Everything in View

An architect came up with an unconventional solution to the challenging question of which view to enjoy from his Cape Town house. Instead of mountains or ocean, he opted for mountains and ocean. With a rather ingenious trick. 

The city on the Cape of Good Hope does not exactly lack chances to snag a house with a good view. Buyers and builders can choose from a view of Table Mountain, a view of Signal Hill, a view of Lion’s Head, of the raging Atlantic, the harbor, the lights of the city.    

On Kloof Nek Road, the heavily traveled way that leads to Table Mountain and classy suburbs, architect Greg Truen secured for his family a lot with the city lying at its feet.  But the mountains were at the back, behind the street. No matter. The friendly and cheerful Truen had a bold plan. On the one hand, he wanted to insulate his house from the always noisy street, but open it up in the same direction so he could enjoy the mountain view.    

The house hides deftly behind walls on the street side with storey after storey clinging to the slope. The ingenuity is seen in the roof. It is not constructed like a conventional roof with two halves coming to a point, but rather with two parallel roofs joined by soundproof glass. From many positions in the house the construction functions like a picture frame that presents popular attractions of the imposing mountain panorama. To the north is Table Mountain. To the west, Lion’s Head. . . .