telephone: +27 (0)28 388 09 20
mobile: +27 (0)82 097 16 55
email: book@farm215.co.za
postal address: po box 1314, gansbaai, 7220, south africa
physical address:
farm 215 – "hartebeeskloof & koudeberg"
baardskeerdersbos - overstrand

Farm 215 nature retreat & fynbos reserve is one of the pioneers in sustainable hospitality in South Africa. The 800 ha reserve is a rare and unique sanctuary of different indigenous vegetation types and a haven for numerous birds and animals. Around the old homestead - standing lonely and somewhat imposing on top of its hill - the new infrastructure of the guesthouse has been developed to be compatible with the surrounding nature. The result is surprising and inspiring architecture: unmistakenly 21st century design which blends and harmonises with the ancient surrounding landscape and which optimises renewable and available resources. The efforts of farm 215 have been acknowledged by the Western Cape Conservation Stewardship Association. Farm 215 is the winner of the Cape Fox award 2007.

Nature-conscious hospitality calls for an architecture that balances the expectations of demanding travellers with a universal (and evermore acute) need for balancing our needs with renewable resources. Developing Farm215 as a nature retreat for a niche of sophisticated, or simply curious, travellers was a challenge. We wanted to offer our guests an opportunity to experience nature AND local cultural heritage in a setting tuned to the exceptional, still largely unspoilt natural environment of this remote fold of the Overberg. The challenge was to offer an environment that pays tribute to the unique Cape Floral Kingdom, the harsh social history, and the promise of a sustainable and fair future for everyone. It was essential to find the right scale and relation to the landscape and to stay in tune with the building language of the Overberg.

We implemented new means of power management and found ways to filter the water sourced from the premises, we learnt of invasive vegetation and its threat to water supply and local ecology and what we came up with is an architecture which sits on and in the landscape in such a way that it profits optimally from the locally available resources.

With the abundance of sun, wind and lots of very tasty fresh water, sustainable architecture should not be a problem in theory. In reality though it is an incredibly hard job to depart from the traditional preset solutions and still meet the expectations of the demanding and conscious traveller.

Solar devices for electricity as well as the supply of hot water are integrated into the architecture and the landscape. In winter the excess heat produced by fireplaces is caught and rechanneled to heat water. Used water is routed back to the stream from where it originates and waste is separated and recycled.

In the end of the day the human factor is the most important. The daily management of Farm215 is done with an eye to nature conservation and minimising the impact of human activity upon it. Since this is a business as well as an ideal, this is a constant effort. The architecture and landscape design aspires to harmonise with nature, but it is the use of it that does the job. People matter.