"This development falls within the vision of the new Tshwane Spatial Development Framework, which encourages densification around certain transport nodes in the city. Our client, The Blok Properties, identified this as an opportunity to create a unique development which blurs the line between smaller townhouse developments and the 4-bedroom house."

"Some of the challenges of densification include maintaining a high level of privacy, but at the same time allowing for natural light in the building and then also the provision of outdoor spaces and landscaped areas where children can play. For this reason we opted to minimise the building footprint and increase outdoor living areas, by placing all of the bedrooms on the first floor, with entertainment / semi-private areas on the ground floor. This also increased the privacy to all units."

"I am a firm believer in 'first principles' to dictate the layout of a site and the design of the units, and sometimes a site with restrictions in a way tells the designer what it would like to become. In this case the restrictions on site shaped the units into an optimal and logic design solution, with elongated units which flows from the public to private areas."

"We wanted all the units to be north facing, with as little as possible overlooking onto the existing neighboring properties, because of this, the services of each unit was located to the south to increase privacy between the units. In order to be able to effectively utilise the space in the building line, the entrance driveway is situated on the western boundary and kitchen yards on the eastern boundary."

"In line with the XA-regulation the windows on the west elevation required additional protection and we decided that this an opportunity, and could become a design feature for the development. All of the units also have rainwater harvesting tanks and heatpumps fitted to all geysers."

- Anchel Gadinger Pr. Arch.

"The concept of the units in terms of look and feel were dictated by practical considerations. As the units are intended for the rental market, the materials had to be low maintenance with no ‘unnecessary’ extra’s. We therefore opted for facebrick in the high traffic areas with minimal plastered and painted panels in areas were facebrick would be less practical such as the beam-filing, around the alluminum window and door frames. The ‘off-shutter’ look was used in the areas around the plantboxes as we could use a low-maintenance coprox finish."

"As the front door of most of the units are west facing and open onto the semi-public parking area and entrance driveway, the idea was to soften the edges where the unit interacts with the public area. As this is however west facing, we had to provide additional protection for the windows and doors and decided that the Wintec® Winslot® Window System would complement the design style and objective of low-maintenance materials, which is both aesthetically pleasing and a necessary element of the building."

- Anchel Gadinger Pr. Arch.

"The Winslot® Window System perfectly complemented the units as they have a modern look and serve a functional purpose on the west of the building. We have used it to bring natural light into the stair lobby of some of the units and in two of the units we have used the winslot system in the en-suite bathroom which allows natural light into the bathroom whilst providing the necessary privacy in these areas."

"From the outside they have become the main feature of the development, to soften the public interface of the units and add to the clean lines and material palette."

- Anchel Gadinger Pr. Arch.