Bloc Architects

The Forest House

The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz

THE FOREST HOUSE

Bloc Architects + Kevin Lloyd Architects

ARCHITECTS
Bloc Architects, Kevin Lloyd Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS
Peter Oravecz

CITY
Durban

PROJECT YEAR
2017

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Bischoff Ramphal

CONTRACTOR
Stefcon

CATEGORY
Houses

AREA
400.0 m2

MANUFACTURERS
Geberit, Hansgrohe, Greenline, HB interiors, Kitchen Classics, Meir, Mier

COUNTRY
South Africa

Text description provided by architect.

The Forest House is an exploration into materiality, light and the integration of architecture into the landscape.

The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz
The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz

Situated in an exclusive forest estate in Durban, South Africa, the forest house strives to frame the landscape with clean horizontal lines.

The home celebrates raw materials, which helps soften the transition between built form and the precious landscape that surrounds it.

The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz
The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz

This raw materiality reinforces the honesty behind the architectural tectonics of its construction.

Through subtle manipulations of materials and forms we sought to alter perceptions. By chamfering brutal edges, we revealed concretes cool elegance.

The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz
The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz

Concrete Frames are propped off steel columns converting heavy and cumbersome to light and agile.

The pool straddles inside and out, pulling ephemeral reflections of sky and clouds deep into the house. The indigenous wild grasses on the roofs blur boundaries between the landscape and architecture.

Besides adding an animated aural experience, the planting offers a more pragmatic insulating layer from the outside.

The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz
The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz

Conceptually, the house consists of two rectangular boxes on ground (‘Service’ and ‘Storage’ boxes), on either side of the site. On top of this another box, the ‘Living’ box, bridges across the two lower boxes.

The ‘service’ box, to the West, houses the triple garage, laundry, scullery, staff apartment, gym and office. The ‘Storage’ box to the East, houses general storage and specialized equipment. Both are clad with timber screens to ensure privacy from the open plan ‘play’ area, which sits directly under the ‘Sleeping’ box.

The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz
The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz

These two ground floor boxes serve to provide privacy from the neighbors, and frame the prized views over the Northern landscape and distant sea views. 

All doors and timber screens slide away seamlessly into cavities, ensuring cavernous volumes interact directly with the landscape. This house was designed around the sub-tropical Durban climate and the young client’s social lifestyle.

The Forest House
© Peter Oravecz


The Forest House
Section 01
The Forest House
Section 02


The Forest House
Ground Floor plan
The Forest House
First Floor plan


The Forest House
Elevation 01
The Forest House
Elevation 02
The Forest House
Elevation 03
The Forest House
Elevation 04

Bloc Architects
T +27 31 5663320 F +27 86 5513119
Bloc Architects
10 Rydall Vale Cres, La Lucia, uMhlanga, 4051, South Africa