Harcus House is a residence, situated on a tight suburban plot, in a leafy suburb in Johannesburg.

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A young energetic family inhabit this home.  The home has afforded the family the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and have full view of the children while cooking or working. 

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Abundant natural light and all year round sunshine; determined the pavillion type structure on the site.

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The house was a catalyst for exploring sustainable architectural building practices with new technology.  The use of a wood chip burner to heat the underfloor water-based heating is employed. The house has solar geysers, PV panels to supply electricity and uses stored rainwater to flush toilets and irrigate the garden. The heavy concrete wall on the south elevation of the house acts as a thermal mass wall.  The northern elevation captures enough sunshine to use the floors as a thermal heat sink.

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The house sits at an angle on the stand to capture the maximum northern light exposure. Its position also afforded more space to the back garden for the children to utilize. 

 

Harcus House continues to provide it's growing family many sun filled days of play and relaxation