Nico van der Meulen Architects designed this contemporary home for one single family. Situated in Midrand, House Ber presents itself as a sequence of irregular steel bars randomly placed creating patterned façades which initially were conceived to represent security but now have become the very feature which distinguishes this house from its surrounding. The clients requested a contemporary, iconic house without unnecessary rooms, open plan and airy. They needed four suites, a living area and a large study. Originally they wanted burglar bars, but these fixtures are not allowed in the estate, and this was the inspiration for the random steel bars used around the house. Werner van der Meulen of Nico van der Meulen Architects designed the house as a simple rectangular shape with the living rooms in the center and surrounded by a pool.The house simply rectangular in form is structured around the living room as the center of this home. Unimposing and nearly invisible, the frameless glass doors seamlessly separate the interior from the exterior.
M Square Lifestyle Design selected the random patterns evident on the steel facade as inspiration for the interior design. Illuminated ceilings add to the feeling of transparency, while the materials used were chosen to compliment the contemporary atmosphere. B&B Italia, Pedrali and Molteni & C furniture, Foscarini and Zero lamps and Ligne Pure rugs were supplied by M Square Lifestyle Necessities, along with steel sculptures by Regardt van der Meulen.
