Set on a generous corner site in the leafy Johannesburg suburb of Ruimsig, Ruimsig Residence is a bold reimagining of a traditional suburban home.

Rather than demolish and rebuild, the design embraces the existing footprint as a spatial framework – transforming it into a calm, contemporary architecture that speaks to permanence, clarity, and context.

The ground floor is carefully reprogrammed to establish stronger spatial relationships -enhancing flow, natural light, and connectivity to the surrounding garden. A new double-volume glazed entrance anchors the composition, framed by a thin steel blade portico and flanked by ribbed concrete walls that stretch horizontally across the east–west axis, offering both visual weight and architectural rhythm.

Above, the newly added first floor houses the private bedroom suites, articulated as a dark, aluminium-wrapped volume that contrasts with the grounded base and appears to float above it. Northern orientation dominates, allowing for passive solar performance and garden-facing views.

Privacy is mediated through delicate vertical screening elements, while generous glazing opens key spaces to the landscape.

Materiality is restrained yet rich – textured concrete, refined aluminium, timber accents – creating a palette that feels both tactile and timeless. Throughout, the architecture balances solidity and lightness, compression and release, enclosure and openness.