Albizia House / Metropole Architects

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Image 2 of 54Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Facade, GardenAlbizia House / Metropole Architects - Table, Lighting, Chair, CountertopAlbizia House / Metropole Architects - Sofa, BedroomAlbizia House / Metropole Architects - More Images+ 49

Simbithi Eco Estate, South Africa
  • Design Architect: Nigel Tarboton
  • Project Architect: Tyrone Reardon
  • Project Technician: Chris Laird
  • Design Engineer: Rob Young
  • Structural Technician: Terry Schubach
  • Principal: Justin Rosewarne
  • Project Manager: Benno Terblanche
  • Site Foreman: Tony Moodley
  • City: Simbithi Eco Estate
  • Country: South Africa
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Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Windows
© Grant Pitcher

Text description provided by the architects. We were commissioned to design a contemporary family home on a one acre site, situated at the end of a spur, in Simbithi Eco-Estate. The client’s brief called for a home with an overriding sense of simplicity but with a high degree of sophistication.

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Windows, Handrail
© Grant Pitcher

All the living areas and bedroom suites face onto a panoramic vista, which includes a dense forest down-slope from the house.

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Facade
© Grant Pitcher

The palette of natural materials including timber screens, decking and cladding, off-shutter concrete and stone cladding juxtapose with the aggressive architectural form making, creating a home that is not only visually and spatially exciting, but also comfortable and intimate.

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Windows
© Grant Pitcher

The extensive use of water in the design of the home includes a 25 metre lap pool with a glass panel between the water and the basement cinema room, and a shallow but expansive reflective pond on the approach side, which mirrors the building day and night, and evokes a sense of tranquility.

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Windows, Door, Facade, Chair, Garden, Patio, Courtyard
© Grant Pitcher

The architectural style of the home is heavily influenced by the ‘Googie’ architecture of the American architect John Lautner. The origin of the name ‘Googie’ dates to 1949, when architect John Lautner designed the West Hollywood coffee shop, ‘Googies’, which had distinct architectural characteristics.

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Windows, Facade
© Grant Pitcher

‘Googie’ architecture is a form of modern architecture and a subdivision of futurist architecture with stylistic conventions influenced by, and representing 50’s American society’s fascination and marketing emphasis on futuristic design, car culture, jets, the Space Age, and the Atomic Age.

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Facade, Windows
© Grant Pitcher

‘Googie’ was also characterized by design forms symbolic of motion, including upswept roofs, curvaceous geometric shapes, and the bold use of glass, steel and neon, the spirit of which is embodied in Albizia House.

Albizia House / Metropole Architects - Image 45 of 54
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Cite: "Albizia House / Metropole Architects" 14 Oct 2013. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/437681/albizia-house-metropole-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

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