Two sides house
This home was designed for three generations of one family to live together—not just side by side, but with shared rhythms and spaces that bring them gently into contact. The footprint is compact, yet the spaces are generous where it matters. Every square metre is considered—for use, and for the financial weight it carries.
The house is built in brick. It brings mass and gravity, but also warmth. It sets the tone: calm, durable, grounded. At the centre, where the two households meet, full-height timber doors open into a brick-paved lobby. The same brick continues from the garden path. It’s a space to arrive, to pause, to feel held.
A wide passage runs along the northern edge of the ground floor. It links the living room, the bookshelf and stair, and the kitchen before opening out to the verandah. This is more than a hallway—it becomes part of the rooms it passes. The openings along its length are always in conversation with the spaces beyond. Where the bookshelf sits, the window bay deepens into a sunlit daybed. You pass through the bookshelf to reach the stair. Upstairs, the passage widens into a pyjama lounge—a quiet place to wind down together.
There is no leftover space. Every corner invites use.
The two sides of the house meet again at the upper terrace, overlooking a Gingko tree planted by the parents years ago. It has become a living anchor, a quiet centrepiece that ties generations together. The house acknowledges this with care, offering views and moments that reconnect the family with its presence.
Built with restraint and grounded in honest materials, the architecture does more with less. It connects lives across time and generations.
Client Testimonial
The architects designed a home that reflects our love for comfort and considered design. We wanted a house that felt warm, homely, and welcoming, while still being modern and visually refined. What we have is a place of refuge, somewhere we return to at the end of each day amid the bustle of Johannesburg. We love the simplicity of the lines, the attention to detail, and the quiet balance achieved between form and function.
The flow of the house has been especially well considered. Each space has a clear purpose and moves naturally into the next. Nothing feels wasted or unused, and as a result the house feels more generous than its actual size. It is modern, simple, and quietly unusual. Most of all, it feels uniquely ours, and we are proud to share it.