South African firm Nico Van Der Meulen has recently completed ‘House Ber’ in Midrand, South Africa as a response to the client’s need for an open plan, airy spaces and a large study. The center of the house is based around a rectangular mass housing the public functions: living rooms, dining room and kitchen flanked by a koi pond and swimming pool. Protruding steel structures on the second floor frame the private areas with playful steel bars drawing lines between the girders, while steel grates on the floor help to block out the sun on the storey below. A series of stone and concrete walls and marble tile floors add an array of textures in a semi-open volume that connects to the exterior pools and gardens.
