The magic cube

In South Africa, a rugged work of architecture stands like a geometric temple in an immense natural setting «Space, light and order are the things men need, just as much as bread or a place to sleep». Le Corbusier could have been talking about Johannesdal, the house the architect Henri Comrie has designed in the wine region of the Cape in South Africa for Dane Erwee, master florist and landscape designer, and his companion in life and work, Chris Willemse.

Fascinated by the location at the foot of the Simonsberg at Stellenbosch, ten years ago Chris and Dane bought 2.5 hectares of land to make a nursery. The house, with an area of 400 sqm, stands out between two majestic mountain peaks. The building is a sort of cube split into smaller, flexible spaces, with openings in front and at the back forming a perspective “tunnel” with the view of the mountains. Most of the light comes from above, thanks to a transparent roof other glass features. Walls left free of plaster and reinforced concrete ceilings add tactile allure and an unfinished look. On the upper level, wooden partitions make the bedrooms flexible. The floors are in limestone or wood, while the windows have galvanized steel frames without coating, attached to a wooden structure. «We wanted it to feel like a warehouse, or an abandoned ruin», Henri explains.

The ground floor living area is in the frontal part of the cube, while the two guestrooms are at the back, like the entrance. On the upper level, two bedrooms share a terrace that functions as an outdoor living room. The interiors are eccentric and playful, a mixture of wood, linen, colors, textures and plants. «I love to combine incongruous things that tell a story», Henri adds. «It works, because the house seems to have existed here for much more than ten years, especially now that the landscape has reabsorbed it», says Dane.