Home to Greg Truen, director of South African architecture and design firm SAOTA, Kloof 119A is a 9,150-square-foot residence in Cape Town that takes advantage of mountain and city views while de-emphasizing the street and neighboring homes.

Building on a steeply sloping site was a challenge, but it also provided Truen and the SAOTA team with many opportunities to use level changes to articulate the space. Wanting his new home to harmonize with its mountain site while maintaining privacy, as it sits near a prominent road, Truen incorporated a street-facing, stone facade built in the traditional Cape Town style. The wall keeps the house hidden from viewed from the road.

Distinctively, the roof of the house takes the form of an inverted pyramid with clerestory windows that capture the peaks of Lion’s Head and Table Mountain. These windows draw in the sky, sun, and moonlight, enabling natural light to shift and complement the cyclical rhythms of the seasons, and the days and nights.

Walking through a large metal entry door located between the house and the stone wall, one arrives at an entrance lobby that’s connected to a courtyard garden.

From this peaceful garden, a short flight of steps leads up to the main living space, which presents a breathtaking panorama of the city below.

The topmost level of the home, spread over three tiers, enjoys the best views and is where most of the main living areas—the open-plan kitchen, dining room, and lounge—are located.

The middle level contains the family’s sleeping and work spaces, while the garage, gym, cinema, and guest room are located on the lower level.

“Each level has its own set of gardens and courtyards,” says Truen. “These gardens extend from the mountain surface down against the house, screening the neighboring buildings and intensifying the relationship with nature; allowing light and air into spaces that would otherwise be dark and isolated.”

OKHA furniture used throughout imbues the interior spaces with a level of sophistication that complements the house’s dramatic setting.

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Project Credits:

Architecture: SAOTA / @_saota

Interior Decor: OKHA

Builder: Gossow & Harding Construction Pty (Ltd)

Structural Engineering: Moroff & Kuhne Consulting Engineers

Landscape Design: Franchesca Watson Garden Design