Contemporary Mud House Buffelsdrift
Mud buildings traditionally are normally associated with low cost, lived in by bohemians and an option only taken if no other choice for building material is available.
It is a material used out of necessity. Earth-based constructed walls come in several forms including cob, adobe, rammed earth, poured earth and less known
adaptions like light earth. My experience with mud since childhood has been emotional. As a primary school student, I spent my afternoons mostly alone wandering
around the grassy hills at the edge of the new suburbs east of Pretoria where we lived, at that stage the edge of the cities urban sprawl and pasture for cattle of close
by farms. I often came across small abandoned mud houses from a previous era slowly deteriorating in the weather and was surprised by its stubbornness to survive
the weather. The memories of these buildings stayed with me into adulthood. Mud is a building material which if used to build with on the site it is harvested from,
will create a building with an instant genius loci "spirit of place". These buildings always fit into the landscape with ease.
The mud building with 2x catenary vaults in the previous project being very successful and proving that brick vaults can be built cost-effective with unskilled labour
paved the way for the next Buffelsdrift building still in its planning stage. It will be the last building completing the project and will be a modern building with massive
poured earth walls and a series of 10 vaults with living space upstairs and 2 bedrooms below looking over a natural pool. The living space behind movable shade
screens on the higher level will look east and down the hill over the historical buildings and the 4 hectare olive grove beyond.
Mud buildings traditionally are normally associated with low cost, lived in by bohemians and an option only taken if no other choice for building material is available.
It is a material used out of necessity. Earth-based constructed walls come in several forms including cob, adobe, rammed earth, poured earth and less known
adaptions like light earth. My experience with mud since childhood has been emotional. As a primary school student, I spent my afternoons mostly alone wandering
around the grassy hills at the edge of the new suburbs east of Pretoria where we lived, at that stage the edge of the cities urban sprawl and pasture for cattle of close
by farms. I often came across small abandoned mud houses from a previous era slowly deteriorating in the weather and was surprised by its stubbornness to survive
the weather. The memories of these buildings stayed with me into adulthood. Mud is a building material which if used to build with on the site it is harvested from,
will create a building with an instant genius loci "spirit of place". These buildings always fit into the landscape with ease.
The mud building with 2x catenary vaults in the previous project being very successful and proving that brick vaults can be built cost-effective with unskilled labour
paved the way for the next Buffelsdrift building still in its planning stage. It will be the last building completing the project and will be a modern building with massive
poured earth walls and a series of 10 vaults with living space upstairs and 2 bedrooms below looking over a natural pool. The living space behind movable shade
screens on the higher level will look east and down the hill over the historical buildings and the 4 hectare olive grove beyond.
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