Hidden Joburg: The Home of Edoardo Villa

2Summers | 28 September 2024
johannesburg architecture art

A couple of years ago I started a “Hidden Joburg” series – a quest to visit all 28 places in the book Hidden Johannesburg, by Paul Duncan and Alain Proust. Then I got sidetracked. I published my last Hidden Joburg post in December 2022. But finally, almost two years later, I have a new Hidden Joburg place to add to the series: the home of the late sculptor Edoardo Villa in Kew.

The stark, sculptural exterior of the Villa Home, which was built in 1968.

Edoardo Villa, born in Italy in 1915, came to South Africa in the 1940s as an Italian prisoner of war and never left. (The Allied forces brought tens of thousands of Italian prisoners to South Africa during World War II. Quite a few of them settled here after the war.) Edoardo Villa went on to become one of South Africa’s most famous sculptors, and his work is in prominent locations all over the country. He died at home in 2011, at the age of 95.

A Villa sculpture in Braamfontein that I photographed several years ago.

The relatively small house in Kew – which architect Ian McLennan designed for Edoardo and his wife, Claire Zafirakos – is an architectural masterpiece. Here’s what my architect boyfriend, Thorsten, who visited the Villa Home with me, wrote about the house:

There were these little moments that stopped me in my tracks: light striking a roughly plastered wall, glimpses into treetops or through spaces, objects on a window cill catching the light, or verdant plants against a raw cement backdrop. I was flooded with a serene kind of joy and a certainty that the choices made in this building are not extravagant and outlandish, but pragmatic and economical, hardwearing and robust…The house reaffirmed my dream that architecture can be smart, beautiful, economical, and enriching. This house’s rough cement render has lasted for 60+ years and the water stains, lichen, and creepers only add to its extraordinary character. –Thorsten Deckler, aka @TheThinking_Hand

A sketch of the back of the house, which Thorsten made during a previous visit.
The back of the house.
The side of the house. It’s too bad the sky was so grey – Thorsten said the house looks amazing with a blue sky behind it – but I still thought it looked beautiful.
I love the view down into the garden from the house’s patio. The white building, once Edoardo’s studio, is now Lunetta’s.
Looking out through the front door.
The verdant plants Thorsten mentioned.

Our Tour of the Edoardo Villa Home

We visited the Villa Home as part of a tour with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation. Artist/designer/bookbinder Lunetta Bartz and art collector Warren Siebrits, hosted the tour; Lunetta and Warren were friends with Edoardo and Claire when they were alive, and Lunetta now lives in and owns the Villa Home.

Warren and Lunetta in the Villa Home courtyard.

Lunetta has kept the house much the same as it was when Edoardo and Claire were alive; the only big change is that the the home’s interior is now white.

Tour guests fill up the lounge/dining area, which was my favorite part of the house. How cool is this sofa?
It was freezing that day but the house felt warm, thanks to this fireplace and clever insulation (a rarity in Joburg).
One of the "glimpses through spaces" that Thorsten mentioned.
A glimpse of the bedroom.
The cozy TV room.
I did a bad job capturing this incredible skylight in the hallway but had to include it anyway.
Another interesting example of how the architecture brings light into the house.
And another – this is in the kitchen.

I loved this tour, despite the terrible weather, and as always I’m grateful to the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation for providing access to beautiful Joburg spaces like this.

Thorsten was very happy inside this house.

Now I need to get back to visiting more Hidden Joburg places – I have seven left. Does anyone have a connection at Joburg City Hall, Anglo American, or Park Station? (The last one is a long shot, I know.) Either way, more to come soon.