Winners of the Young Architects Competition “Dream Villas Riyadh” 2022.

The concept of the Villas is defined entirely by the four elements of Desert, Sky, Earth & Water. The proposal centered around the idea of forming a micro-climate for the Villas through a strong aesthetic concept. The delicate spatial blocks are surrounded by a forest of kinetic canopies. These ‘living ‘eccentric elements are powered by & are reactive to the sun.

The canopies automatically rotate & adjust in elevation to regulate the seasonal temperatures & sun conditions. They will shelter the walkways & outdoor spaces from the rain while collecting the water. At night, the canopies open up to reveal dramatic, framed views of the night sky.

The architectural language is layered with elements that introduce the concept of ‘transitional spaces’, which are neither internal nor external. One will walk through carefully crafted spaces, surrounded by landscape, art & references to traditional Arabic architecture. These elements intentionally frame specific lines of sight while blocking off others, creating spaces of privacy, beauty & contemplation.

A series of structures connected by an outdoor oasis that is sheltered by day and exposed by night. The rotating canopies above and stacking screens surrounding the gardens create usable spaces throughout the compound to be enjoyed by theresidents at any time of day.

Rammed earth and stone walls connect internal spaces to the dessert, reinforcing the intentional and gradual relationship between the outside environment and inside spaces. Screens and landscaping create layers and spaces that respectfully mediate the transition between internal comfort and the extreme desert environment. Passive shading, water surfaces, and contextually appropriate vegetation lower the ambient temperature in a sustainable way, creating a natural oasis for the inhabitants. This micro-climate enables lush vegetation and gardens of delights.

The brief for this new build in Westcliff was to create open spaces with high ceilings and a lot of natural light. The clients wanted to achieve a strong connection to the outside by means of incorporating several indoor/outdoor living spaces and courtyards as an extension of the living spaces, with expansive sliding glass doors and windows.

The garden has been conceived of as a ‘room’ with strong geometries which flow out from the outdoor living spaces. Water is a dominant element in this project, with a lap pool and koi pond off the patio, as well as a water trough in one of the courtyards.

The use of raw materials such as off shutter concrete, timber, and corten steel further ground the house within the landscape.

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Frances Rogers

This luxury guest house has been designed for relaxation, entertainment and business meetings. The Villa has 4 bedroom suites, including a presidential suite, a hair salon, gym, cinema and other high-end facilities.

The architecture is minimalist with a nod to traditional Swahili architecture. The design focuses on optimising the relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces and the views.

The villa was designed with the climate in mind, thereby maximising comfort, and utilising natural, renewable resources in order to achieve a sustainable, off-grid building.

This house has been designed to be highly flexible and adapt to the owners' changing needs. The house has two skins throughout the sliding glass windows and doors, and the sliding timber shutters, which enable the owners to constantly transform the look and feel of the spaces to suit their activities, the weather, and the time. On the ground floor, all of the doors in the living area can slide away to open out onto the expansive covered patio and garden, while the timber shutters set into the concrete portal on the south of the patio can slide away so that the patio is open to the landscaped motor court to the south, and to the garden and pool to the north. Along the full length of the northern facade on the first floor, folding stacking timber shutters outside the sliding windows provide shading and privacy for the bedrooms and TV room but can be stacked open for extra sun and views. 

The generous internal volumes are accentuated by means of floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows, internal pivot doors, and cabinetry. 

The inclusion of a back-of-house kitchen, scullery, and pantry enables the front kitchen in the open plan living area to remain uncluttered, with all appliances and utensils concealed, so that it reads as part of the tranquil living space rather than as a utility area. 

The use of raw, natural materials throughout the house, such as flamed granite floor tiles, wire-brushed white oak, exposed off shutter concrete, stone cladding, and natural stone countertops and mosaics, impart a sense of warmth, softness, and comfort. 

2015 GIFA Award of Merit

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Frances Rogers

The house is set on a secluded, tranquil stand surrounded by established trees. The main house consists of 2 wings: the living wing and the bedroom wing. Both wings have long, low roofs which appear to float over and past them. These roofs are supported on external steel posts, as all of the walls stop short of the ceiling, with clerestory windows on top of all internal and external walls. The clerestory windows allow views of the trees from inside the house, and admit a soft, diffused light into the house during the day. At night, the ceilings are lit up by lights which are concealed below the clerestory windows. This creates a soft, ambient light, and enhances the floating effect of the roofs. The deep overhangs of the roofs and the generous concrete aprons around the house extend the house into the garden both spatially and visually. The deep roof overhangs also shade the glass in summer, protecting the house from solar heat gain.

Along the full length of the northern side of the living area is a 16 meter long floor to ceiling motorized frameless glass sliding door. When opened, the door disappears into cavity walls, and the living area effectively becomes an open covered patio, with 2 large cavity sliders on the south side opening onto a secluded courtyard.

The entrance door was designed by South African artist Marcus Neustetter. It comprises a sheet of laser cut steel on the outside and laser cut walnut on the inside, with clear glass in between to let light shine in during the day and out at night. The laser cut image originates from a Google Earth image showing the topography of Johannesburg and the surrounding areas.

The minimalist architecture, expansive spaces, soft natural daylight and white walls in the house serve as a backdrop for other artwork throughout the house.

The eco-pool has been designed to read as part of the garden, with gravel banks acting as the transition between the garden and the pool, and planted wetlands blending visually with the surrounding landscaping. 

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Frances Rogers

The house is set on a secluded site in Hyde Park. The architecture is a bold mix of raw and slick materials, with dramatic volumes and lighting. On arrival, one is greeted by a high, solid exposed off shutter concrete wall, with a 3.8 meter high raw mild steel entrance door with a raw mild steel canopy projecting over it. The entire door can pivot open and is held open by means of a steel disc which is rotated to lodge into a sluice in the concrete motor court. For practical reasons, the pivot door has a smaller, concealed side hung door set into it. The garage doors to the west of the motor court have been designed as full height steel frames clad in timber slats. The surface of the motor court  is made up of concrete slabs with strips of grass in between to visually soften the area and absorb stormwater run-off.

One enters into a 7 meter high living area, with an exposed off shutter concrete wall to the south, and an exposed off shutter concrete soffit above. To the south and north of this area are walnut clad floating staircases with frameless glass balustrades, which take you up to the first floor and the jacuzzi and yoga deck on the roof respectively.

Several sculptural light fittings are suspended in the volume. The rest of the lighting is achieved by means of soft, indirect light, which takes the form of led strips underneath the stairs and the kitchen island, led cove lighting, and recessed downlights in troughs. This combination affords the owners flexibility to light the space according to their activities and moods.

On the western end of the double volume living area is the kitchen, which was specifically designed to read as an architectural feature rather than a kitchen. The kitchen comprises of walnut cupboards and cladding which stretch all the way up to the underside of the soffit, and wrap around a window which looks onto, and is shaded by, an ancient olive tree. The kitchen island appears as a monolithic block, with a thick slab of ironwood floating off the back of it, which acts as a server while visually concealing the hob. To the south of the kitchen is a frameless black glass sliding door, which can be pushed into a cavity to open the kitchen up to the back of house kitchen and scullery area. When closed, this door reflects the garden and view to the north.

The north side of the double volume opens onto a more intimate, lower living area, with a white oak ceiling, and sliding floor to ceiling glass doors on the north, east and west sides. These doors slide away into cavity walls, allowing the entire area to flow onto the pool, braai area and garden.

The eastern end of the pool has a beach entry, which slopes down from the covered patio to the north of the cinema, creating spatial and visual continuity with the living areas.

On the first floor, the 3 bedroom suites are surrounded by floor to ceiling sliding glass doors with frameless glass balustrades, in order to take advantage of the view over Hyde Park, and allow the rooms to be opened up to the outside. Sliding timber shutters provide shading and privacy when closed.

The monochromatic palette of materials throughout the house was selected to ensure a balance and contrast between slick, modern elements and a soft, natural feel. In the guest bathroom, the exposed off shutter concrete walls surrounding the vanity area have been left untreated, and serve as the backdrop for a polished brass vanity counter, a sculptural white basin, and a round mirror which conceals a light which washes over the concrete, accenting its roughness. The slick reflectiveness of the white caesarstone, black glass and mirrors in the bathrooms is softened by the use of matte charcoal duco, timber, and warm, concealed lighting.

The design of the garden, by Patrick Watson, is essentially an architectural grid comprised of various species of long and short grasses, with hedges on the perimeters to screen the boundary walls, and several trees which shade specific areas of the house while serving as focal points. 

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Frances Rogers

This project was an alteration and addition to a heritage Cape Dutch style house on the Westcliff ridge. Sensitivity to the heritage of the existing house and the area was a major consideration in the design concept. The additions and alterations have been designed to be very modern and aesthetically distinct from the existing house, in order to maintain the architectural integrity of the existing house. While the existing house has remained white, in keeping with the Cape Dutch style, the additions are black in order to visually blend into the ridge when viewed from a distance, while contrasting with the existing architecture.

The existing house was opened up inside and converted into a light, bright living area, with expansive frameless glass folding stacking doors on the north side. Below this, a new level which houses the bedrooms and a gym has been added. The roof of the bedroom level has been planted with grass in order to serve as an expansive, level lawn leading off from the living area. A new covered patio area has been built at the end of the lawn, and a rim flow pool has been built at the northern edge of the lawn, overlooking the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. The lawn is surrounded by frameless glass balustrades in order to optimise the view from the living area.

The front of the bedroom level structure is stepped in plan so that each room has glass sliding doors on the north and west sides. When these floor to ceiling glass doors are slid open, the north west corner of the room is completely open, allowing for uninterrupted views. All of the rooms open out onto a timber deck with frameless glass balustrades, and aluminium louvers above, which have been designed to shade the glass in order to prevent solar heat gain in summer, and admit sunlight into the rooms in winter. The decks are framed by a visually light steel structure, with steel columns at the corners which drop into the ridge as stilts. This, and the light, transparent structure, gives the visual impression that the bedroom level is floating above the ridge, or 'touching the earth lightly'.

This house in Monaghan Farm, an eco estate in Lanseria, was principally shaped around its natural context - it is situated on an undisturbed hill with savannah grasslands with an expansive view of beautiful rolling hills and a river below – as well as the ideas and requirements of the clients.

A concern for the relationship between nature and habitable space, as well as ideas around occupying such a beautiful natural place, resulted in the search for an architectural response of simplicity and sensitivity.

The house was conceptualized as a set of pavilions, separated by a series of courtyards and green fingers that act as sheltered outdoor living spaces with glass corridors connecting the various pavilions internally. The pavilions, with their deep overhangs, thin roof slabs and recessed floor-to-ceiling glass lines, create a horizontal profile, allowing the house to sit unobtrusively within its surroundings. The roof is planted with the same vegetation as the surroundings, further reinforcing the relationship with the context.

The pavilion and courtyard spatial typology results in a diversity of spatial experiences, which is further enhanced through an interplay of differing volumes throughout the house which relate to the various activities. Spaces are open and expansive in the more public areas of the house, and enclosed and defined in the more private areas.

The clients were instrumental in the conception of the design, detailing and construction of the house. The husband, with his background in engineering and his love for concrete, informed the tectonics of the house. On the other hand, the wife’s remarkable eye for colour and furniture complemented and softened the interior space.  This house is truly a product of their passion and imagination.

2022 ArchDaily Building of The Year Nominee

2020 Dwell Design Awards Nominee

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Leigh Maurtin

House B is situated in the serene setting of the Steyn City Estate in Johannesburg. The design aims to capture the sweeping vista of the golf course and estate parklands, with uninterrupted views to the north-east.

The design consists of two concrete boxes, offset from one another, with a living wing on the ground floor and a bedroom wing on the first floor. The lower floor consists of generous open plan spaces and sleek glass façades, with the upper floor seemingly floating above. The floating aesthetic is enhanced by a strong shadow line between the two floors and the darker hue of the ground floor concrete - allowing it to almost disappear below the stark lines of the first floor. The concrete boxes have an off-shutter finish with chamfered edges, creating an elegant and slender trim to the wings.

In order to aid climate control and privacy, as well as to create a unique aesthetic, the façade is wrapped in a laser-cut aluminium screen. This screen has various opening sections and is able to completely slide away in the bedroom wing, opening up to the view. The ground floor glass façade is also able to stack away, creating a seamless flow of space between the indoor and outdoor living areas.

The material palette of raw concrete, bronze aluminium, timber and glass creates a refined architecture with slick, minimalist details. The use of these materials also creates an interior of muted tones, allowing the client’s art collection to take center stage.

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Joanne Kridiotis

The orthogonal design of this project, a unique collection of four contemporary luxury villas along the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town, unfolds in stratified layers from its north-westerly facing stand allowing for uninterrupted views out over the ocean.

This series of sustainably designed residences are situated in a prime position between Camps Bay and the cosmopolitan Cape Town CBD.

The geometry of the residences is enhanced through the use of a palette of rich, dark colours, textures, and materials for the rectilinear facades, which evoke a sense of steadfastness and calm, offsetting the luminosity of the elegantly minimalist interiors and anchoring the development into its Cape mountain-to-sea context.

Each of the four villas hosts a minimum of 4 bedroom suites, with the larger villas hosting as many as 7, including one room for live-in staff, a gym, study, and a spacious entertainment area, as well as a private 4-car garage, with each level accessible by an elevator. In the larger of the villas, the user alights the elevator and is welcomed into a spacious master bedroom with a private patio that occupies the entire top floor.

The villas’ seamless open-plan living and dining area delineations are geared towards flexibility and allow one to comfortably host a larger number of guests when the need arises. Together with a walk-in pantry, they feature the pairing of a fully kitted chef’s kitchen, back-of-house kitchen, and scullery for increased capacity.

The spacious living and dining areas adjoin a covered patio with a lounging area that is accented with a rim flow pool, emphasizing a connection with the vastness of the ocean and sky beyond. This intimate space also has a fire pit which is ideal for the colder times of the year in the mother city.

38 on Morsim is a development of 12 luxury stand-alone houses on a desirable road in Hyde Park.

An important aspect of the design was to retain as many of the existing mature trees on the site as possible. Several units have been positioned and designed around these trees, resulting in most of the units being unique, and the trees providing shade, privacy, and beauty throughout the development. All units have a private garden, many with pools.

The use of passive solar design through the orientation of the units as well as pergolas ensures year-round comfort and energy efficiency. This is further aided by double glazing, evaporative cooling, closed woodburning fireplaces, and solar-supplemented electricity.

2020/ 21 International Property Awards Best Residential Development

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Joanne Kridiotis

Our first Milan project is a house for an art collector in the hills on the outskirts of Milan.

This project was an alteration and addition to a house in Houghton designed by Bauhaus architect Douglass Cowin in the 1930's. It is a dramatic example of the Modern movement at the time, and is situated in one of Johannesburg's oldest suburbs.

Daffonchio was tasked with enlarging the house whilst maintaining its integrity, simplicity and functionality. As much as the old house as possible has been retained, and mirrored in the additions. Original elements such as sliding doors, door handles, fireplaces and the red steel pipe on the exterior balcony have been retained.

The house is experienced as a narrative, where it is seen as a sequence of spaces and experiences, thereby threading a story that can also be read in several different directions.

As you arrive, you are greeted by a solid, heavy facade, which is closed and intimidating. As soon as you step inside, the soaring staircase offers an uplifting contrast. The long passage, with a window and the garden at the end, draws you into the cool and calm living areas. From the dining room, a large square window looks out onto an illuminated sheet of water, the pool, to dramatic effect. The new lounge, surrounded by nature and uplifted with light and music, is the most calming room in the house. The new lounge is surrounded by sliding glass doors, with timber louvers which allow maximum sun in winter and minimal sun in summer.

Inside, the owners have kept furniture simple, with a focus on collectable modern art and furniture pieces true to the Modern era and in keeping with the Bauhaus style. The palette is a cool black and white, with parquet flooring stained black to pick up on the original black steel window frames. 

Our client’s requirements for a family home with spacious entertainment areas, as well as a guest suite separate from the main bedroom wing, melded well with the modern barn vernacular we created for them.

Our aim to preserve a beautiful old South African olive tree that was situated right in the middle of their property meant that we built around it, wrapping the wings of the house in a U-shape with the bedroom suites, kitchen, and lounge areas to the North Western side and the guest suite, home office and cigar lounge opposite it.

The staircase for House N in Waterfall Estate was designedly placed, and framed by a glass box, so that no matter which level of the house our clients were moving to, they would always have a connection with the medial, showstopping olive tree. We also added a thin window in the lounge as a design feature that lines up exactly with the tree trunk, further defining the kinship between the house and its outside environment.
The same panoramic view concept was applied to the entrance hall with glass windows and doors that span from the ceiling to floor, and wall to wall, maximising exposure to the greenery that envelops the property.

From the lounge, one steps out onto a patio that conjuncts the swimming pool and lawn, which in turn looks onto a greenbelt that borders the Jukskei river.
The master suite is perfectly placed to maximise this view and the abundant birdlife the river is home to. The natural flora in the area informed the landscaping design, and succulents were planted on the flat roof of the entrance hall to soften the lines and create a green view from the upper floor towards the central garden court. The secluded potager that runs the length of the North West boundary also houses a private outdoor shower.

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Robert Dos Santos

The Bookend, Hole 8 of the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s West golf course

Characterised by clean lines and generous, open spaces, these five three and four-bedroom modern villas are designed to maximise views and a connection to the outdoors. They have been designed for sustainable living and have access to preserved wetlands, a 10km running and cycling track and The Royal Retreat and Fitness Club.

Spacious internal living areas flow seamlessly out to the covered patios. The lush landscaped gardens feature inviting rim-flow pools which overlook the golf course fairway.

Floor-to-ceiling glazed air-conditioned wine rooms, featuring a softly lit custom-designed wine display wall and bar and a herringbone oak floor open onto the light-filled living area. The kitchens are fitted with engineered stone tops and splashbacks and have a separate scullery, pantry, and laundry.

The lighting design throughout combines soft, ambient light by means of energy-efficient LED strips concealed within ceiling coves, LED strips integrated into the shop-fitting in the kitchen, wine cellar & bathrooms, and direct lighting to highlight the art and architectural features, and illuminate task areas.

The engineered oak staircases lead to expansive and bright pyjama lounges-cum-studies, with large sliding windows that open onto tranquil, planted areas. The generous main bedroom suites have separate dressing rooms, and all are en suite.

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio, Frances Rogers & Ayesha Cachalia

Melrose Walk is a development consisting of 6 modern high end duplex villas.

The villas are designed to optimise natural light and the relationship between indoor and outdoors. All units have north facing gardens, covered patios and balconies.

Many established trees were retained during construction.

Along with the array of eco-conscious elements, such as eco roof insulation, double glazing, LED light fittings and solar geysers, each villa is equipped with solar-assisted electricity. The development is aiming to achieve an EDGE rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa.


2021/22 International Property Awards Best Residential Property South Africa

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Setapo Moloi

The entire house is clad in blonde sandstone sourced in Lesotho, with a moat around the perimeter of the entire house. Sculptures are placed on pedestals within the moat, and appear to float on the water.

The house has been built around a central courtyard, with a pool in the centre and a pizza oven, making it ideal for intimate family living and entertaining. There are additional smaller lushly landscaped courtyards cut into the perimeter of the house, which bring in more natural light and further blur the spatial boundaries between inside and outside.

On the first floor is a study and a playroom, and the balance of the rooftop has two 100 square meter greenhouses in which organic vegetables are grown.

The interiors, by Tonic Design, are rich and cosy, with luxurious finishes such as backlit alabaster slabs in the kitchen, dark wood, various wallpapers and an extensive collection of art and artefacts. 

The clients’ brief was to create a sustainable modern home that exploited views from the site, which is situated just off the Valley road on the Westcliff ridge and overlooks the jacaranda trees of the Northern suburbs parks and Johannesburg Zoo.
The core concepts of the design are rooted in a green, modern lifestyle. The first sustainable aspect is the orientation of the residence, with the main living areas and bedrooms of the house orientated toward the north, sun control at East and West, and insulation mass at South.

The northern facade is fully glazed to maximise natural light and views. External, mechanically operated shutters provide both privacy and sun control for the bedrooms on the first floor.
Vertical louvers allow winter sun to penetrate the house in winter in the morning while projecting a shade in summer. Large areas of glazing on the facades could imply open heat loss and heat gain, but in this case, the choice of double glazing mitigates this, effectively providing insulation.

Cavity walls provide further insulation and thermal mass. Polystyrene block and beam slabs add performance to the standard insulation layer. Other green principles that were incorporated were the use of solar geysers for domestic hot water and heat pumps which feed the hot water underfloor heating.
The slope of the site also played an important role in the design of the house. The house is stepped over four levels which follow the natural slope so as to cause the minimum possible footprint.

The arrival level contains four garages and a cottage. The level above is the open plan living area with high ceilings. To the north, this area opens out onto a covered patio and to the south, it accesses the garden.
A spiral staircase goes up to the second and third levels. The second level houses the bedrooms, and the third level leads to the swimming pool and viewing deck area.
The pool and pool walkway extends into the koppie and links the house with the landscape, where all indigenous trees have been preserved and new ones have been added.

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Leigh Maurtin

The brief given to us for "House P" was to activate the pool area by restoring the existing pool, installing timber decking around it for a relaxed feel, and adding a minimalist pavilion overlooking the pool to create a tranquil outdoor entertainment space.

The pool rests on a raised terrace behind the existing house, with beautiful views over Johannesburg to the north and west. The pavilion encompasses a kitchen/bar, wood-burning braai area, dining area, and lounge area.

The clean lines of the pavilion are offset by the warmth of the existing stone retaining wall behind it, and the natural timber decking. The deck will be built around a huge established pepper tree that we are preserving, which further adds to the sense of place and history.

Project Team: Enrico Daffonchio & Frances Rogers