Jet-Set Modernism—A ’60s
Hollywood Homage on Nettleton Ridge
Inspired by the heady, futuristic aesthetic of ’60s and ’70s LA modernism,
House Pengilly injects some of the era’s glamour and poolside party lifestyle into present-day Cape Town.
(Living) High up on Cape Town’s prestigious Nettleton Ridge, hugging the craggy Cape mountainside and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, is a vision that resembles the mansions usually seen in Hollywood movies, think Tony Stark’s Malibu mansion from the Iron Man franchise or a Bond villain’s lair.
And you wouldn’t be far off—this Clifton house, belonging to mining banker Lloyd Pengilly, has its roots in the same US West Coast architecture that inspired all of these filmic fantasies, particularly the work of John Lautner. They’re LA party pads, rising organically from their rocky mountainsides, their interiors fusing with their vast views—part stone sculpture, part flying machine.
This Cape Town house has a similar kind of sculptural presence, at once futuristic and primal. Its swooping curves and waving contours evoke a jet-set era: a time when flights were glamorous, space travel had captured the world’s imagination, and cars spelled freedom.
Cape Town firm Peerutin Architects (now known as Peerutin Karol), who designed the external architecture, worked closely with Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens (SRLC) on the interior architecture and design. “The result is a seamless continuation of the exterior expression to every detail of the interior,” says architect David Peerutin.
To forgo another “box-like structure that stood in opposition to its site,” the designers decided on a conceptual idea: a structure that mimicked the undulation of the surrounding hillsides, with the goal of designing a large house—on a 90-meter-wide, 20-meter-deep site—that wouldn’t impose on the landscape.
“We identified past examples of successful expressions of this language and the clients fell in love with the work of John Lautner,” Peerutin continues. “In our design, there are some more direct translations of the iconic forms that characterize Lautner’s work, but these were adapted and integrated into a much broader expression of this architecture.”
“It gives you this larger-than-life way of looking at things. I find it very uplifting.”
From the street, entry is gained through the garage, which leads on through a copper-clad sliding door and a lobby to what Rech calls a “Moneypenny-type” desk for a quick debriefing, completing an entrance experience fit for 007. A spiral staircase leads to the next level, with a bar, entertainment area, indoor swimming pool, and guest bedrooms. Up one more level is the main living area featuring a lounge, dining room, and kitchen.
“The top level is made up of two sweeping flying saucers and a bridge that links them,” explains Rech. Across “a green lawn in the sky” is a circular off-shutter concrete party pavilion with a swimming pool, spa, and sunken bar.
Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens—who have designed a number of highly original and conceptually daring houses themselves—are perhaps best known for their safari lodge and resort architecture. With structures serving as powerful, subtle responses to nature itself—something to be felt rather than seen—they offered just what the Pengillys needed to complete their spectacular house.