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House Feldman
Parktown North, Johannesburg, Gauteng
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Click to view map Coordinates: | The problem: To provide a Johannesburg home for the architect's family consisting of the architect, his musician wife and two sons. The site: A long narrow piece of ground 51 ft. 8 in. [15,7 m] by 265 ft. 0 in. [80,7 m] with a main road on the narrow east boundary, and with a 2 ft. 6 in. [0,7 m] slope from north to south. The ground contained old buildings (too old to be used) and a number of trees — pine, loquats, apricot, lemon, acacias, fig, etc. The servants' quarters of the neighbours were a further complicating factor, being situated right on three of the boundaries. The conception: To create a dwelling, flexible in its accommodation, easy to run, light, airy, and enjoying the maximum of winter sun penetration, while maintaining summer coolness. To let the outdoors flow in, so that the definition of indoors and outdoors is dissolved. To utilize natural materials wherever possible, for their warmth, durability, and richness of colour and texture. Above all to create a home efficient in its space allocation, machine-like in its functioning, and homogeneous in its continuity. An attempt was made to echo in the forms used the indigenous or semi-indigenous forms of the Southern Transvaal - the mud-walled houses with their monopitch corrugated iron roofs often held on by stones, their wall surfaces protected by a mud bagging and often whitewashed, their simple outline standing out in bold relief in the strong sunshine, their white walls etched into their blue and brown background. The only vistas from the house are internal views of the garden. These garden views, these intimate views in which the observer can place himself in a few paces, were developed as an extension of the covered living spaces, related to them visually and physically. The long narrow shape of the plot, the building line and the position of the servants' quarters all contributed to the positioning and shape of the building, which was conceived as a garden pavilion where, the vistas would flow through from the one garden space to the other interrupted only by a low stone wall, and glass planes capable not only of transparency but of reflections, turning the real into the unreal in a fantasy of superimposition. This has been heightened by the carry-through of materials and planes such as floors, walls and ceilings, where the reflection and the reality merge into one, and then the reflection carries on adding a surrealist extension to the reality so that the two are for ever bound together, adding a greater depth to the three dimensional composition. The solution: A living area consisting of: Entrance: With its garden extension from the outdoors. Sitting area: With its built-in upholstered seat around a podium ready to receive its future metal free-standing fireplace. Music area: With its piano all but built in. The Stage: Being raised 3 ft. 0 in. [0,9 m] above the living room level, is the ideal setting for soloists, and small instrumental combinations, having adjustable ceiling spotlights, and a removable built-in seat. The study: Is an extension of the stage platform, screened from the sitting area by a high parapet wall. A built-in desk slides out for use, with cupboard below, is where the architect draws at night. The dining area: Consists of a table on castors that rolls through a two-way fitting into the breakfast room. This allows the table to be set in the breakfast room and pushed through only when required. All serving takes place through the folding-door hatch adjacent to the table, and all crockery, cutlery, etc., are available to hand in the two-way fitting. The clearing of the table is done by simply pushing the table with its "dirties" right through to the kitchen and pulling down the vertically sliding hatch, thus making this area available, for sitting, etc. This arrangement has been found to work most satisfactorily, and allows a seating of over sixty people for a musical evening, or makes for ample space for dancing. A large sliding door and adjacent swing door open up to the porch, extending the living area out to the outdoors. This porch with its built-in seat and removable hammock is a sheltered haven, with provision for a pool and fountain, planted at present and having a small round pool and water spout. Kitchen: Is of the long, narrow type with purpose-made wooden fittings, eye-level oven, separate plate unit, refuse disposal chute under an encaustic mosaic chopping worktop, door shelved grocery cupboards, vegetable baskets, etc. The stove plates have an extract hood over them to expel smoke, steam and odours. Breakfast area: This is really a separate room without a divider. The table from the dining area pushes through into the breakfast area. At the end of the breakfast room there is a glazed floor giving a view out on to a small heavily planted garden which also forms the end vista from the built-in seat of the porch. The laundry: Has a fire-clay wash-trough, a trapped waste outlet for the washing machine, a fold-up ironing table, an airing cupboard as well as the broom cupboard. Toilet: Convenient to the living area containing W.C. and basin with book rack, and spare toilet-roll compartment. Play room: This space is a utility space, being a passage, and an extension of the children's bedrooms, forming one, large play area when the folding doors of the bedrooms are open. It contains a blackboard wall, pinning board, built-in heater as well as the linen cupboard and a toy cupboard. Children's bedrooms: These are small sleeping compartments free of furniture except for the children's built-in bunks, open during the day to the play room. Even when closed, no sense of restriction is felt as there is a flow through of ceiling through the fixed glass fanlights over the folding doors, and a complete flow through to the garden when the curtains are open. Bedroom 1 : The main bedroom is very simple with its built-in headboard, its cupboard covering one entire wall, with two-level in-season and out-of-season cupboards, and its completely glazed north wall. Bathroom l: This is "en suite" with bedroom 1 and consists of a basin set into a mosaic-topped dressing-table, and a shower. Bedroom 2: This contains a semi-sunken bath, and basin set into a tiled slab with soiled linen cupboard below. This bathroom has two entrances, one from the playroom side and one from bathroom 1. A separate W.C. is convenient to the bedrooms, being next to bathroom 2. Special mention should be made of the hot water system, which is of the push-through type. It was specifically designed, and gives ample hot water on mains pressure. The floors are as follows: living area and porch - slate; kitchen and toilet - brick on flat; bedroom wing - cork. The timber used is sapele mahogany throughout except in the living area and kitchen, where pearwood has also been used. The colours generally are white, with occasional light greys and the kitchen in tomato with bottle green tiles. Books that reference House Feldman
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