PLAY ASSOCIATES
Constantia Project, Cape Town, South Africa
Photography Adam Letch
THE AREA – CONSTANTIA THE PLOT
Having lived and worked in central London for years we
loved the idea of being surrounded by nature. Although
both my wife and I were born and initially raised in London
we both ended up living and going to school in Southern
Spain, which is where we first met aged 11. The memories of
being in the heat, closer to nature and by the sea, always
make us smile. Now we have a baby boy, just 18 months old,
we felt we had to get that lifestyle back. We’re 20 minutes in
one direction from downtown Cape Town and 20 minutes
from the sea, and 20 minutes from Katrina’s parents too. The first thing I remember about the plot were the three
trees in front of the house. A palm, a Norfolk Pine and a
Pepper Tree. Totally unusual and charming but equally they
felt in the right place. It immediately drew me to the house.
Walking from one side to another we had a wonderful view
of Table Mountain. The house itself was sweet but a little
uninspiring, in what is known locally as ‘cottage style’ but we
could visualize what it could become.
The area is naturally beautiful, wonderfully green and in the
foothills of Table Mountain with all the amazing walks and
runs on our doorstep. Our dog Chili, who came with us from
London, loves it here too. Internally we kept the main ground floor footprint but took
out all the internal walls, removed the ceiling, added a 2nd
storey and a guest studio. We increased the footprint from
250m/2 to 400m/2 and added a huge amount of volume.
Ceiling heights throughout are very tall, eleven meters at
one point, eight meters in the main living area and six in our
bedroom.
We’ve subsequently learnt that in Cape Town it’s viewed as a
very quiet (boring!) area, but the tranquility really appealed
to us. We both travel internationally with work around once
a month, me mainly to London, and Kat to London, Paris and
Shanghai, so we love coming back to our oasis, although we
do still have a small flat in Lancaster Gate, London, which we
short let when we’re not there.
4
THE PROJECT
Externally we kept the wonderful three trees and planted
a lot of local wild plants. (We grow our own fruit and
vegetables now).