Located in The Robberg, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa on rolling dunes overlooking panoramic ocean views and direct access to the beach, the site was an ideal location to embrace the indoor-outdoor lifestyle the homeowners wanted, so they approached Saota to create for them a multi level home with 6 bedrooms that expressed a quiet and understated elegance with plenty of outdoor living zones as well as a pool. They wanted their home to have a lived in beach house aesthetic on a grand scale. Saota accepted the challenge and created for them Plett 6541+2, a 4-level stepped design that appears to be “hugged” by the well established and indigenous Milkwood thicket that surrounds it.
Not only does the site fall away from the building towards the sea, it also climbs up the building on the street side and by doing so the bulk of Plett 6541+2 is visually minimized.
The one area of the facade that is kept clean of vegetation is the street entrance as well as the garage.
The street entrance opens up to a long hallway in the basement with a wine cellar on the right and the garage on the left. Down the hall and around a corner is a stairwell leading up to the ground level as well as a door leading to the yard.
The wine cellar has a gallery aesthetic as you walk by, presenting the various vintages in wall cubbies clearly visible through the glazed walls.
The stairs leading up to the ground level feature an open riser design to allow the landscape views and natural daylight to permeate the hallway.
The basement level stairwell opens up to the ground floor entertaining area complete with kitchenette and bar. There are also four bedroom suites on this level, each with their own ensuite as well as a one car parking spot at the end of a driveway. Just past the basement stairwell, a second staircase leads up to the first floor.
The entertaining area is both a single and double volume space with the single level over the media area and the double volume over the bar seating.
Behind the kitchenette is an outdoor room surrounded with walls but open to the sky.
The first floor is comprised of the social zone as well as a fifth bedroom. This is where the bulk of the outdoor living is also enjoyed via walls of glazings that open to large outdoor lounge and dining areas as well as two pools.
The ground floor stairs open up to the 1st floor next to a contemporary trestle table complete with glass top and wood sawhorses. Jars of shells create a beach themed vignette to compliment the pool and ocean views.
The pool has infinity edges and concrete stepping stones to travel from one terrace zone to the next.
The pool with the stepping stones is the smaller of the two water features and is located between the main outdoor lounge area and a more private terrace attached to the fifth bedroom.
The outdoor lounge area is positioned directly in front of the living room and when the walls of glazings are opened and stacked out of the way, the two zones are one continuous indoor-outdoor experience.
A third lounging area is just a bit further out on the terrace, completely exposed to the sun and positioned to take full advantage of the views.
The swimming pool is located on the side of the building, next to the outdoor lounge area. Clad in pale blue mosaics with a darker blue grout, the water presents a crisp, cool and inviting place to cool off on a hot summers day.
The architects designed Plett 6541+2 with two overhangs above the pool; each featuring voids one on top of the other, it’s a fun homage to all the rectangular design elements within the terraces, pools and architecture.
An el fresco dining area is next to the pool and just around the corner from the outdoor lounge area.
The el fresco dining area comes complete with an outdoor kitchen and bar.
The pool continues past the outdoor dining and kitchen areas, extending past the edge of the building.
The 2nd floor consists of the master suite and a large rooftop deck overlooking the pools below and the views beyond. It is accessed via a stairwell next to the dining room on the 1st floor.
With the stairwell leading up to the master suite in complete view of the social zone, it has been designed to be as much a sculptural statement as it is a functional feature. Thick slabs of solid wood are cantilevered out from the wall and on the wall just above each 2nd tread is a contemporary linear light fixture that adds to the artistic element as well as providing safety lighting after dark.
The master suite is designed to resemble a beach hut overlooking the ocean. It is a completely private space with its own private outdoor living area complete with pergola located on the roof of the social zone below.
While the bedroom within the master suite presents a beach shack aesthetic, the ensuite is 100% spa retreat. Large and spacious it has everything you could possibly want in a luxury bathroom.
Even the ensuite to the fifth bathroom on the 1st floor is luxurious, although not quite as spacious.
Plett 6541+ 2 is designed to take advantage of the sea breezes from the northeast. The flooring throughout is water resistant large format leather finish New Sardo Granite as are the walls in the bathrooms. The only exception to this is the majority of the flooring in the master suite which is white oiled oak. The shutters, screens and pergola are all built with timbers that will patina into a silvery grey with the weather.
Saota
Photography by Saota
