The 2003 refurbishment of Ulusaba Rock Lodge reimagined the iconic hilltop retreat with a design approach that blends raw African landscape, artisanal craft, and contemporary lodge luxury.

Working with the lodge’s dramatic granite outcrop setting, the refurbishment focused on enhancing the spatial flow and opening interiors to the surrounding panoramas. Large framed apertures and sliding doors transform shared and private spaces into seamless indoor–outdoor environments, allowing sweeping views of the bushveld to become a central architectural element. Natural materials — timber, stone, woven thatch, and hand-crafted detailing—were intentionally emphasized to root the architecture in its rugged environment while elevating the sense of refinement.

The main lodge interior was reconceived as a sculptural volume defined by exposed timber trusses, expansive glazing, and richly layered finishes. The double-volume living and dining hall celebrates organic structure through massive log beams and a vaulted thatched ceiling, contrasted with highly polished hardwood floors and custom-made furniture. Oversized chandeliers crafted from natural materials drop dramatically from the rafters, adding warmth and monumental scale. The plan integrates multiple social zones — including a bar, lounge groupings, and a long communal dining table—arranged to create intimacy without breaking the grandeur of the open-plan space filled with textural rugs, leather seating, and curated African décor.

Guest suites were reconfigured to reinforce privacy, tranquillity, and immersion in the landscape. The refurbishment introduced private decks, plunge pools, and enhanced glazing to allow uninterrupted views directly from the bed and lounge areas.

Die Kraal is a collection of thatched stone cottages arranged organically around courts creating a walled labyrinthine arrangement of spaces connecting habitable rooms, built by Henk Pierneef over a period of time.

Elangeni, as JH (Henk) Pierneef 1986-1957) named his home, is a Zulu word meaning A place in the sun. On the property was remnant stonework of the Ndebele who grazed their cattle in the surrounding valleys and these formed the basis for what Pierneef called Die Kraal (The Corral). He himself undertook much of the building, an art he had probably learned from his father, Gerrit Leendert Pierneef, a Dutch builder.

In 1996 the place was bought by architects Wynand and Eleanor Smit who were instrumental in having ‘Die Kraal’ declared a National Monument in 1975.

In 2005 the property was registered in the name of ‘Elangeni ondernemings’, an enterprise that went bankrupt, and the place sold at auction to the current owners in 2013.

Smit and Fisher Architects, with the assistance of Dr. Roger Fisher and students in their honours year of the architecture and Landscape architecture programme at the University of Pretoria, did a thorough and accurate survey and documentation.

This modular residence for a highveld polo and trout estate near Dullstroom is conceived as a series of contemporary pavilions arranged around elevated timber decks and pergolas. Rather than forming a single continuous structure, the design breaks into several self-contained “pods,” giving it the ambience of an intimate modern lodge scattered across the landscape. The modular system allows flexible phasing, minimal site disturbance, and adaptation to the sloping highveld terrain—important for an estate characterised by frost, wind, and environmental sensitivity.

A central pavilion houses the main living and dining areas and opens widely onto decks overlooking the expansive grasslands. Separate bedroom pods branch off via short walkways, creating privacy through spatial separation rather than enclosure. Additional modules accommodate guests, workspaces, or hobbies, adding versatility for estate lifestyle patterns involving riding, fishing, and hosting visitors. Pergolas, covered walkways, and sunken outdoor lounges create sheltered microclimates tailored to the region’s cold winters and strong winds.

Elevated timber platforms reduce the need for heavy foundations and keep the house warm and dry, while insulated wall systems and metal roofs suit the high-altitude climate. The material palette blends natural textures with Scandinavian simplicity and rural highveld cues, producing a home that feels both contemporary and comfortably rooted in its setting. The result is a flexible, landscape-embracing retreat that balances modern modularity with the romance of farm-estate living.

This private government lodge, constructed in the late 1990s on the southern slopes above Hartebeespoort Dam, is a luxurious contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional Southern African rondavel village.

Designed as an official presidential and ministerial retreat, it transforms the familiar circular kraal layout into a flowing, sculptural composition of interconnected rounded volumes united beneath a large thatched roof.

The lodge pays direct homage to vernacular rondavel forms through its dominant circular geometry, thick curved walls finished in warm earthy plaster, and soaring conical thatched roofs that provide both dramatic silhouette and natural cooling.