Glass House
The owners of this custom designed glass and concrete home have four children, and requested a contemporary mansion making provision for an informal lifestyle on a grand scale.
The brief included a small formal lounge cum tete-a tete space, a large open plan family room, dining room for 20 guests, a playroom for the kids next to the kitchen, breakfast room, lanai, bar, indoor and outdoor pool and a splash pool for kids, gym and kitchen with pantry and walk-in-cold rooms, billiards room, home theatre, six suites and a staff cottage, plus basement parking for 14 cars.
Nico van der Meulen Architects presented an architectural design in a horseshoe shape around a central water feature. The frameless glass folding doors start at the dining room, and stretch for approximately70m around the dining room, atrium, family room, lanai, water feature and gym. The family room is a partially double volume space, flowing seamlessly into the lanai and heated indoor pool.
The staircase floats over a pond that is solar heated in winter, together the indoor pool and heat storage keep the home at a constant 24°C throughout winter.
In the background, a circular raised glass water feature is framed by a two storey high beam which obviates the need for corner columns at the main suite.
The interior design by M Square Lifestyle Design was inspired from boutique hotels across the world, as the mansion had to have a glamorous feel due to the transparent nature of the house.
M Square Lifestyle Necessities supplied furniture that was innovatively kept low so that there was no obstruction. Among the furniture used were B&B Italia, Molteni & C, and Roda.
