Jaco Booyens Architect
  • Projects
    • Buffelsdrift Gold Medal Domus International Restoration Awards
    • Contemporary Mud House Buffelsdrift
    • Buffelsdrift Renovation
    • Buffelsdrift Staircase
    • Buffelsdrift Pumproom
    • Subsistance Farm Rysmierberg
    • Damaraland Clay Project
    • Big Tiny House Glencairn
    • Project Phoenix
    • Walvisbay Container Terminal Entrance
    • CAM Plywood Structure
    • Fort Haasbroek Swakopmund
    • Rammed Earth Desert House Swakopmund
    • Off the grid house Prieska
    • New BP Green Headquarters Cape Town
    • African trade mission in Rome
    • Vertical Village on the River Tyber
    • Staircase house du Plessis
    • Olijven Hof brick vault Montagu
    • Cape Town Offgrid Scyscraper
    • Gate to industrial park
    • Furniture design
    • Thesis 1996 - Emergency center for earthquakes
  • Design Philosophy
  • About
  • Publications
  • Sketchbook
​Buffelsdrift Farm

Buffelsdrift farm lies 15km to the west of Ladismith Klein Karoo. 
Several historical Cape Dutch buildings were built on the farm 
during the mid-1800's. Greg Truen from Saota architects bought 
the farm during 2017 and appointed me to manage the renovations 
and restoration of the farm. The referral came via Ashley Lilliy a 
heritage consultant and colleague from the past. My background 
in mud construction made me a suitable choice .  

Greg planned to take the neglected property and turn it into a 
functional olive farm. The 4hectares of fallow lucern fields 
opposite the main house were to be rehabilitated and planted. 

The 6 historical buildings had been constructed by the poured 
earth method slightly different than the more known sun-dried 
masonry brick method. The buildings had been plastered by 
a plethora of different types of plaster through the years and the 
first step was to strip all plaster and assess the state of the mud 
structures. All structural damage was fixed with clay collected from 
the dry earth irrigation dam which was obviously also the original 
source of clay the buildings had been built with and replastered 
in lime and sand as was traditionally done.

The main house floor was in bad repair and we sourced poplar 
floorboards from the Eastern Cape to replace them with. The 
original yellow wood ceilings were sanded down. The roof with 
corrugated metal sheets removed, the Poplar pole roof structure 
was fixed up by a specialist to traditional construction methods 
and all original dowel fixings kept. The roof was finally rethatched 
in locally grown "dekriet" . 
Picture
Photo credit: Adam Letch
Picture
Photo credit: Adam Letch​
Picture
​
Photo credit: Adam Letch
Picture
Photo credit: Adam Letch
Picture
Photo credit: Adam Letch
Picture
Picture
Photo credit: Adam Letch
Picture
Site Plan
Picture
  • Projects
    • Buffelsdrift Gold Medal Domus International Restoration Awards
    • Contemporary Mud House Buffelsdrift
    • Buffelsdrift Renovation
    • Buffelsdrift Staircase
    • Buffelsdrift Pumproom
    • Subsistance Farm Rysmierberg
    • Damaraland Clay Project
    • Big Tiny House Glencairn
    • Project Phoenix
    • Walvisbay Container Terminal Entrance
    • CAM Plywood Structure
    • Fort Haasbroek Swakopmund
    • Rammed Earth Desert House Swakopmund
    • Off the grid house Prieska
    • New BP Green Headquarters Cape Town
    • African trade mission in Rome
    • Vertical Village on the River Tyber
    • Staircase house du Plessis
    • Olijven Hof brick vault Montagu
    • Cape Town Offgrid Scyscraper
    • Gate to industrial park
    • Furniture design
    • Thesis 1996 - Emergency center for earthquakes
  • Design Philosophy
  • About
  • Publications
  • Sketchbook