Contemporary cluster villa

In Victoria Falls Estate, a comprehensive cluster development of over 190 housing units, one of our tasks was to design ten luxury Contemporary cluster villas in a gated complex by Zimbabwe's leading developer - Cardinal Corporation.

Cluster master plan design

The cluster designated for the luxury villas was large enough to house ten separate houses, each with a plot of around 1500m2. With a supervised entrance and a secure perimeter, the residential complex provided a safe haven. Abundant home parking together with additional guest parking is laid out in the middle of lush greenery and even a small park area for the exclusive use of the residents. Meticulous attention was given to the positioning of the plots within the development and maintaining privacy between the neighbours with privacy walls, shuffling the houses so they are at varying distances from the internal road, and consideration on window locations.

Contemporary house design

The architectural design created a clear separation of day and night areas. The covered entrance porch guides the visitors into the house and the open plan living area that contains the kitchen, living and dining room. These open up onto a generous veranda that has casual seating, a dining table and an eatery where food can be grilled and prepared. The outside and inside all linked through folding-sliding doors that open up completely, creating a huge, luxurious space. As services to this day area, there is a guest toilet, scullery, outside laundry, garage and study/ bedroom downstairs.
Upstairs the intimate area of the house caters for a family room/ bedroom and another two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. A vertical open slit connects the upstairs to the ground floor creating the feeling of a larger space and also permitting the hot air to rise and leave a cooler ground floor.All the bedrooms look onto the private back garden, sheltering the occupants from any stray glances. The ground floor study also has a side veranda that is separate from the main veranda, providing an alternative entrance for buiseness guests, or a separate external quiet area.
The back garden is extensive and houses a swimming pool and high boundary walls to provide privacy.

Green design

The house design was carefully studied in relation to the sun and the positioning of the windows and overhangs to shade all openings from direct sunlight. Ventilation of the roof space was also provided to reduce the heat load on the house, and improve the passive cooling of the buildings. Large overhangs protect all windows and doors, and the veranda spaces have generous roofs protecting the occupants from the sun and rain. The ground floor has large internal heights to give more space and also provide a cooler environment as the hot air rises and occupies the upper room areas cooling the lower areas for the occupants. West facing openings were minimised to shield for the hot late afternoon sun.All existing trees were mapped and house positioning and designs were adapted to keep as many trees as possible, and subsequently new trees are to be planted to supplement the development.

The cluster development has generated significant interest, and these luxury villas will be a special addition to the local residential market