Blesberg Cottage 2025

This guest cottage, a critical regionalist architectural response informed by this place for this place, is a study in contextual specificity. Blesberg cottage is situated next to the Brodie Link Nature Reserve, part of the greater UNESCO Kogelberg Biosphere in the Overberg region. Nature-culture being the dominant significance means that building art must be submissive, secondary and non-pretentious. This project aimed to achieve this noble goal as well as striving towards greater sustainability. It is off the grid in terms of energy use, with solar and gas. Rainwater harvesting tanks supply fresh water when the municipal supply has a pipe burst. The cottage has a small footprint, with two bedrooms and en suites, open-plan living, lounge and kitchen, with a carport and north-facing under-cover stoep. It is dominated by a well-established indigenous garden, enjoying north-facing sun exposure and views. Materially, the specification is mostly primary elements, with bagged clay brick as the main structure, zinc-alum clip-lock concealed roofing and double-glazed aluminium windows.