The Midlands Pavilion – A Modern Take on a Traditional South African Home

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Traditional houses look different in various areas of the world. For instance, in South Africa, in traditional villages, family homes were decentralized. This is exactly what the Midlands Pavilion, a home in Nottingham Road, tries to mimic.

Midlands-Pavilion-houses — The rooms of the house are spread into separate pavilions.

Built by Nadine Engelbrecht Architect in 2020 and covering about 383 square meters, the house was based on the traditional “Zulu Umuzi.”

“Umuzi” is the name for the traditional village of the Zulu in South Africa. It consisted of a group of huts, each with its own purpose. In the same spirit, this weekend home features multiple dwellings.

Midlands Pavilion outdoors kitchen — The home features many amenities, including an outdoor kitchen.

One of the buildings features a bedroom, bathroom, and a living area, while another hosts a kitchen and living room. The biggest building, which the others surround, features a bathroom, kitchen, living area, indoor dining area, and an outdoor dining area.

Midlands Pavilion outdoors dining — The outdoor dining area is quintessential to this type of living.

Midlands Pavilion living area — One of the living areas puts the beautiful stone wall on display.

One thing you’ll notice throughout the home is the concrete floors, ceilings, and the breathtaking stone walls. While each pavilion looks interesting on its own, it’s clear there’s a design line carrying through all of them, making it clear they’re part of the same building.

Midlands Pavilion large dining area — An indoor dining area for all the times when you want to be inside.

The inspiration for the home may go back centuries, but the building is very much rooted into modern days. The design plays a secondary role as it helps level the interior climate of the pavilions, eliminating the need for extra heating or cooling systems.

Midlands Pavilion dining area — Whether this is a more restricted dining area or the perfect breakfast nook is up to the owner.

The pavilions use glazing, which in conjunction with the exposed concrete floors, allows passive heating of interior spaces. Also, the low emissivity glass prevents heat loss on the southern facade.

Midlands Pavilion bedroom view — The glazed glass offers some privacy and serves the purpose to help regulate the temperatures.

Midlands Pavilion bathroom — The bathroom offers all the modern amenities and a ton of style.

Since both the northern and southern facades have sliding doors, the prevailing wind direction can act as a natural source to ventilate and cool the buildings.