IN PICS | ‘Feel something familiar, but see something new’ in this Parkhurst home

When Christo Vermeulen and Nico Venter found their home in the Johannesburg suburb of Parkhurst, it was in a dilapidated state: ceilings destroyed by a leaky geyser and with not much of historical value to preserve.

Parkhurst houses were originally built en masse for servicemen returning from World War 2, and were typically little brick houses with corrugated iron roofs and street-facing verandas.

Nico says the front facades were made from higher quality yellow face bricks, but the rest was cheaper whitewashed bricks.

“They had fake fronts,” he laughs.

But these houses gave the area its distinctive character, and while they were humble homes they have become much sought-after.

“Every location has a spirit or character to it,” says Nico.

Parkhurst has a central strip of pavement cafes, restaurants and largely independent street-facing shops where people stroll, dine and shop. The streets and sidewalks are alive in a way that most in Joburg aren’t, which probably has its origins in the stoeps that connected the original houses to the streets and connected private and public space.

To their delight, Nico and Christo found that from their home’s slightly elevated vantage point they had a view across a low valley of the Brixton Tower, a Johannesburg landmark. It lined up perfectly with the gap between the house and the single garage next to it.

If they positioned their front gate to line up with the tower, Nico and Christo realised, they’d be able to see the tower even from the very bottom of the garden.

“We started planning elements of the renovation along that imaginary line,” says Nico.

When they designed the entrance, Nico and Christo created a vestibule, an almost invisible glass box bridging the main house and the single garage, which they converted into a study/studio.

At the bottom of the garden, they built an outdoor fireplace which would form the focal point of an outside entertainment area.

Its chimney mirrors the tower across town.

“The idea was to anchor the tower in the house,” says Nico.

The “invisible line” ties the house to the city, plugging it in to its surrounds and inviting the city into its heart.

It’s not overt, though. Most people wouldn’t notice, and Nico and Christo seldom point it out.

“Rather, we would love people to arrive and wonder why the space has a special quality about it,” says Christo.

They continued the dialogue between inside and outside in the way they riffed on the materials of the house. The new and old sections of the house were given different treatments.

“The old house is wrapped in zinc, as if protected,” says Nico.

“The new sections are exposed brick.”

The zinc cladding is a reference to the corrugated iron roofs all these houses had, but when extended all the way to the ground, it looks modern.

“We wanted it to look like an old thing that’s been revived,” says Christo.

“The idea is that people feel something familiar, but see something new.”

The brickwork opposite the fire pit, as you make your way from the gate towards the vestibule, has a rhythmic pattern of protruding bricks, flush bricks and gaps. Nico and Christo had noticed the brickwork on a number of the mid-century buildings around the area.

“We researched the patterns and geometries,” says Nico.

Christo mentions it is one of those architectural devices that draws you through space. Where an expanse of uniform wall might have seemed bland or even oppressive in an entranceway, “the patterned brickwork creates interest and invites you in”, he says.

Inside, Nico and Christo opened up the warren of rooms and passages. They didn’t actually change the shape of the house; its footprint remains the same. They salvaged as much of the parquet flooring as they could, and assembled it in the studio. The rest of the floor they screeded and sealed with a technique Christo specialises in through his company, Vloer.

“The floor is the same right through the house,” says Christo.

“It’s a trick that makes small spaces seem bigger. The tiles are the same everywhere, too.”

Because the house was built to face the street, rather than orientated to catch the sunlight, the rooms were dark and cold. Nico and Christo introduced skylights and glass double doors to brighten the rooms.

The kitchen extends in to a little courtyard with a herb garden and pizza oven. Christo and Nico realised at one point that the roof of the garage would obscure the view from the kitchen and block out precious light. They worked out, however, that if they chopped off the corner of the garage at an angle, they could let in the light and wouldn’t lose any useable space in the garage. Christo planted a roof garden of succulents to soften the edge, and visually blur the building with the view of the trees beyond. 

Just as the kitchen has a courtyard, there are indoor-outdoor connections with courtyards and the garden from every room. The straight lines and precise divisions of the landscaping again enhance the sense of space, while naturalistic planting in other areas creates contrast, a little like the use of materials throughout the house. Between inside and out, there are clever transitions.

For example, from the living room, you cross a pond before you’re in the garden itself, stepping on square concrete flagstones. The way the water and stepping stones focus your attention and change your pace as you walk across creates a kind of concentration that brings calm and enriches the experience.

“The reflection of the pond in the glass makes the entrance seem to disappear,” Nico points out.