CHRIS VAN NIEKERK

Set within the mist-belt forests of Wilderness, this home is, in many ways, a family affair. For Jan and Katalin, the opportunity to inhabit a home designed by their son, architect Chris van Niekerk (@cvnarch ), arrived unexpectedly, yet feels quietly assured – as though long imagined. What unfolded was a poetic and carefully measured place to pause, and take in the perfumed air of milkwoods and salty air. ‘Curated Calm’ – featured in House and Leisure Volume 20 (Curate), p160. Architecture by Chris van Niekerk (@cvnarch ) Furniture design by MŪVEK (@muvekstudio ) Feature credits: a LOOKBOOK Studio production (@thelookbook ) Art direction by Charl Francois Edwards (@charl_edwards ) Photography by Hayden Phipps (@nothing_fits ) Words by Lucienne Bestall (@luciennepallas ) #houseandleisure #autumn #curate #wilderness

Amid the organic, indigenous milkwoods of the Garden Route, clean restraint calms this 'family-made' home in Wilderness. In the light and shadow of the milkwoods, the home feels both part of the forest and safely cocooned within it, unburdened by the material accumulations of a life. ‘Curated Calm’ – featured in House and Leisure Volume 20 (Curate), p160. Architecture by Chris van Niekerk (@cvnarch ) Furniture design by MŪVEK (@muvekstudio ) Feature credits: a LOOKBOOK Studio production (@thelookbook ) Art direction by Charl Francois Edwards (@charl_edwards ) Photography by Hayden Phipps (@nothing_fits ) Words by Lucienne Bestall (@luciennepallas ) #houseandleisure #autumn #curate #wilderness

We’re so proud of this collaboration with @spectrummirror . The project brings together defining characteristics from both our studios — our sculptural approach to steel and Spectrum’s refined chromatic glass in one considered piece. The MŪ202 Spectrum Mirror is currently on view at the Furniture Week Festival Hub at 81 St George’s Mall. A huge thank you to everyone who’s stopped by, shared kind words, and engaged so thoughtfully.

𝚃𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙰𝙻𝙼 (volume on) Official reel for Mountain House in Zwaanswyk, Cape Town. R55,000,000 Contact @richard.huxham.hardie & @brucedarne to view this beautiful home with the most incredible views over Tokai Forest, Constantia and beyond. 𝙰𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝 @cvnarch 𝙼𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊 @letspropinmedia #hardieproperty #capetown #luxuryhomes #realestate #architecture

Créma Design Progress, 21 November 2025

Built with limited, earth-toned materials where finish and structure are one, Mountain House is designed to weather with the seasons. Indigenous, water-wise vegetation restores the site, allowing the dwelling to gradually settle into its semi-rural terrain. BRICK AWARD 26 Nominee: Mountain House, South Africa Architect: Chris van Niekerk (@cvnarch ) Photos: Greg Cox

Mountain House in the Steenberg Mountains is defined by three interconnected parts arranged in a U-shape. The concrete canopy — echoing the fractured crests above — creates a protected outdoor refuge with framed views toward False Bay and Table Mountain. BRICK AWARD 26 Nominee: Mountain House, South Africa Architect: Chris van Niekerk (@cvnarch ) Photos: Greg Cox

The House in the Slope The guiding idea for the house was, above all, to respect the views and privacy of the Mountain House on the slope above. Everything needed to remain low, discreet, and integrated into the terrain. The site has an average incline of about twenty degrees, and the approach was to treat this incline almost as a membrane or raised layer of land. I imagined raising the terrain by a single storey, parallel to the natural slope, and then extending it as a continuous surface. This surface becomes the roof of the new dwelling, folding and enveloping to create spaces beneath it. The house, therefore, exists entirely below this single, sloping roof plane, concealed within the hillside, with nothing rising above it other than two modest chimneys, which act as sculptural beacons in the lower landscape. Beyond the practicalities of the site and the need to protect privacy, this roof-membrane is also a response to the Client’s main reference: the archetypal low-slung pitched roof. The idea was to reinterpret this traditional structure in a contemporary way, allowing the new home to feel both familiar and innovative. The aim was simplicity and continuity: a house that belongs to the slope itself, present but not intrusive, sheltered beneath a single gesture that is both roof and land. Visuals @juan_pierre_albasini

Créma Design, 7 October 2025

Créma Design showroom, work in progress, 3 October 2025

Mountain House, 17 September 2025

Wilderness House, 11 September 2025