Constantia Kloof Village: Creating a Viable Development Within the Wilderness Landscape

This was a very exciting project for Geringer Architects, as Wilderness is a place very close to our founder Martin Geringer’s heart. It is somewhere he and his family often visit to escape the stress of everyday life and reset.

When he started working on the project, Martin had one main thought in mind: How could we create these houses so that the people who purchased here could truly experience the tranquillity and serenity of Wilderness?

Wilderness really is one of nature’s masterpieces. You can feel the liveliness of the bush, mountains, birds, rivers and ocean all coming together. It is this relationship between the different parts of the landscape that makes the area so special.

The broader Wilderness area forms part of the Garden Route landscape, known for its lakes, rivers, estuaries, beaches, indigenous forest and coastal fynbos. The nearby Wilderness Lakes are also internationally recognised as an important wetland system. Birdlife in the area includes African fish eagles, kingfishers, herons and the colourful Knysna turaco.

This natural character needs to be protected. There are many places around the world that have lost their authenticity because every available piece of land has been covered by buildings. Wilderness still has that feeling of being alive, and we wanted the development to form part of that landscape rather than overwhelm it.

A Site With More Challenges Than Expected

As with any project, Constantia Kloof Village came with its own challenges and obstacles.

The property purchased for the development included a watercourse, flood-line restrictions and a substantial portion of land that needed to remain open. This meant that the total size of the property did not represent the amount of land that could actually be developed.

Developing in Wilderness involves several overlapping planning considerations. Zoning rights, national building regulations, municipal development conditions, flood lines, building lines, environmental sensitivities and open-space requirements can all affect what may be built on a property.

These controls are important for protecting the character and natural environment of the area, but they can also create a real headache for developers and architects trying to make a project financially feasible.

This project is a good example of why a feasibility study should not look only at the total area of a property or its basic zoning. The real developable footprint can be significantly reduced once flood lines, access, building lines, open-space obligations and other restrictions are properly considered.

Finding a Way to Make the Development Work

The developers, LateganMuller, contacted Geringer Architects with a dilemma on their hands.

We were told that three architects had worked on the project before we were appointed. The problem was that they had not been able to fit enough units onto the usable portion of the property for the development to be financially feasible.

The earlier feasibility studies had not presented a true picture of the actual building capacity of the site. Municipal planning records show that three of the units in an earlier 15-unit proposal had to be excluded because they fell below the approximated 1-in-100-year flood line.

This is where the experience of Geringer Architects became important.

Quick Tip from Martin Geringer: Before relying on projected yield, request a Development Feasibility Review.

Martin and his team started cracking down on the problem, testing different layouts, angles and ways of using the available space. The challenge was not simply to squeeze more houses onto the property. We had to find a solution that made commercial sense while still creating comfortable homes and protecting the open landscape around them.

After quite a bit of head scratching, the team figured it out.

The houses were carefully positioned within the genuinely developable portion of the site, taking the flood lines and open-space areas into account. According to the approved development information, approximately 1,788 m² of the recorded 4,283 m² development area was allocated as private open space. That is roughly 42% of the property.

Enough units could be accommodated to make the project work, while the homes themselves were given larger and more open living spaces than originally planned.

This was a major breakthrough for the developers, for Geringer Architects and, importantly, for the natural setting of Wilderness.

Designing Homes That Live Into the Landscape

We created spacious homes that live out towards Constantia Kloof and connect their internal living areas with private outdoor patios.

The intention was for owners to feel part of the landscape from inside their homes. The living spaces open towards the outdoors, allowing the vegetation, changing light and sounds of the surrounding birdlife to become part of everyday life.

Instead of seeing the restricted portion of the property as wasted land, we treated it as an important part of the development. The open space gives the homes breathing room and helps retain the natural character that attracted people to Wilderness in the first place.

The constraint became one of the main organising principles of the design: concentrate the houses within the land that could genuinely be developed, while leaving a meaningful part of the property open and connected to its surroundings.

A Positive Commercial Result

The market response showed that it was possible to protect the character of the site while still creating a commercially attractive development.

In October 2022, the two-bedroom house-and-land packages were marketed from R3.745 million, while the three-bedroom packages were marketed from R4.125 million. Marketing material later reported that 12 homes had been sold, with only three remaining at that stage.

More recently, completed three-bedroom homes within the development have been advertised for between approximately R5.39 million and R5.6 million.

These figures are advertised prices rather than independently verified transfer prices, and some of the completed homes may include furniture, solar systems or other owner upgrades. Even so, they provide a useful indication of the market’s response to the development and the value buyers place on well-designed homes in this setting.

Experience Makes the Difference

Constantia Kloof Village reminded us that environmentally sensitive land does not necessarily make development impossible. It does, however, require careful investigation, a realistic understanding of the property’s constraints and a willingness to test many different design solutions.

In a place like Wilderness, good architecture is not only about deciding where to build. It is also about understanding where not to build.

Through experience, creative planning and an appreciation for the natural environment, Geringer Architects helped turn a difficult site into a viable residential development - creating spacious homes that allow residents to enjoy the tranquillity of Wilderness while retaining a substantial portion of the open landscape that makes the area so special.