A Cape Town house thrives through its challenges and long mountain vistas
A leading SAOTA architect designs his own family home on an impossibly narrow hilltop site
A Cape Town house, perched on a long and narrow, sloped site, appears as if it hovers above the street-level's rich plant growth. Long terraces and large windows make it look like a viewing platform – and indeed, it's a project conceived with its long vistas firmly in mind. Welcome to Kenmore, the brainchild – and personal home – of Mark Bullivant, principal at celebrated South African architecture studio SAOTA.
The project occupies an unusual plot, featuring a steep, narrow terrain of 14 meters wide and 58 meters long, and formerly including an existing structure. The architect was on the lookout for the perfect spot to develop the main home base for his family of five, and when this site came into the picture, intrigued by the challenge and opportunity it brought, he snapped it up. The older building on site was torn down – it was dark, fragmented and unweildy – with a view to rebuild.
Bullivant explains: ' The most compelling views occur on the short sides of the property – east toward Table Mountain and west toward Signal Hill and the national park behind us.'
'One of the main ambitions was to create a meaningful garden, which led to placing the primary living level at the top of the house so it could connect directly to the landscape of Signal Hill. The orientation of the site – typical of much of the surrounding neighbourhood hugged by the adjacent mountain slopes – limits northern exposure. Elevating the living level allowed us to maximise sunlight and outlook.'
The house's layout is centred on its flowing, single, multi-functional living space, which is strongly connected to the garden, making the most of the site's deep incline. This sits on the very top floor, above five bedrooms and a study. A self-contained one-bedroom apartment is located on the first floor, and beneath it is the entrance and garage level.
'The house is only 7.44 metres wide internally at its maximum, which meant the plan had to work hard to avoid feeling constrained. We focused on creating fluid, open communal spaces so the home would feel generous despite its spatial limits. I’ve never been particularly interested in living environments defined by a series of small rooms, and perhaps because of the constraints of the site we leaned even further into that idea,' Bullivant says.
'In many ways the constraints of the site shaped the architecture. The narrow footprint and steep terrain pushed the design toward a more open, continuous living space – visually connected from front to back - something that ultimately aligns closely with how we prefer to live.'
He continues: 'Having designed many homes for other people, designing for your own family is high stakes. You can get lost in the scenario-planning – trying to forecast what my kids might need as teenagers ten years from now and the what ifs. It was mentally gruelling, and I often had to remind myself to trust my instincts, just as I would with any other client. That’s easier said than done when it’s your own home.'
'That said, I loved the entire process – both the design and the execution. In fact, finishing the project was a strange adjustment after having something that consumed my mind and every spare second I had for so long. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, a huge privilege and I still can’t quite believe we pulled it off.'
While the constraints rising from financial parameters and site's challenges 'forced decisions', the architect admits, this only worked towards boosting the creativity involved in the house design - ultimately, contributing positively to the architectural expression of this Cape Town house.
