ocean-side South African home

OVD525 is a private, contemporary home located in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, designed by Sian Fisher and Kim Benatar of Three14 Architects. The owner had been living on the existing site in a home he built 10 years prior. Realising the unique opportunities his current location offered, the architects advised him to let them re-design and rebuild the entire house, unlocking the full potential of the site.

Hard-wearing materials

Hakwood flooring connects the various open-plan living spaces throughout this modern home, situated on the edge of the coastline: “Being on the Atlantic coast, Cape Town has a very abrasive climate, which is a nightmare for timber and steel. Hakwood is our go-to flooring product because of its stability and its hard-wearing quality”, explain Fisher and Benatar.

The steep mountainside site boasts undisturbed views over Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard. Fisher explains; “We capitalized on those views with large glass facades, while strong, shielding walls on both flanks ensure maximum privacy from the adjacent houses.”

Engineering challenge

The house was conceived as a series of horizontal slabs containing gardens, decks and pools which slide between two massy, shielding vertical elements at the flanking ends.

“We are quite rigorous when it comes to achieving what we envision”, says Benatar. “We weren’t allowed to stretch beyond the existing building envelope. In order to create extra living space we let the master suite cantilever dramatically over the external area. This provided the engineers with a real challenge, but with something this important to the concept, we push just a little bit harder.” 

Easy to live in

Fisher explains; “The building has simple lines but quite complex detailing, making the whole very elegant and a design statement at the same time. Inside, we started from a minimalistic idea, and imbued it with warmth and tactility. We combined materials like concrete and blackened steel with beautifully textured Hakwood flooring. The result is clean and simple, and very easy to live in.”

The architecture of this home has a restrained, natural material palette, and is respectful of the importance of the ever-changing city and ocean vistas. The house is conceived, detailed and finished in an understated and unadorned manner, creating calm, flowing spaces.

Hakwood flooring specified:

Flooring:              Vivaldi, Sierra Collection

Grade:                  Premier 1-bis, Rustic

Finish:                 Oil

Thickness:           15 mm

Width:                  180 mm