Project Info
- Client: Mr and Mrs Heine Herholdt
- Location: Val du Vie Lifestyle Estate Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa
- Size: Site size 7 525m² & Building size 1 225m²
- Category: Residential
The House Herholdt project was initiated in 2022 with the Clients expressing their intention of relocating from Bloemfontein to Paarl during 2025. They are a family of four with the spouse’s parents needing a place of their own as part of the design. The Client is also an avid collector of modern, exotic cars. This collection would require a substantial portion of floor area for display and storage with expansion possibilities for more cars in the near future.
The Architectural guidelines of the Val de Vie River Club Estate are extremely detailed and prescriptive in terms of design elements like proportion, forms, fenestration design, roof design, material usage, colors, landscaping and building systems. We had to incorporate these guidelines into the user-specific requirements of the Clients.
The design of the building complex consists of three central core elements and two 4-car showrooms around a central “Kaapse Werf” which allow vehicle and pedestrian access to all relevant entrances and areas of the residence and the showrooms. This “Kaapse Werf” is entered via a central driveway that runs through and underneath the gabled link between the car showrooms. This mechanism allows for privacy and shelter as well as defensibility of the building complex.
The incredible views towards the surrounding mountains of Simonsberg, Du Toitskloof, Franschhoek and the Hottentots-Holland region as well as the perfect orientation of the 7,525m² site, assisted greatly in establishing the design parameters and site analysis of the residence complex.
Differentiation of volumes has been achieved by means of differing- and split roof designs as well as profile-mirroring pergola elements. The adaptation of symmetry to reflect the mountainous context and the occupancy uses within the building, was implemented by differing heights, building profile, footprint and fenestration elements.
The building complex is controlled with a substantial home automation system operated from the Clients phones. Sustainability has been addressed with a solar and battery installation exceeding 200kw. The entire site is irrigated with an allocation from the Val de Vie water extraction rights from the Berg River that runs past the site.
The Clients occupied the residence in November 2025.
