My clients wanted a modern home with the classic Cape feel, Cape Dutch architecture reinterpreted rather than copied. So the materials came from the place itself: Cape slate on the roof, granite like the stone on Clifton beach running through the floors inside and out and into the pool, and the gable made as modern as possible.

Fresnaye is steep, and the garage sat far above the house. Getting home used to mean stepping out of the garage into the weather, walking down steps to the bottom of the house, then climbing all the way back up inside. A bridge fixed it: straight from the garage into the house, with a view of Lion's Head every time you cross.

Below it, the old horrible yard between the garage and the house became what we called the internal street. Glass along the side of the house looks onto it, with paving, greenery and beautiful lighting, so the back of the house turned into one of its best spaces.