The Ber House in Midrand, South Africa
The four-bedroom Ber House in Midrand, South Africa was designed by Nico van der Meulen Architects and it’s equipped with all the necessary features for a growing family.
Description by Nico van der Meulen Architects
The client requested a contemporary and iconic designed home, open plan and airy to envelope the internal and external living. Their brief was for 4 en-suites, spacious open plan living areas and a large study/home office. The client’s request for burglar bars was not allowable, so we designed random steel bars which were positioned in strategic places around the house .
The house was designed by Werner van der Meulen of Nico van der Meulen Architects. On entering the middle section of this relatively simple rectangular shaped home from the Porte cochere, walking on the granite pads over the Koi pond which is filled with mature fish, you look right through to the open plan living rooms to the spectacular swimming pool.
These open plan spaces are the entrance hall, dining and family rooms, with the open plan kitchen to the right, which also opens up to the Lanai and entertainment areas, all facing north, except for the dining room which opens out to the koi pond on two sides. The interesting steps down from the dining room and hall to the family room and kitchen are made up of broken slabs of granite, with steel sheets over.
A cantilevered staircase juts out of a granite clad wall, with an illuminated handrail cut into the wall.
The kitchen to the right is enclosed by frameless doors which opens up to the lanai and the east facing garden, which is sheltered from the morning sun by a mentis grating steel balcony from the main bathroom above.
The study on the left side of the building also faces north, and eastern view overlooks the sparkling swimming pool. There is a bridge on the first floor the spans the living room area, linking the pyjama lounge and kid’s bedrooms with the main suite.
M Square Lifestyle Design used the random patterns evident on the steel facade of the building as inspiration for their interior design, also illuminating the ceilings which add to the feeling of transparency, and the carefully chosen materials all complement the contemporary feel.
M Square Lifestyle necessities supplied specifically chosen items from B&B Italia, Pedrali, Molteni & C furniture, Foscarini, Zero lamps and Lignet Pure rugs, along with steel sculptures by Regardt van der Meulen.
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- by Matt Watts
