House Lindenberg

A river and sea view home on a steep site, built to stand entirely off the grid.

New build201986 m² footprint

01 / The brief

A steep site on the edge of the green belt, with the view held just out of reach.

A young couple bought a steep stand in a gated cul-de-sac on the edge of the green belt. River and sea sat to the south west, but only if the design could climb high enough to reach them. They wanted a home that opened into its surroundings and ran fully off the grid, kept the trees that were already there, worked with the prevailing wind rather than against it, held privacy from their one neighbour to the north, and made room for an art studio they could get to easily. All of it on a real budget.

02 / The constraint

The view wanted height. The site wanted a light touch.

The slope and the budget both called for a light footprint. The view called for the opposite, enough height to clear the ground and reach the water. Glazing the whole south west facade would have captured it, but it would also have pushed the house past the SANS 10400-XA energy limits. The glass had to be earned, placed where it counted, not poured over an entire wall.

The neighbour to the north set the other line. Opening the house that way was easy light to gain and easy privacy to lose, so it needed a screen built into the plan rather than bolted on afterward.

Cast concrete counters and reclaimed timber cabinetry with a window onto the garden.

The covered veranda, with built-in bench seating running along a low stone retaining wall.

Benches built into the slope work as retaining walls and as a quiet screen from the northern boundary. The earth does the privacy, so the house never has to close itself off.

03 / The response

Every room was placed to earn its light, its view and its shelter.

Services and the entrance went to the east. That freed the north east for a farmhouse kitchen that ties straight into the lounge and opens both ways, morning light on one side, the evening view on the other. The kitchen windows slide fully open onto the eastern veranda, so the counter and a seat simply carry on outside.

A braai sits on the west veranda to catch the evening view. For the nights when the wind makes an outdoor fire a fight, a pizza oven was built into the lounge, an indoor source of warmth and cooking both.

The farmhouse kitchen and dining table under exposed beams, opening to the garden.

The bathroom by candlelight, a freestanding tub below a low window.

04 / The materials

Reclaimed doors, stained concrete floors, cementitious walls, and a bathroom wall hand built from bottles. The budget shows up as character, not compromise.

Prepared for solar · Rainwater harvested · Fully off grid

The bottle wall, glass bottles set in mortar, glowing green where the light passes through. — The bottle wall reuses waste glass. It lets light and colour through from the stairwell while keeping the bathroom private.

The master bedroom under the pitched roof, concrete floors and exposed timber beams. — The first floor added two bedrooms and a balcony off the master, tucked in under the pitch of the roof.

05 / The outcome

An 86 square metre footprint that still holds the full sea and river view.

A raised veranda carries a water reservoir below it. The services run fully off the grid. The first floor found room for two bedrooms, their en-suites, a walk-in closet and a balcony, all without giving up the light footprint the slope and the budget asked for in the first place.

Every property has a signature.