Benguela is a residences completed by ARRCC in collaboration with SAOTA. Nature pervades the house ?the seamless flow of internal floors and ceilings out into external living spaces is mirrored by the fynbos planting which stalks the edges of the internal envelope, enfolds the terraces and decks and seeps into the garden courtyard.

The setting for this house within Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate, on the Botrivier Lagoon south-east of Cape Town is spectacular ? a slope of indigenous fynbos vegetation runs into the broad waters of a tidal estuary bordered by mountains. The considered architectural design by SAOTA and Interiors by ARRCC of this holiday house in negotiate the inherent paradox of such exposure to nature ? how to shackle the extreme elements ? sun, salt, rain and, in particular, high winds – whilst allowing the exceptional natural beauty of the site to pervade every space.
Seen from the lagoon the result is a memorable composition ? at once a considered response to the contours and microclimate of the site and a poetic narrative of shelter and outlook. Such an unusual form could feel out of place without its references to the distinct local typologies of barns and fruit-packing sheds. Timber sidings appear at the entrance and are repeated on key ceiling planes, the roofs are a celebration of corrugated aluminium, the over-sailing arms of the ?C? shaped layout are a reinterpretation of the traditional ?alphabet...