REAL home
When a Joburg couple decided to redesign their ’70s house, they called in an architect to turn it into their dream home, one that makes them feel like they are always on holiday
South African-born Eddie Santana met his French wife Marie on holiday in Puerto Escondido, a port town on exico’s aci c coast. nd, years later, they would name their dream home in Sandton House scondido. But let’s get back to the beginning, when House Escondido was a dark, poky ’70s face-brick house with loads of potential that the couple wanted to renovate before moving in with their two daughters, ila and ndrea. “It needed to be a more livable space, one with distinct communal and private zones,” says Georg Gass of GASS Architecture Studios, who was responsible for the redesign. “It was a very positive and collaborative experience working with eorg, says arie. “We shared references and ideas of what we loved, and a lot of planning went into the design before we got started.
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BREATHING TEXT Lauren Groenewald PHOTOGRAPHS Stephen O’Raw
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WINTER 2019
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Although the bones of the original house were good, it made more sense to demolish the kitchen, lounge and dining room to create a completely new space. he living area’s original roof was also replaced with a mono-pitched version, and new large windows allow light to ood the space. We chose a white emcrete cement based oor, and a combination of wood and steel for the roof structure, says eorg. A patio was removed to allow even more light into the living room, and a new one was built on the side of the open plan living area. One of the building’s most exciting features is
