House Zinkwazi

The Residential Category Winner of Steel Awards 2015.

From the project entry motivation by Rob Young,
Young + Satharia.

Located on the steep eastward facing slopes above the beach, this gem has unimpeded views from the living spaces using glass window walls framed by an exposed structural steel structure. The expression of this building is derived
directly from its usage requirements – enclosed spaces are built in concrete and masonry and open or transparent spaces are constructed from steel and glass. These functionally focused structural systems define the aesthetic language of the building. Due to the steepness of the site, with an average slope of one in three, the
challenge to construct the house influenced the building system. The foundations comprised continuous flight
auger concrete piles into the sandy soils under a reinforced concrete sub-structure. Access was only possible from the vacant adjacent site by means of earthwork terraces. The structural steelwork frame was erected by a purpose-made lift frame, due to the access road being some ten meters above the floor level. The proximity to the coast required
careful attention to the coating of the steel. It was therefore decided to use steel with a high specification duplex paint coating system. The balustrades are fabricated from stainless steel.