WHEN OLD MEETS NEW

An 1852 farmhouse enjoys a respectful modern makeover

- LAUREN CLARKE

There’s an undeniable charm to be found at Buffelsdrift, located in Ladismith, South Africa. This collection of farm buildings juts out from the surrounding landscape in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. They straddle the line between whimsy and nature, as if they grew from the very earth itself.

Yet there’s nothing unintentional about this restoration by SAOTA and Jaco Booyens Architect. In fact, their clever and respectful work on this property garnered them a gold medal in the 2019 Domus Restoration and Conservation Award in Italy.

For SAOTA director Greg Truen, the project began when he acquired the farm in 2016. While some refurbishments had taken place in the ’70s, the main building was largely untouched since its construction back in 1852. Yet this did not deter Greg, who says that it was “in good condition, considering”. His vision for the property was to restore the buildings to a functional and visually appealing state while still respecting the history rooted deep in their foundations. 

This respect is evident in Greg and Jaco’s choice of materials. A thin lime plaster was used on the interior walls between the central living room and the bedrooms on either side. This textural highlight offers a nod to the property’s humble beginnings, where walls were made from 700mm-wide poured mud or clay layers that were cast individually, as was popular with Dutch settlers in the Cape at the time. Greg notes that it was nice to leave “a little of that construction history visible so you can get a bit of a story of how these buildings were put together”.

In the living area, the ceiling was able to be restored with the original yellowwood beams stretching over this inviting space.