A MODERNIST RANCH
Sitting high on a plateau, this Cubist-style rural retreat is surrounded by the majestic South African landscape.
The South African getaway of entrepreneur Julian Treger is a fascinating hybrid of cultural inf luences
The location of this property is secluded, virtually isolated — only accessible by four-wheel drive via a rough track through scrub and pastureland. However, the bumpy ride to the top is worth it. When you reach the peak, you are met by breathtaking views of seemingly endless hills and valleys, unobstructed by other buildings. This natural parkland in South Africa’s Western Cape province is where design patron and entrepreneur Julian Treger is opening up his new home. Called the White House, the building is composed of white cubes and is just a few kilometres as the crow flies from another of his homes, K Cottage, a spectacular futuristic villa overlooking Plettenberg Bay. “If K Cottage is based on interlacing fluid lines, here I wanted a more angular architecture; more monastic as well,” Treger says. “I wanted to depict a kind of ‘contemporary cottage’, something between the style of Le Corbusier and Ralph Lauren’s Colorado ranch.” Passionate about architecture since childhood, the design collector and art enthusiast tries to give each of his homes a distinctive character. “I wanted to create links between European, American and South African culture,” Treger says of the White House, “through both the building’s structure and the artworks inside.” In particular, canvases by artist Erik Laubscher, a painter who created a bridge between the abstraction of the Paris School of the 1950s and the raw bright colours unique to the Western Cape landscape, make complete sense when seen in this context. Built more than a decade ago, the property sat empty for several years before Treger got around to fixing it up, during which time it was taken over and trashed by maurauding baboons. Now, Treger has restored, extended and redesigned his home with the help of Christiaan van Aswegen of Cape Town-based AGH Architecture. With its pure geometric and minimalist lines, the White House owes a lot to the principles of the Modernist movement upheld by Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. Its large picture windows are reflected in the water features and look out onto garden beds of ivy dotted with abstract sculptures that call to mind New York’s MoMA. The interior’s melange of vintage furniture is bold and eclectic, happily bringing together Swiss-French modernism — there are many pieces by Le Corbusier’s cousin Pierre Jeanneret — with sculpted, Paul Evans-style American Brutalism and the 1970s glamour of Italian designer and photographer Willy Rizzo. Cowhide rugs and seat covers highlight the intentionally rural aspect of the project. Treger has also considered the environment in the construction of the White House. It has its own greywater recycling facility and electricity is generated using solar panels. Beyond the artworks and architecture, it is nature that rules here, imposing its quiet strength. The only sounds are those of animals in the distance, wind sweeping across the teak terrace or rain pattering on the bay windows. “This place has a certain spirituality,” agrees Treger. “Staying here is an intense, almost mystical experience.”