Hidden Joburg: The Home of Edoardo Villa

by | Sep 28, 2024 | Arts and Culture, Hidden Joburg, Johannesburg, Museums and Buildings | 17 comments

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.

17 Comments

  1. dizzylexa

    Beautiful home, one of my best and to think it was built way back in the 1960’s. I also loved how the light filtered into the house and of course my favourite has to be that skylight.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      I loved that crack in the wall between the passage and the lounge.

      Reply
  2. AutumnAshbough

    I love all the ways the villa gets light. Creative and unusual.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      Me too! And Thorsten too 🙂

      Reply
    • Yumna Mahomed

      A reminder of when I was growing up in Durban my late mom rented a few houses that we lived in. Very different to what people are happy to live in today. I’d love the life we led very content and proud of who we were and what we had.

      Reply
  3. Carol

    What a wonderful gem.

    Reply
  4. Sasha

    Please carry on.

    Reply
  5. Leonardo Lupini

    Mr Villa worked for my late grandfather after his release from Zonderwater concentration camp near Pretoria after the war. They both came from the same town in Italy. I still recall many of Villa’s early works at my grandfather’s yards in Wynberg up until the early 90s, which is not far from Villa’s house in Kew.

    Reply
    • 2summers

      That’s so cool! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    • typhooncandid3cb15afce1

      Edoardo Villa was an intern at Koffiefontein not a prisoner of war. He was interned with my father. There is (or was a few years ago) a statue designed by him at the entrance to the town. I visited there about 9 years ago. Does anyone have evidence he was at Zonderwater? Maybe someone has the history wrong?

      Reply
      • 2summers

        That’s interesting! Everyone I’ve spoken to said he was at Zonderwater, including out hosts on the tour. I’ll ask around.

        Reply
      • Leonardo

        Im not sure about Koffiefontein, but as far as I know, Villa was interned at Zonderwater after his capture in North Africa. He came from the same town in Italy as my grandad, and when he was released after the war, my grandfather, who had already settled in SA, offered him a job.

        Reply
  6. Brian Hern

    Now this is what Johannesburg ‘s history is about, really superb

    Reply
  7. PENNY CLEMSON

    One of my favourite Heritage tours, made special by the kindness of the host and hostess. A beautiful house with extraordinary touches and many memories. Thank you, JH and 2summers for your article.

    Reply

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