STEYN STUDIO

One of the unexpected qualities of the fragmented glass façade at @steynstudio Garden Café / Spens is how it changes the way the landscape is reflected. A flat sheet of glass behaves like a mirror. Large reflections of sky and mountains can dominate the façade, sometimes disconnecting the interior from the landscape beyond. By breaking the glass into a series of angled facets, each panel captures a slightly different piece of the surroundings. Reflections become softer, fragmented and constantly shifting. Instead of one dominant reflection, the façade dissolves into many small moments of light and landscape. The result is a surface that feels lighter and more porous — reinforcing the original intention of maintaining maximum communication between the interior space and the vineyards beyond. The façade may have emerged late in the design process, but it became one of the defining elements of the building. And perhaps a quiet nod to the ingenuity of early glass architecture, where large glazed structures were achieved through repetition, geometry and lightness. We’ve included the link to @thisisepitome beautiful film of the project in our bio if you missed it the first time. Photography: @southwood.hyperstructure

The trellis at the Garden Café / Spens was always conceived by @steynstudio as a continuous structure. It begins outside, stretches across the landscape, curls into the building, and then unfolds again towards the vineyards. The architecture was meant to feel less like a boundary and more like a moment where landscape and structure overlap. A conventional flat glass façade would have interrupted that idea. The structural pattern of the trellis would need to stop abruptly at the façade line — turning the flowing structure into a rigid edge. The zig-zag glass façade solved this beautifully. Because the glass folds between the structural rhythm, the trellis can continue uninterrupted above it. The structure remains legible and continuous, almost as if it simply drapes over the interior space. Glass becomes a delicate mediator rather than a dominant surface. What looks like a simple move is really about allowing the architecture to remain one continuous gesture. If you haven’t seen the stunning project film by @thisisepitome , we’ve linked it again in our bio. Photography: @southwood.hyperstructure

Sometimes the most defining design moves arrive late in the process. When @steynstudio designed the Garden Café / Spens we always knew the building needed a strong visual connection to the landscape beyond. What we didn’t want was a flat glass wall — a single reflective sheet that would interrupt the rhythm of the timber trellis and weaken the idea of the structure flowing continuously from outside to inside. After exploring several options, the façade evolved into a fragmented zig-zag glass plane. This simple move achieved several things at once: it stiffens the façade structurally, allows slender framing, and breaks the glass surface into smaller facets that subtly brace each other. Rather than acting like a conventional curtain wall, the façade behaves more like a folded surface — where geometry provides strength. Interestingly, the idea echoes the structural ingenuity of Victorian glasshouses, where large glazed surfaces were achieved by breaking them into smaller, rational facets. Sometimes the best solutions are not added complexity, but a slight shift in geometry. If you missed the beautiful film of the project by @thisisepitome , we’ve added the link to our bio again. 📸 @southwood.hyperstructure

The landscaping at Casa del Sol is a quiet, grounding presence — @steynstudio commissioned @paisajismo_pia , to designed a water-wise garden shaped by the native plants of the Costa de la Luz. It’s a garden that embraces the climate rather than resisting it: textured, resilient, and deeply connected to the land. Grasses, aromatic shrubs, and sculptural forms weave between stone and shadow, softening the architecture while amplifying its relationship to the terrain. This naturalistic approach creates a sense of calm continuity, allowing the house and landscape to feel like they’ve always belonged to one another. 📸 @manoloespaliu . More about the design and the story behind the house within the video link in our bio.

@steynstudio designed Casa del Sol around a sequence of outdoor rooms that shape the rhythm of daily life. The entrance courtyard, inspired by the patio sevillano, sets the tone with its quiet geometry and filtered light. Beyond it, the central courtyard becomes the true heart of the home — a protected world of stone arcades, water, and shadow where the living room dissolves into the outdoors. At the far end, the solarium frames the pool like a horizon line, while the roof terrace with its firepit opens to the sky, offering a moment of stillness amongst the tree tops, whilst watching the sunsets. These layered exterior spaces create a home that feels both intimate and expansive, rooted in Andalusian tradition yet unmistakably contemporary. 📸 @manoloespaliu . More about the design and the story behind the house within the video link in our bio.

A home shaped by light. @steynstudio ‘s Casa del Sol rises from the Costa de la Luz as a contemporary re‑imagining of the Andalusian cortijo — intimate courtyards, stone arcades, and an architecture that follows the rhythm of the sun. The inverted arches frame the east and west, catching the first and last light of each day, grounding the house in its landscape and its heritage. Photographed beautifully by @manoloespaliu these moments capture the quiet balance between craftsmanship, shadow, and the coastal breeze. More about the design and the story behind the house within the video, link in bio, beautifully captured by @designinsidefilm

Site Snapshots| We had to get a curve in somewhere……Natural canvas with a punchy palette….All stitched together with the perimeter staircase. There is a strong presence of the buildings heritage in our @steynstudio architectural intervention with the use of raw finishes and industrial accents, yet with calm earthy undertones throughout the light filled interiors. #steynstudio #architecture #interiors #design #naturalpalette #natural #industrial #construction #staircase

Site Snapshots| We had to get a curve in somewhere……Natural canvas with a punchy palette….All stitched together with the perimeter staircase. There is a strong presence of the buildings heritage in our @steynstudio architectural intervention with the use of raw finishes and industrial accents, yet with calm earthy undertones throughout the light filled interiors. #steynstudio #architecture #interiors #design #naturalpalette #natural #industrial #construction #staircase

Site Snapshots| We had to get a curve in somewhere……Natural canvas with a punchy palette….All stitched together with the perimeter staircase. There is a strong presence of the buildings heritage in our @steynstudio architectural intervention with the use of raw finishes and industrial accents, yet with calm earthy undertones throughout the light filled interiors. #steynstudio #architecture #interiors #design #naturalpalette #natural #industrial #construction #staircase

Moving around an architectural model of this @steynstudio designed multifunctional hall showing the texture and transparency of its pleated curtain-like facade. #steynstudio #newarchitecture #civic #theatre #design #architecturalmodel

Moving around an architectural model of this @steynstudio designed multifunctional hall showing its luminosity, transparency and civic presence through its curtain-like facade. #steynstudio #newarchitecture #civic #theatre #design #architecturalmodel

Moving around an architectural model of this @steynstudio designed multifunctional hall with its rooftop bar and restaurant, showing its luminosity, transparency and presence through its parting curtain-like facade. #steynstudio #newarchitecture #civic #theatre #design #architecturalmodel