6 Sidmouth Avenue

6 Sidmouth is located along a very narrow street lined with mature oak trees on the slopes of Table Mountain. Facing north, the house looks onto the original Oranjezicht Homestead site, now the Oranjezicht City Farm. Many of these homes have imposing but spectacular rear mountain views and views onto the city bowl below. The old home was bought in 2015 by Dr Frikkie and Elsabe Hartog with the intention of remodeling and making it their family home.

Originally built in the 1950’s this double story home lacked architectural merit. Only the beech wood parquet flooring was lifted, restored and relayed. The client’s brief called for a complete renovation and make-over. This involved adding a new loft floor for a new main bedroom suite, gutting, re-planning and enlarging the kitchen and living areas on the lower levels. In addition, the landscape was reshaped with new outside living areas. The middle level was retained in a basic planning sense but was also gutted with new bathroom configurations and finishes.

The existing kitchen (at the rear-south) forms the heart of this home. In order to take advantage of the mountain views the entire external south wall was removed to accommodate a new living area off the re-planned original kitchen. By introducing a large steel girder in this opening, we were able to support the weight of the structure above and bring the views into the kitchen. A new steel cranked roof, forming a new kitchen-living space was clipped onto the front of this girder. The cranked angle of this roof allowed light and views into the kitchen and maximized the views of the mountain from its adjacent living space, which opens up onto the pool area at the rear. As series of tall sliding doors and shutters enclose this space. These are housed in a steel pan forming a frame which is fixed onto the outside of the cranked roof, allowing the sliding doors and shutters to open beyond the width of the room. The shutters can be closed independently on those late summer afternoons when the sun shines directly into this space.

Similarly, the main living room on the street side has been opened up with a new enclosed terrace added to this space. This area then opens up onto the elevated street terrace and fire pit. The new loft main en-suite bedroom has been largely informed by stringent town planning height restrictions. It is a large open plan bedroom and due to its elevation has views northward over the city bowl from the bedroom area and rear views of the mountain from the bathroom. In addition to this, two windows on the east and west gables bring in views from Devils Peak and Lion’s Head respectively. Reversed IBR profile cladding, fixed on a Light Steel Frame (LSF) was used as a device to tie in the new roof conversion with the old walls below. The result is a homogenous blend of the old and new, pulling the whole design together. The large expanse of IBR sheeting is broken by timber composite cladding in selective areas. This composite is also used for the decking and shutters throughout.