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HOUSE STRÖH
The original House Ströh was built in 1957 on a rock outcrop on the western side of the exclusive suburb of Westcliff Ridge in Johannesburg. The home, built in a modernist tradition, was exemplary of typical suburban housing, rather than a fine example of modernist architecture. Len Joubert Architects was therefore tasked with fundamentally altering and disrupting the original workings of the three-bedroom house. The stark exterior face brick details were kept in the existing plain 1950s style, and steel and glass were added for a contemporary flourish. The interior is minimal. Wooden doors and floors surrounded by white walls throughout provide a receding backdrop for the client's art collection.
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To the north, large, modern, newly-treated sliding glass openings take advantage of the 180-degree view. A glass passage connects private gardens, linking all three bedrooms and their new en-suites on the edge of the cliff. The owner is a landscape architect and lived and worked in the house while some ad hoc changes were made. Even with a few small concessions to the heritage elements, such as the original steel balustrade, the home seamlessly integrates these into the expressive architectural execution, creating one unified design language that holds the home together.
The pool pavilion is a homage to the glass box trope, with which we are all familiar. What distinguishes it is its dynamic construction. The roof of the pavilion structure in the garden is an engineering feat. Hung from slender steel columns and enclosed with glass, it makes for dramatic views of the Johannesburg sunsets.