Gota Dam House – southern Africa
The house consists of three basic elements: two granite blocks that
enclose the bedrooms and support spaces, an oversized timber platform
and cantilevering roof that frame the panoramic views and create shaded
living spaces, and two glass boxes that enclose the winter living areas,
emphasising the feeling of living within natural granite. A small horizon
pool at the lower level visually integrates the dam reservoir with the
lower levels of the house.
All elements are orientated to create physical adjacencies and visual
privacy. The house sits on levels ranging between 112 and 116 metres
above sea level on the edge of a cliff. There is another 50 metre drop to
the reservoir.
The project had to deal with issues of hyper-inflation and lack of available
material. All materials were sourced locally, except for specialist items
such as the glass and the roof waterproofing. The granite used to clad the
two anchor blocks were the ‘crusts’ cut-off that came from the granite
excavation. The dynamite drill holes are still apparent and tie the building
to the area of excavation. Using the granite from the site also insured that
the building blended harmoniously with its surroundings.
Garage: Inspired by the rich local culture of basket weaving, a garage
cover was devised using different sized rebars and weaved to form a sunshading canopy over cars. This canoly is supported by simple I-beams
on one side and anchored to a large existing bioulder on the other side.
Climbing flowering creepers are envisioned to cover the whole canopy,
softening greening the steel weave.
A Recording Studio: The owner, being a musician, required a place to
retire and compose/record her music. Strategically placed windows,
creating corners and band cuts into the granite cube offer dramatic views
of the cliff and the jungle below.
Sforza Seilern Architects, an artistic collaboration between Studio Seilern
Architects and Muzia Sforza, completed their first African project: a
house on a rock. The 1500m2 building is situated atop a granite rock
overlooking a large man-made dam, or reservoir for the extensive
surrounding farmland. The area is, to say the least, breathtaking and
awe-inspiring, and deserved a piece of architecture that is equally aweinspiring.
Client: Private
Architects: Sforza Seilern Architects with Muzia Sforza
Local Architect: Architexture
Structural Engineer: Eckersley O’Callaghan
Local Structural Engineer: Marcussen and Cocksedge
Services Engineer: DSA Engineering Ltd
Local Services Engineer: Lage Consultants
Lighting Consultant: BDP Lighting
Quantity Surveyor: Matrix Quantity Surveyors
Contractor: Elevate
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