THE MENNEL PAVILION
Melrose, Johannesburg, Gauteng | 1992
A number of residential commissions allowed Rich to experiment with and develop a particular architectural language in different contexts. All these residential projects demonstrate a commitment to clearly defined external space and also show the adoption of spatial ideas learned from the rural vernacular. Mennel Pavilion consists of a pool house and library built in the garden of a house in a central Johannesburg suburb. The siting of the pavilion allows for a series of simple and well-defined courtyards – outdoor rooms that encourage flexible, open-plan living. The concept of outdoor living and the sequential build-up of space is implicit in the African spatial model. The building is a fusion of the ideals of Modernism with local traditions and culture, rooting the building in its climate and landscape. The building reads as a simple Mies-inspired structure made of exposed steel and glass. The pavilion is refined and rigorously detailed with a sophisticated yet understated use of the steel and glass, establishing a sense of place and a hierarchy of spaces in this otherwise mundane backyard. Two overlapping roof planes structure the building in space; these define and ritualize the entrance walkway as an architectural promenade, with the separate volume of the main building housing a bar and wine cellar. Sliding glass doors, fixed glazing and planar curvilinear walls allow for the integration of inside and outside space, connecting and screening one outdoor room from the other. The pavilion is far more than a refined Modernist artifact. It becomes a cultural statement by combining Modernism with local traditions and endeavors to further strengthen a uniquely South African Architecture.
92
25 Sophia Gray Memorial Lectures and Exhibitions 1989-2013