house of the flying bowtie

frankie pappas

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RAISING PRIVATE SPACES INTO THE SKY

house of the flying bowtie sits in a conservative residential suburb in Johannesburg with amazing street trees
where walls and electric fences occupy the front facade of every house;
and banality is the order of the day

THE BRIEF

a home that disrupts the everyday
that offers life and beauty to the street;
and protects the privacy of the site;
that creates spaces for entertaining and living at different scales;
and that secures the safety of sleep for the family

THE IDEA

the originating idea was to separate the living spaces
from the family’s sleeping spaces this would allow us to fly the sleeping spaces in the air
and give the rest of the site over to living and entertaining

the front facade of the ground floor is positioned in such a way as to secure the privacy of the site
whilst offering a facade and garden to the street
the rest of the ground floor is designed to allow for inside and outside living
with each room being given its own landscaped courtyard

THE MATERIALS

house of the flying bowtie makes use of a very simple palette of materials and colours
the walls are all bagged brickwork, simply painted white
while the window frames, roofing, guttering and the like are painted charcoal grey
the exterior floors are either paved with a charcoal concrete paver or landscaped with indigenous vegetation

THE PROGRAMME

towards the front, the ground floor offers the user garages, services spaces and staff accommodation
the back of the site provides the user lounges, a kitchen and dining area,
multiple courtyards and terraces and gardens
the first floor is completely separated from the ground floor; only accessible through a single security door
the decision to design the house this way guarantees the security of the bedroom wing
the bedroom wing offers a main bedroom suite, pajama lounge and two children’s bedrooms with bathrooms

the future of the site gives the front of the site over to ground floor offices/shops, first floor apartments
and a raised balcony overlooking the street

CLOSING THOUGHT

one of the only truly effective ways of predicting the future
is by designing it
by creating the one you’d like to inhabit

frankie pappas

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house of the flying bowtie

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