LOST IN SPACE

On a Johannesburg hilltop, two architects found the ultimate project - a house whose futuristic style was based on space travel

- Graham Wood

The property at the end of architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens’ Johannesburg street had been on the market for several years before arousing their curiosity.

Overgrown with pervasive wattle, the house had proved almost impossible to sell and it even took Silvio and Lesley a couple of visits to realise its potential. Hidden behind the thick screen of overgrown vegetation was a spectacular view over Johannesburg and once 40 wattle trees had been removed, the shabby little mid-century bungalow in situ became the object of the couple’s extraordinary ambition.

With its zigzag roof, multiple volumes and white-washed walls, the bungalow was clearly influenced by LA’s postwar Googie architecture, a flamboyant, futuristic style with its roots in the golden age of automobiles and space travel.

‘The first part of this project was restoring the original house,’ says Silvio. ‘It wasn’t an outstanding example of the style, but we thought it had a charm to it. Some of the interior planning was very cluttered, so we knocked out some of the internal walls and opened it up.’