Jaco Wasserfall Architects Incorporated

House Steffens Interview with Odyssées D'architectures:

A l’intérieur d’une maison qui flotte - NAMIBIA T. AFRIQUE ep. 47 Steffens House by Jaco Wasserfall On a visité une magnifique maison proche de Windhoek avec son architecte. Cette maison a été conçue pour s’ouvrir sur le pa...

Alte Feste: First Concept draft presented: https://www.az.com.na/kultur/was-wird-aus-der-alten-feste-erste-entwurfe-vorgestellt2024-05-23

International Award winning house: House Steffens

House Steffens - BIG SEE House Steffens is located on a nature estate east of Windhoek, Namibia, where game such as springbok, kudu, eland and warthog roam freely between residences.

Alte Feste, Windhoek renovation: https://www.we.com.na/infrastructure-we/alte-feste-gears-up-for-a-new-look2024-04-11

the steel to rusty colour change is coming on quite great.

Dear esteemed clients, please note that we will take a break between December 11, 2023 and January 08, 2024. Thank you for your loyal support during 2023. We wishing you all a well deserved and blessed holiday ahead.

Kind regards

Jaco Wasserfall Architects team.

Jaco Wasserfall Architects Incorporated updated their phone number.

Dear Client

Please note our phone lines are still out of order after two weeks, due to a damaged Telecom cable in CBD area. According to Wayne at Telecom Namibia this morning, lines will only be active next week again, as they still struggle to get the new cable installed

Luderitz: Shark Island Light House revamp completed.

Architect: Jaco Wasserfall Architects
Quantity Surveyor: A Britz Quantity Surveyors
Engineers: Telios Namibia Consulting Engineers
Interior Designers: Olive Rose Interiors (credits for interior photos)

https://kaslikworkshop.com/blog/94/House+Steffens/

https://www.archdaily.com/979000/house-staffens-jaco-wasserfall-architects

House Steffens / Jaco Wasserfall Architects Completed in 2021 in Windhoek, Namibia. Images by Kris Barnard, Leo Visser. The Steffens residence is located on a high-lying site in the Finkenstein Estate to the east of Windhoek where privacy, open space, protection of...

https://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch-showcase/2022/06/16/house-staffens-in-windhoek-namibia-by-jaco-wasserfall-architects-inc/

Rendering of new house in Herboth's Blick. Expected project completion date is June 2023

Jaco Wasserfall Architects Incorporated updated their address.

House Steffens - Interior and some afternoon and night time photos

House Steffens completed and currently in it's retention period

Old historical house renovations nearing completion - Swakopmund

Some pictures of renovation process of this old gem in Rhode Allee, Swakopmund

Office for Ernst & Young, Windhoek (Award winning project)

As a building that represents an innovative, unconventional, and rather exceptional company, the new Namibian head office for Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants has been conceived to give expression to these qualities in a manner that challenges traditional relationships between culture, environment, structure and space, while accommodating the organisation’s progressive working methods. Every effort was made to avoid a stereotypical office solution and to resolve the brief in such a way as to announce the EY identity within the Windhoek urban environment with aplomb and eloquence.

Hemmed in by streets on three sides and sloping down to a small watercourse, the site for the new head office is located in a decentralised commercial node in the suburb of Klein Windhoek and surrounded by hills and low-density residential development. Views onto the site from these surroundings dictated a sensitive approach to form giving, scale, site planning, and the use of materials.

Transparency and legibility were key design considerations from the outset: a strong circulation axis leads the visitor along a shaded entrance walkway to a reception area where glimpses of the building interior are introduced. This walkway also serves as a visual barrier separating the lower-lying staff parking area from the generous open space embracing the public face of the building.

Once inside the building, the visitor is exposed to its entire workings. A clear hierarchy of space from public to private is maintained without introducing physical barriers: the prominent circulation axis terminates in a system of ramps intersecting the double-volume ungulum that forms the heart of the complex.

The distinctive company ethos of Ernst & Young is echoed in the design of both the building’s spatial and office environment through:

the prioritisation of a ‘People First’ philosophy: an unusually large proportion of floor area is dedicated to non-work, staff-related functions ( 28% of the total floor area)

the down-play of corporate hierarchy: a deliberate absence of cellular office space unless needed for visual and/or acoustic privacy – partners are seated within the open office configuration, with the cellular offices a series of meeting and quiet rooms on the east side of each office floor

the concept of generic seating: an open-plan office arrangement with a generic, non-dedicated seating configuration – a first-come-first-served principle applies, and at day’s end personal belongings are locked away in lockers

The new head office complex is the architectural manifestation of these unique Ernst & Young dynamics, set firmly within a Namibian context.

Namibian vernacular architecture served as an abstract for the new building at the request of the client. This found expression not only in a spatial organisation that emulates the traditional Ambo homestead with its all important ‘olupale’, a centralised circular meeting space, but also in the juxtaposing of old and new, both in the making of form and use of materials: for example, the central space with its conical shape, whilst reminiscent of traditional shelter, is truncated in a contemporary fashion, while the rigidity of the rectangular office blocks is contrasted with the organic forms of the drum and the curved stone wall. The combination of organic and manufactured surfaces (stone and water versus steel, concrete, and porcelain) and the alternations between opacity and transparency create a dynamic visual and sensory experience.

In addition to corporate identity and context, other design parameters include the shape and pronounced slope of the site, access, climatic concerns orientation, and security.

The truncated cone has a double-skinned ventilated structure that helps to reduce heat gain: the use of Rheinzink as cladding is a first for Namibia – it is pure zinc, long lasting and maintenance-free, and meets the most stringent ecological requirements.

The decorations within the building interior serve to reinforce a Namibian flavour and references. Twenty-eight light pendants are suspended from the roof of the central drum symbolising the twenty-eight living languages listed for Namibia, and local artist Francois de Necker was commissioned to create a wall-mounted mobile of recycled materials depicting various cultural and economic symbols of Namibia.

Office of the Auditor General, Namibia

Located in the cultural precinct of Windhoek’s CBD, the site of the new Head Quarters of the Auditor General adjoins the busy Robert Mugabe Avenue between Bahnhof and van den Heever Streets.

Architecturally speaking, the biggest challenge was to design a building with a language and overall expression befitting the image and status of the office of an auditor general: an uncompromising and distinguished presence, yet restrained, timeless, inclusive and neutral. Other important design considerations were the contribution of the new building to public urban space within the city, and the interfacing thereof with its immediate context and the existing city fabric.

The Auditor General building complex occupies the northernmost portion of an L-shaped site, taking full advantage of the exposure offered by the prominent Robert Mugabe/van den Heever street corner. In response to the generous open urban space and garden of the FNCC across the road, the southeast corner of the site is treated as a landscaped open space planted with indigenous trees and utilised for staff parking. This gesture likewise acknowledges the presence of the nearby and historically relevant Turnhalle building.

Pavements are incorporated into the overall design, with plant boxes, trees and benches edging and punctuating pedestrian routes.

The building’s fragmented layout aims at maximising north orientation: two wings separated by a sunken courtyard garden. Public entrance to the building takes the form of a bridge suspended over the courtyard, while vertical and horizontal circulation is accommodated in the spine that connects the executive and directorate wings.

With completely open layout configurations ruled out by the confidential nature of work, offices are strung along the north and south facades ensuring ample natural light. Service spaces are located along the western façades. Parking for senior staff is located on two levels below the north wing.

External finishes are robust: face-brick, off-shutter concrete and rusted steel make for low maintenance. Fenestration is punched and largely limited to the north and south facades. Balconies allow ease of access for cleaning purposes and, along with the conspicuous brise-soleil elements and a substantial roof overhang, provide sufficient passive sun control. Equally robust, internal finishes follow a limited colour palette.

Hilton 5 Star Hotel

The new Hilton (Eliakim Namundjebo Plaza) Hotel in Windhoek, Namibia, forms the first phase of the proposed Freedom Square development, an 80,000m² mixed-use precinct in the heart of the capital set to transform the urban face and dynamics of the CBD.

Prominently situated as the city centre is entered from the Hosea Kutako International Airport along Sam Nujoma Avenue, the hotel occupies the southernmost portion of the larger property and is hemmed in by streets on three sides. The elevated Supreme Court and Bank of Namibia overlook the site to the east, and the City Council Building to the south. The Hilton enjoys panoramic views of the city and surrounding mountains to the west and southwest. It will also have a commanding view of the new development to the north and, in particular, the tree-lined pedestrian spine alongside which the retail, office, and other components will be arranged.

Announcing the hotel to the approaching guest and marking its main entrance is a 40m high glass-and-steel tower. The prominent entrance drum links to a full-height atrium from where all public functions in the main building can be reached: the lounge and coffee shop, banqueting halls, meeting rooms and terrace on ground level, and an all-day dining restaurant, cocktail bar and terrace on mezzanine. Natural light penetrates the building interior through the partially glazed atrium that, along with other double volume spaces, creates visual links between the various levels of the building. An executive lounge is located on the upper two levels of the glazed drum and links to a rooftop pool, poolside cabanas, a gym and wellness facility, and a terrace bar.

Legibility and transparency were important design considerations. A strong circulation axis and visual links ensure clarity of public circulation, both horizontally and vertically. The idea of illuminated boxes within a legible building structure is applied as a constant theme for design elements such as retail shops, offices, bars, reception desks, and selected service components, with varying degrees of transparency reflecting the required levels of privacy. Animated by the illumination of the panoramic lift cars, the twinned main lift shafts are expressed as glazed vertical boxes penetrating the total height of the building.

Conceptually the Hilton was perceived as a beacon of urban nightlife in a digital age, celebrating arrival and local culture with art and imagery, thus providing Namibia’s capital city with a public landmark comparable to Piccadilly Circus or Time Square.

International hotels as public landmarks, besides being welcoming, sophisticated places where comfort of stay takes precedence, in some instances can be likened to entertainment theatres, escapes from the mundane where luxury, wellness and the green agenda are eminent and nature is invited in.

The sophistication in the new Hilton Hotel lies in the interplay of understatement and decoration, of excitement and relaxation, of food and drink, and of high technology and nature. The selective use of decorative sculptural lighting and glass in different shades and colours provides focus where celebration is required.

Comfort is achieved by capturing an ambience of homeliness and intimacy whilst being universal, accessible, climatically responsive, and by encouraging ease of communication.

As an entertainment theatre, the new hotel at night performs as an art gallery or urban stage with large glazed areas displaying its activities to passers’ by. The transient character of theatre is expressed through the inventive use of LED lighting in changing the ambience and appearance of interior spaces and external facades.

Nature is invited into the building in different ways. The expanse of the great Namibian landscape is reflected in the generosity of public spaces whilst the colours and natural textures of the desert and arid landscapes of the country provided a distinct palette for the building interior and exterior. A restrictive range of colours, textures and materials is applied, but with the necessary contrast where needed. Building materials are a combination of sand coloured stucco and local granite on the facades. Succulents and plants from the region, indigenous trees, stone, and water features are also applied in a way so as to emulate the natural landscape of Namibia.

From a green perspective the heat of a nearby hot spring will eventually be utilised in the larger development for purposes of heating: green roofs, solar control, intelligent lighting, thermal glass and ventilated cavity walls are also used.

Buhrmann & Partners (International Award - Italy)

The result of a mini competition, the new office complex for Bührmann & Partners Consulting Engineers is the manifestation of a longstanding working relationship between the respective practices – and more particularly between Sigi Teetz and Jaco Wasserfall – that began almost two decades ago and has since matured into a dynamic partnership built on mutual respect and a shared passion for architecture. Equally contributing to the project in enthusiasm and skill was Manny Miranda, a contractor with experience in abundance and a reputation for impeccable off-shutter concrete work.

The new building is located on a narrow 1500 square meter cul-de-sac property in the residential area of Klein Windhoek. Earmarked for low-density office development in the local town-planning scheme, this area is gradually being transformed but without sacrificing its distinct residential scale.

Besides proposing the demolition of the existing house, the clients’ brief stipulated that its immaculate garden had to be maintained and integrated into the proposed intervention. Other requirements included the use of off-shutter concrete and the introduction of a water element. The three partners had to be accommodated in separate offices with views over the garden.

Simplicity and geometric clarity were the overriding design aspirations. A long concrete beam with impressive clear spans is employed as a prominent circulation axis demarcating a clear approach to the building for both visitor and staff, and separating the production and administrative/service zones. It also serves as a unifying element that ties all of the various single storey building components and staff parking structures into a single architectural entity. Conceived as a double volume container, the large draughting office has a winged and centrally cantilevered concrete roof with clearstory windows to the south and north to ensure sufficient daylight. Individual offices and discussion nodes are attached to the glazed facades of the main volume as cubed pods framing views of the garden from within. A generous roof overhang shades the glazed façades of the main space whilst horizontal louvres provide shading to the office pods. Forming the building threshold from public to private and physically separating building from garden, is a linear water element. It also was meant to act as security deterrent although it was later deemed inadequate and a perimeter fence added. A brightly coloured curved wall element shield the building from the fierce west sun whilst providing visual relief and suggesting movement.

A minimalist and robust approach was followed in the choice and application of materials, details and finishes: mindful of low maintenance, exposed structural elements are used alongside unadorned concrete, steel and aluminium, timber and glass. The partners’ initial hesitation to the limited application of bright colours in focus areas was largely overcome by presenting them with photo-rendered images of the building beforehand. Design involvement also included built-in furniture and signage.

10 OSSMANN STRASSE - WINDHOEK

Architecture belongs to the site.

The refurbishment of a tired 1950’s residence in the verdant suburb of Klein Windhoek offered an opportunity to explore the intimate spaces required for living against a fixed plan template of the existing, while simultaneously re-establishing connections to the site, broader landscapes and contexts.

Completed in April 2013, the house is reinterpreted as a pavilion set on a steep embankment within a tranquil oasis of indigenous acacia trees. Designed for near-empty nesters, the key challenge was to create flexible space for living and relaxation – breathable space with ready access to the outdoors – packaged as a low-maintenance lock-up-and-go but with a couple of extra bedrooms for come-and-go adult children.

Prominent features of the site include a rocky ‘koppie’ that separates the house from the neighbouring residence and a pronounced fall towards the north. Located on the highest portion of the site, the house enjoys north orientation and beautiful views across the Klein Windhoek valley.

In a neighbourhood of a somewhat non-descript character, the next-door Munting residence provided salient architectural clues, particularly insofar as the choice of a limited palette of materials and finishes was concerned: clay bricks, off-shutter and exposed aggregate concrete, mica stone and rusted steel. In contrast to the robust exterior, the interior of the building is enveloped by the warmness of its plywood linings, partitioning and built-in cupboards.

Ill-considered alterations and additions to the old house over the years made for an impractical and incoherent plan layout. The intervention brings a sense of programmatic clarity and simplicity, and attempts to create simple, robust spaces to live in. The double-volume living area with its butterfly roof and clerestory windows to the south is the heart of the house: sliding doors open to a large terraced patio overlooking the garden and affording panoramic views of the distant mountains. The kitchen too has windows framing the trees in the garden outside.

Passive design principles employed include a ventilated steel-clad façade, solar water heating and appropriate shading devices. All stone used are from the site; precast concrete fence panels were reused as stepping-stones across the lawn; the front door is a salvaged prison gate; the clay brick used is from a rehabilitation project where clay is extracted from old mine slime dams. Framed steel mesh panels are used for security and fencing.

The sensitivity with which the house imposes on the site is enhanced by the beautifully crafted mica stonewalls that link natural and man-made. Passage of time – rusty red walls and established vegetation – will allow the house further to settle within its surrounding landscape.

JWA - New Project: Herboth's Blick - Construction of this exiting project is kicking off next month.

Pro-bono projects: Dordabis Communal Spine by Jaco Wasserfall Architects Inc

Gross Barment Resort by Jaco Wasserfall Architects Inc

10 Ossmann Street by Jaco Wasserfall Architects Inc

Hilton 5Star Hotel by Jaco Wasserfall Architects Inc

Located in the cultural precinct of Windhoek’s CBD, the site of the new Head Quarters of the Auditor General adjoins the busy Robert Mugabe Avenue between Bahnhof and van den Heever Streets.

Architecturally speaking, the biggest challenge was to design a building with a language and overall expression befitting the image and status of the office of an auditor general: an uncompromising and distinguished presence, yet restrained, timeless, inclusive and neutral. Other important design considerations were the contribution of the new building to public urban space within the city, and the interfacing thereof with its immediate context and the existing city fabric.

The Auditor General building complex occupies the northernmost portion of an L-shaped site, taking full advantage of the exposure offered by the prominent Robert Mugabe/van den Heever street corner. In response to the generous open urban space and garden of the FNCC across the road, the southeast corner of the site is treated as a landscaped open space planted with indigenous trees and utilised for staff parking. This gesture likewise acknowledges the presence of the nearby and historically relevant Turnhalle building.

Pavements are incorporated into the overall design, with plant boxes, trees and benches edging and punctuating pedestrian routes.

The building’s fragmented layout aims at maximising north orientation: two wings separated by a sunken courtyard garden. Public entrance to the building takes the form of a bridge suspended over the courtyard, while vertical and horizontal circulation is accommodated in the spine that connects the executive and directorate wings.

With completely open layout configurations ruled out by the confidential nature of work, offices are strung along the north and south facades ensuring ample natural light. Service spaces are located along the western façades. Parking for senior staff is located on two levels below the north wing.

External finishes are robust: face-brick, off-shutter concrete and rusted steel make for low maintenance. Fenestration is punched and largely limited to the north and south facades. Balconies allow ease of access for cleaning purposes and, along with the conspicuous brise-soleil elements and a substantial roof overhang, provide sufficient passive sun control. Equally robust, internal finishes follow a limited colour palette.

Jaco Wasserfall Architects Incorporated updated their business hours.

Ernst & Young, Windhoek, Namibia

As a building that represents an innovative, unconventional, and rather exceptional company, the new Namibian head office for Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants has been conceived to give expression to these qualities in a manner that challenges traditional relationships between culture, environment, structure and space, while accommodating the organisation’s progressive working methods. Every effort was made to avoid a stereotypical office solution and to resolve the brief in such a way as to announce the EY identity within the Windhoek urban environment with aplomb and eloquence.

Hemmed in by streets on three sides and sloping down to a small watercourse, the site for the new head office is located in a decentralised commercial node in the suburb of Klein Windhoek and surrounded by hills and low-density residential development. Views onto the site from these surroundings dictated a sensitive approach to form giving, scale, site planning, and the use of materials.

Transparency and legibility were key design considerations from the outset: a strong circulation axis leads the visitor along a shaded entrance walkway to a reception area where glimpses of the building interior are introduced. This walkway also serves as a visual barrier separating the lower-lying staff parking area from the generous open space embracing the public face of the building.

Once inside the building, the visitor is exposed to its entire workings. A clear hierarchy of space from public to private is maintained without introducing physical barriers: the prominent circulation axis terminates in a system of ramps intersecting the double-volume ungulum that forms the heart of the complex.

The distinctive company ethos of Ernst & Young is echoed in the design of both the building’s spatial and office environment through:

the prioritisation of a ‘People First’ philosophy: an unusually large proportion of floor area is dedicated to non-work, staff-related functions ( 28% of the total floor area)

the down-play of corporate hierarchy: a deliberate absence of cellular office space unless needed for visual and/or acoustic privacy – partners are seated within the open office configuration, with the cellular offices a series of meeting and quiet rooms on the east side of each office floor

the concept of generic seating: an open-plan office arrangement with a generic, non-dedicated seating configuration – a first-come-first-served principle applies, and at day’s end personal belongings are locked away in lockers

The new head office complex is the architectural manifestation of these unique Ernst & Young dynamics, set firmly within a Namibian context.

Namibian vernacular architecture served as an abstract for the new building at the request of the client. This found expression not only in a spatial organisation that emulates the traditional Ambo homestead with its all important ‘olupale’, a centralised circular meeting space, but also in the juxtaposing of old and new, both in the making of form and use of materials: for example, the central space with its conical shape, whilst reminiscent of traditional shelter, is truncated in a contemporary fashion, while the rigidity of the rectangular office blocks is contrasted with the organic forms of the drum and the curved stone wall. The combination of organic and manufactured surfaces (stone and water versus steel, concrete, and porcelain) and the alternations between opacity and transparency create a dynamic visual and sensory experience.

In addition to corporate identity and context, other design parameters include the shape and pronounced slope of the site, access, climatic concerns orientation, and security.

The truncated cone has a double-skinned ventilated structure that helps to reduce heat gain: the use of Rheinzink as cladding is a first for Namibia – it is pure zinc, long lasting and maintenance-free, and meets the most stringent ecological requirements.

The decorations within the building interior serve to reinforce a Namibian flavour and references. Twenty-eight light pendants are suspended from the roof of the central drum symbolising the twenty-eight living languages listed for Namibia, and local artist Francois de Necker was commissioned to create a wall-mounted mobile of recycled materials depicting various cultural and economic symbols of Namibia.