Rooms with a view.

The Western Cape of South Africa boasts some of the most beautiful and innovative modern residential architecture I've seen recently. The incredible landscapes make it an amazing backdrop for clean, modern designs.

At DvH design, we love the benefits of prefab and small space design: houses that take less from the environment and can be installed with minimal disturbance to the site.

This remote house was almost entirely prefabricated off-site. The construction process took 45 days, after which it was transported, in pieces by truck.  Installation of the house on-site took just 6 hours. There are four separate modules that make up the house. The dimensions of the units were determined by the road regulations i.e. the largest width you can tow without requiring special permits and a police escort.

The structure of the house is composed of a steel frame. There are plenty of window openings along the length of the house that provide lots of natural light in the main living areas. The floor plan contains three bedrooms; one master bedroom and two single bedrooms found at opposite ends of the house. The main living area can be found between the bedrooms. It features an open plan living room, dining room and kitchen.

The house produces its own energy and provided the client with the freedom to live anywhere.  Thanks to its passive house design and effective insulation, the house can adapt to a variety of environmental conditions, such as urban pollution, and temperatures. The interior air temperatures fluctuate between a comfortable 21 to 25 degrees Celsius (69.8 to 77 Fahrenheit) year-round without need for an external heating or cooling network.  The real story though is how little energy the house consumes while still providing all the necessities.