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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsGregory Katz merges clashing geometries for South African home
https://www.dezeen.com/2023/09/12/gregory-katz-great-primary-shapes-house/![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_12.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_hero_dezeen_2364_col_0.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_8.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_2.jpg)
A collision of geometric forms in contrasting brick and concrete defines Great Primary Shapes House, a dwelling in South Africa designed by local architect Gregory Katz. Commissioned by a couple with a "distaste for the ordinary", the four-bedroom home in a suburb of Johannesburg is made up of squares, circles, triangles and an octagon.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_19.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_4.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_10-scaled.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_0.jpg)
The concept for the 275-square-metre home came from Euclid's Elements, a book by the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid that Katz was reading while working on the design. "As I delved into the book, I became captivated by the idea of creating a structure where the exterior of each shape is composed of different materials, while the interior materials remained consistent, thereby unifying the spaces," explained Katz.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_22.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_5.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_1.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_11.jpg)
The entrance to Great Primary Shapes House is a triangular form with exposed concrete walls, circular side windows and a fully-glazed frontage. It is connected to one side of a two-storey octagonal brick form, which is punctured by trapezoidal windows and contains a large dining and kitchen area. The entrance leads to a short corridor where sliding glass doors open onto the garden. It also leads through to a cylindrical concrete volume, where a living space is illuminated by a high-level, semicircular window.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_24.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_16.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_18-scaled.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_1.jpg)
On the west side of the home is a cuboid form built from perforated blockwork. Topped with solar panels, it contains a garage, gym and guest apartment and adjoins a small circular space containing utility areas. To the east, an oval-shaped swimming pool is wrapped by a garden terrace connecting to paved paths that lead around the sides of the home and link its various forms.
snip
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_9.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_13-scaled.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_21-scaled.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_14.jpg)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/09/gregory-katz-architecture-great-primary-shapes-house-south-africa_dezeen_2364_col_7-scaled.jpg)
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Gregory Katz merges clashing geometries for South African home (Original Post)
Celerity
Sep 2023
OP
Chainfire
(17,757 posts)1. It looks like a well-to-do dentist's office.
Srkdqltr
(6,560 posts)2. How do they get any privacy? Or keep the bugs out.
Dosen't look comfortable.
niyad
(114,906 posts)3. Thank you. It is a fascinating design. That one photo of the circular section
rather reminds me of a teapot without the lid.
Perfect timing. I had been thinking that I had not seen one of your architectural essays recently, missing them.
Celerity
(44,477 posts)4. I posted one 2 days ago
Mid-century Zero House in London imbued with "Kubrick feel"
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181883485
plus these others last week:
Charred-wood beach house sits among Amagansett's dunes on Long Island
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181881514
Edition Office uses concrete and copper to finish Australian apartment block
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181881507
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181883485
plus these others last week:
Charred-wood beach house sits among Amagansett's dunes on Long Island
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181881514
Edition Office uses concrete and copper to finish Australian apartment block
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181881507
![](/emoticons/hi.gif)
niyad
(114,906 posts)5. Thank you. I must have missed them somehow. Will check them out.
In the circular structures, is that soil on the roof? Will they be doing rooftop gardening?
Response to Celerity (Reply #4)
niyad This message was self-deleted by its author.