House Doebler
The site for this new residential house in Higgovale provides spectacular views over Table Bay and calls Table Mountain its back garden. The slope allows the building to be stacked starting with garages and facility rooms on the bottom, followed by the gym, wine cellar and guest rooms on the lower floors rising up to the entertainment area, which includes a huge deck and pool, and terminates with three bedrooms on the top floor. The top floors all enjoy an uninterrupted view as they form curved wings with big openings facing Table Bay or openings to the rear, which frame the mountain with vertical and horizontal windows. At the same time the wings are directed away so that they form a wind barrier for the strong south east gusts coming down the mountain, so that part of the entertainment deck is usable even in the strongest winds. A floating roof over the wings creates a big sunroof over that area of the deck and creates shading for the north facing bedrooms. The house is orientated and worked out to comply with energy efficiency requirements as the house claims to be energy efficient. Space heating and cooling, as well as pool heating, is created by a solar water system, while electricity is generated by a substantial photovoltaic installation on the roof. The house is fully insulated and a German double glazing window system is used throughout to control heat gain and heat loss. A full home automation system and LED light sources throughout support the control of energy usage throughout the year. Storm and grey water is recycled and the harvesting tanks get refilled by borehole spring water. The interior decoration is still in progress. The finishes consist of unique natural treated dark oak floor with matching doors and frames. A natural stone cladding wall accompanied by a water feature, leads one from the passage into the upper areas which were kept to white and grey hues to give it a crisp, modern look. The main staircase is surrounded by a white feature tree structure which forms a strong design element of the upper areas.