MENLO RENO

An industrial-style renovation and addition with a light touch, but large impact, that provides a connection to an established garden

2022, Menlo Park, Pretoria, South Africa
Project Team: Nadine Clarke, Rory David

AFTER

Industrial style addition to existing house designed to connect to garden

industrial style addition with minimal impact to house and garden, designed around existing tree

fully glazed east façade looking directly at established tree with north façade opening fully to established garden

steel and timber pergola to west façade and steel frame balcony and porch with full length windows open onto garden

full length aluminium folding stacking doors to lounge and office and timber and covered walkway to existing patio

slot windows on west facade to reduce solar gain and timber and steel pergola and screen to reduce heat gain

steel and timber pergola above covered walkway to garden to reduce heat gain to building

aerial view of industrial style addition showing porches and stairs to established garden

BEFORE

The Clients Dream

This landscape architect and her husband called us in to design a free-standing pavilion in the garden to double up as a home office and entertainment space.

The Dream actualised (Design response)

As you can tell from the renders, we didn’t design a free-standing pavilion. So, what happened? When we visited the site, we noticed that a ground-floor bedroom was being used as a dressing room for the first-floor master suite; this was because the first-floor master suite did not have space for a dressing room. We also noted that tying into the existing sewer run from the garden would not be possible due to the levels on site.

Rather than design a free-standing pavilion we suggested a solution that would improve the master suite and provide the required home office/entertainment room. We suggested extending the ground floor bedroom below the master suite to create the home office as this would enable us to extend the master suite to include a dressing room.

To accommodate an established existing tree in the garden the new addition clips lightly onto the existing home, and floats above the ground to reduce foundations that interfere with roots. It also creates a wonderful master suite that opens up into the tree canopy

Is that tree house green?

No, it’s off-white! At meik we don’t believe in ‘green’ per se, we believe in best-of-class sustainable building practices. We do this by employing passive design principles alongside technology to create sustainable, thermally comfortable homes, that function optimally.

In this addition the rooms face north and the west wall has a few small openings to avoid thermal gain from the hot west sun. A porch off the north of the rooms aids in shading the rooms in summer and as is best practice the envelope is well insulated.

Our clients love how their new bedroom opens up onto the tree canopy, and how the new home office relates to their lovely garden. We loved that they heard our suggestion and trusted us to design their addition.

Ready to renovate?

If you like what you see and hear and want to work with us on your renovation feel free to call or email us to set up an appointment to discuss your requirements, and how we can make your dream home come to life.

Nadine: 082 809 1970 || Studio: 011 025 8318 || info@meik.co.za