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Higgovale Higgo Road

Location: Higgovale, Cape Town
Completion: 2021

Cape Town, South Africa

Design of a historic home in Higgovale, once part of farm buildings on the Higgo farm.

Higgovale Higgo Road

This Higgovale, Cape Town, home was originally part of the farm buildings on the Higgo farm. It apparently had the third pool ever built in Cape Town in the position of the current pool. The previous owner, a Cape Town-based architect, and his wife had renovated the house four times since they bought it, once before each child was born and once again when the oldest child entered her teens. 

The original house was a rather nondescript collection of previous additions to the original one-room farm building. It had a narrow uncovered stoep with a poor relationship to the garden, which was at a lower level. Access to the pool was difficult. 

The main alterations attempted to unify all the disparate elements of the house as well as add significant accommodation. Externally, a covered wrap-around stoep disguised the different roofs and levels. All the windows and doors were changed to the same family of sliding sash windows and wide doors.

Outdoor living was very important and so the stoep widened towards the rear garden to accommodate a dining table and lounge area. The garden was raised to the level of the main living space. The pool was connected to the stoep via a direct stair. The result is an exterior which fits well into the surrounding and provides seamless indoor-outdoor living.