Cove 6 Residence, a paradise by SAOTA Architects, Cape Province, South Africa

To say that the Cove 6 residence is located in the Cape province of South Africa is to say nothing, since it occupies an area larger than Germany. The metropolitan design company SAOTA (the name is a monogram of the two leading designers) realized this project in 2006 in the picturesque Knysna National Park near the town of Pesula. In this paradise, a Mediterranean-type climate reigns and there is an amazingly beautiful and always quiet lagoon Naizna, protected by calcareous cliffs from the powerful waves of the Indian Ocean.

The architects brilliantly solved the difficult task of designing a private residence in a rather difficult terrain, or more precisely – on a rocky hill. They have succeeded in tying their modern project seamlessly into the picturesque surroundings. The house, buried deep into the hill, is sheltered from the cold winds to the rear and open to the sun, heat and sea air from the ocean.

Each of the three stories, forming –™ a different note in the harmonic composition of the Residence, is entirely different in construction.

The know-how of the architects, the key to the design of this building was the maximum use of the unique properties of the invisible to the outside observer, completely closed basement, even exceeding the size of the first floor – the facade floor. Its strong ceilings functionally support the ground floor interior, ––––&#8211the original swimming pool is based on them, the terraces for the leisure areas, like rolling out of the first floor, “hanging in the air”.

The first floor is practically invisible from the rear of the building. But when viewed from the lagoon, it forms the main part of the building’s facade. This floor is made according to the principle of open architecture, its panoramic windows unite for people inside the building and the picturesque landscape outside the window in a single visual series.
The living spaces are distributed on two sides of the floor: on the southwest side, an interior sitting area, bedroom and bathroom and on the northeast side, the living room, dining room and kitchen.

The second – incomplete floor is made up of two separate mezzanines that serve only two main functions of the house: the function of leisure areas and the function related to creative work or hobbies of the family.

The building’s interior is styled in a restrained, Western style, although the reddish-yellow colors of the cracked African savannah predominate in the wall colors.

Towards the front of the building, leaning to the left – along the terrace is the original elongated swimming pool, a cantilever that hangs over the hillside with its perfectly transparent far edge. Its design suggests the visual effect of the absence of a clear boundary. While swimming one can contemplate the panorama of the azure lagoon Naizna, in which case the wonder pool gives another illusion – the effect of infinity.
The concrete walls of the first floor are decorated with artistic gray-brown masonry, such a combination not only perfectly blends the residence with its surroundings, but also keeps the concrete from the moisture of the Indian Ocean for longer.

The work of Cape Town’s designers proves there are people on the African continent who know a lot about design, and there are natural paradises just made to offer their talents.