Morukuru Ocean House: Futureproof luxury
As a private villa in De Hoop Nature Reserve, a haven for birds, whales, fynbos, Morukuru’s coastal property, Ocean House needed to align with values of sustainability and a celebration of nature. As a result, the house was designed to have as little impact on its surroundings as possible, while still maintaining the standards of five-star luxury for which Morukuru is known. General Manager Calvin agrees, ‘Because we were building in such a pristine environment, we wanted the house to exist in harmony with it.’
Nicholas Plewman Architects was brought in to make manifest the vision for the lodge – the firm’s ecological ethos, and an aesthetic that refrains from all forms of waste made it the ideal candidate to design a luxury lodge with a light footprint. The result is a spare, sleek and sophisticated design that blends into the landscape, but also uses technology to harness the power and resources of its surroundings.
Innovative design elements facilitate passive heating and cooling and lower the power demand of the house - solar power makes use of the plentiful Western Cape sun while double-glazed windows keep the house insulated and cool in summer and cosy in winter. All power is solar, with close to 150 solar panels arranged on the roof to harvest energy during the day, which is fed to the house and stored in a large battery bank.
The sustainability of Morukuru Ocean House extends beyond the structure itself, however. Smart and savvy daily practices and systems show that the company is committed to a long-term goal of uncompromising ecological responsibility.
In the gardens, local fynbos was saved and propagated to populate the space – well-known landscaper Sean Privett took cuttings of different types of fynbos plants endemic to the site before they started with the foundations. He grew them in a nursery until the lodge was built and then replanted the fynbos in the gardens and on the roof to restore the natural beauty of the site.
Plans to get a pellet boiler are in motion which will generate hot water for the lodge through burning compressed wood chips made from the left over wood from pine plantations – energy efficient and a renewable fuel source. Waste management and recycling is also a daily practice with grey and black water and food waste going into a bio-gas system that generates gas for the kitchen.
Central to the beauty of Ocean House and its setting is the team’s commitment to preserving it – this makes the experience of spending time in nature all the more authentic for knowing you’re in harmony with it while in this pristine environment.
