31 / 60
29
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MAY
2016
There is more to well-known Springbok Rugby
player Dewald Potgieter than meets the eye.
At 1,9 m and 103 kg he is big, strong, very fast
and more than adept around the rugby fields
of the world. But Potgieter is equally as adept
at understanding what he wants from a home
and, as his new house demonstrates, he has a
remarkable sensitivity and understanding of
design and construction.
Potgieter explains his thought
process behind the house he
designed using Light Steel Framing
(LSF): “I wanted the house to be
striking in appearance, with clean square
lines and many different depths and textures
on any particular face. I like combining
different natural elements, so I used a lot
of wood, glass, steel and stone to create
focal points and feature areas. I also love to
entertain, so the open plan area is the hub.
Everything is easily accessible from this point
and it encourages and enables interaction
across the kitchen, dining room, living room
and patio,” he says.
Potgieter designed the house himself
using 3D software on his laptop and
submitted the designs to ACG Architect s in
Pretoria to do the official drafts.
On the question of why he decided to use
LFSB Potgieter said that being an advocate
of green initiatives lured him to this building
method. “I believe we all have to actively play
our part in implementing sustainable envi-
ronmental building solutions. The fact that
I could build a house that stays cool during
the summer and retains its heat in the winter
significantly cutting energy costs and, in addi-
tion, takes less than half the time to build
compared to traditional building methods,
really sealed the LSFB deal for me,” he said.
Potgieter added: “All that I expected
from LSFB from an energy-saving perspec-
tive materialised,” he says. “In fact, the only
perceived negative - namely LSFB being
limited from a design perspective - was
disproved quite emphatically. The house is
in essence a complicated design making use
of big open plan areas where the spans are
pretty significant and the LSFB coped very
easily indeed.”
The Potgieter double-storey house comes
in at just under 480 m
2
, has four bedrooms,
four bathrooms – all en-suite – his and her
walk-in closets in the master bedroom, a large
open-plan kitchen/dining room/living room
area, separate scullery and pantry, entrance
hall, triple garage, large wine cellar and
domestic helpers’ quarters all on a 1 500 m
2
stand. Large glass areas have been used to
make the most of spectacular views.
“To think that the actual building time
was just on six months is in itself one of
the strongest recommendations for LSFB
building,” Potgieter says. “I happily endorse
LSFB as a financially viable and energy
efficient method of building and, at the very
least, I want to stimulate people to seriously
look at this building method for themselves
in the future. Thinking green is not just a
‘moment with momentum any longer’ – it
is a full-blown movement and I encourage
everyone to participate in it.”
Potgieter said that one needs to look at
the LSF as a system, where every part and/
or layer plays a significant role in achieving
the full benefits. “This is really where my
contractor – Light Steel Innovations (LSI)
– carried the torch in terms of their under-
standing of the craft,” he said.
“It was a pleasure working with Riaan
Swanepoel, Operations Director of LSI. We
were constantly pushing the envelope on
what could be done, and in the end I believe
A
LIGHT
STEEL FRAME
showpiece
there was a perfect marriage between getting
the ideas in my head to merge with his
uncompromising dedication to the system,”
he said.
John Barnard director of the Southern
African Light Steel Frame Building Association
(SASFA) says that Dewald Potgieter is one of a
growing number of high profile and profes-
sional design enthusiasts who are using LSFB
for a wide variety of projects.
“The ability to achieve complex and
beautiful designs with LSFB is no longer in
doubt and, given that LSFB also contributes
to a growing movement of sustainable and
cost-effective building, the significant advan-
tages of LSFB to individual homeowners and
the environment at large, can no longer be
discounted,” he concluded.
For the Potgieter house, the steel frame
was supplied by Innosteel; the polystyrene
and mesh by Tecnipol; the Gypsum Board and
Basecoat by Saint Gobain; level screed and
render by Trowel on Textures and technical
support by Mulder Kruger and Jaco Richter.
>
“The ability to achieve complex and beautiful designs with LSFB
is no longer in doubt and, given that LSFB also contributes to a
growing movement of sustainable and cost-effective building,
the significant advantages of LSFB to individual homeowners
and the environment at large, can no longer be discounted.”