River House Studio

River House Studio is a South African Architecture Firm founded by Willem Steytler.

At River House Studio, we believe in well-crafted, timeless architecture which is honest in construction, form and materials

Designing a bigger building without making it feel like one.One of the main design informants at Tafelhaus No.17 was its...
31/08/2026

Designing a bigger building without making it feel like one.

One of the main design informants at Tafelhaus No.17 was its relationship with the existing urban fabric. The building needed to satisfy the heritage requirements of the site, but just as importantly, we wanted it to sit comfortably within the rhythm and scale of the street.

Rather than allowing the elevation to read as one large facade, it is broken down through recessed openings, balconies, screens, planting and finer layers of steelwork. The repetition of these elements establishes a rhythm across the elevation while keeping the scale closer to that of the surrounding residential context.

For us, responding to heritage does not necessarily mean copying what is already there. It can also mean understanding the proportions, rhythms and character of a place, and allowing those to inform something new.

Website: https://www.tafelhaus17-oranjezicht.co.za

Developer:
Marketing & Sales: .digital_sa .property
In collaboration with: .wilson.architects
Interior designers:
Quantity Surveyors:
Engineers: Frame Group
Main contractors: HFO
Civils and Earthworks: GLC

A new one in the city we love.Tafelhaus No.17 sits just below Table Mountain, with the mountain on one side and the city...
31/08/2026

A new one in the city we love.

Tafelhaus No.17 sits just below Table Mountain, with the mountain on one side and the city on the other.

We love working in Cape Town. We love its neighbourhoods, its landscape, its strange little constraints, and especially the people we get to work with along the way.

This project has been a particularly exciting one for us, and over the next few posts we’ll be sharing more of the architecture, the thinking behind it, the details we obsessed over and, eventually, a look inside.

For now, this is where it starts.

(Continuing with the Liv Village competition proposal)One of the main ideas behind the proposal was to create a clear ne...
17/08/2026

(Continuing with the Liv Village competition proposal)

One of the main ideas behind the proposal was to create a clear new identity for the community centre without disconnecting it from the existing LIV Village architecture.

The red steel frame is carried through from the existing buildings, but is exaggerated and extended to form entrances, walkways and shaded edges. The repeated sawtooth roof profile gives the building a stronger presence while still speaking the same language as the corrugated structures already on site.

We wanted the entrance to feel obvious, welcoming and just a little bit playful.

(Continuing with the Liv Village Competition proposal)Inside, the roof structure becomes one of the defining parts of th...
14/08/2026

(Continuing with the Liv Village Competition proposal)

Inside, the roof structure becomes one of the defining parts of the building.

The sawtooth form brings natural light deep into the main communal space while giving the interior a sense of scale and energy. We kept much of the structure visible, with the red steel continuing from outside to inside so that the building reads as one continuous idea.

The aim was to make a community space that feels robust and practical, but never institutional. A place for learning, playing, gathering and whatever else the community may need it to become.

We were lucky enough to be shortlisted as one of six architecture firms invited to take part in a competition for a new ...
10/08/2026

We were lucky enough to be shortlisted as one of six architecture firms invited to take part in a competition for a new community centre for LIV Village in Fisantekraal.

The brief asked for a new building that could sit comfortably alongside the existing LIV Village structures, which are largely characterised by corrugated metal cladding, red steel framing and a direct, practical architectural language. Our proposal takes those existing cues and reworks them into something more playful, open and generous.

Because the centre is intended to serve the surrounding Fisantekraal community, we wanted the building to feel uplifting and full of energy. Rather than treating it as a purely functional community facility, we imagined it as a place that could feel exciting to arrive at, easy to move through, and full of moments for gathering, learning, playing and simply spending time together.

Following posts will show more of the project!

No.03 on the River House travels was, of course, Peter Zumthor’s Kolumba Museum in Cologne.The museum is built around th...
04/08/2026

No.03 on the River House travels was, of course, Peter Zumthor’s Kolumba Museum in Cologne.

The museum is built around the ruins of the late-Gothic Church of St. Kolumba, which was largely destroyed during the Second World War. Zumthor’s building incorporates the ruins, the archaeological excavations and Gottfried Böhm’s 1950 chapel into one continuous building.

We knew it was going to be impressive, but when we arrived, it was far more than we expected. The usual architectural response to ruins is to build lightly over them, using glass or thin-framed structures. Zumthor’s approach initially seems heavy, and perhaps even intrusive, but it is one of the most successful responses to a historic site we have experienced.

Every detail is considered and intentional. We were constantly aware of the contrasts around us: the historic and the new, the rough and the refined, the heavy and the light. Somehow, despite all these layers, the building feels completely timeless.

100% would visit again.

Meet our office dog SimonEmployee of the month, every month. Head of morale, snacks and silent judgement. Doesn’t do adm...
15/07/2026

Meet our office dog Simon

Employee of the month, every month.
Head of morale, snacks and silent judgement.
Doesn’t do admin, but somehow still outranks everyone.

At the back, House Seyuba opens up to the garden and becomes a much more relaxed family home.The ground floor was carefu...
10/07/2026

At the back, House Seyuba opens up to the garden and becomes a much more relaxed family home.

The ground floor was carefully reworked so that everyday living can spill out towards the pool, shaded terrace and lush planting around the house.

By keeping what could be kept, and changing only what needed to change, the project creates a layered home that feels both familiar and completely renewed.

House Seyuba is an alteration and addition project that gives new life to an outdated suburban home while still respecti...
06/07/2026

House Seyuba is an alteration and addition project that gives new life to an outdated suburban home while still respecting what was already there.

The new first floor brings a more contemporary character to the house, with white sculptural volumes, timber details and gentle curves that speak to the modernist language of Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs.

Because the house sits on a tight site, two metres below street level, the design became a careful study of light, privacy and how to make the home feel more open and generous.

29/06/2026

Some diagramatic explorations of the house in Stilbaai that we've been posting about!

Address

4 Charay Mansions, 34 Ludlow Road
Vredehoek
8001

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 17:00

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