This new residence in Sandhurst, South Africa exudes the luxurious aspirations one may come to expect in a dream home.

Conceived conceptually as an interplay of light and dark materials, with seemingly floating roofs that wrap and mold into balconies or lower roofs, this home embodies a unique character of spatial freedom in its design.

Functionally, at 1200m², the home comprises three levels, from the basement to the first floor, and is topped off with a habitable entertainment roof terrace overlooking Sandton

Architecturally, the basement level compromised the formal response to the site conditions and the building’s imposing nature on the site. A solution was proposed where the basement, with all its supporting functions and rooms, including a gym and sauna, is submerged completely to allow the house to appear as a double-storey building from the street edge. As a result, the sloping site conditions offered an opportunity to expose the basement to the north, which is treated with a dark marble, in contrast to the wrapping light roof lines.

As is typical of contemporary living spaces, the ground floor comprises of all the daily public functions in an open plan layout, while offering broken plan wings towards the study and manicure room for privacy. The open plan living areas are bordered to the north by a full building length swimming pool. To the south, the multiple garages flank an impressive double-volume entrance foyer & dining room, framed in full-height glass.

With a clear directive from the client, the open plan public spaces are intended to be expansive and multi-use to entertain guests or host events. The open plan spaces extend to the outdoor lanai and pool area, thereby increasing the free nature of entertaining spaces into the garden.

The upper levels are framed architecturally through the linear forms of the roof, which in some areas wrap to become the wall and floor of adjacent rooms, thus creating a strong and vivid architectural statement. This level comprises of all private bedrooms and bathrooms, heading to a private rooftop terrace as an extension to the entertaining spaces while maximizing the views across the Sandton skyline.

Creating a strong design requires control and an understanding of form and its impact on spatial experiences. This project provided the platform to explore a statement of ultra-luxury, not just through functional requirements, but through the employment of contrasting materials and forms, and the subsequent amalgamation of multi-dimensional interactions.