Cape Town Wedding Village

This was one of my last projects in South Africa in 2007. Someone had bought two adjacent plots of lands with two homes. Totally different styles. One had a huge tree so to protect the drive way they built a very untidy metal roof supported by an antiquarian 50s wall. The owners started building here and there and achieved nothing coherent. Then called on me. They wanted a wedding venue with a theme. I came up with a Captonian style to unitie it all. Taking each outbuilding giving it a different look with gables and details. The brief was the least pleasant it was knitted of I want glamour but no spending, I want columns galore...etc. It's not easy to deal with people when they have their mind set on a dream that they can't afford and categoricaly refuse to change for example windows they made that were 1foot too low and looked like horsestables instead of house windows. So with much creativity I worked on illusions of raising horizontals without changing windows
introducing plaster relief work to add interest to blank old cheap red brick walls. It as a constant battle my concept was a majority of white and brick painted in pale pastels and softentend greys mixed with typical Cape Town wall colours. That is something the owner categorically refused till the end insisting on leaving the brick. I pleaded to leave read brick apparant only at certain areas as done on purpose. Insisting that the pastel area will give it a much wanted "romantic feel" setting off the white dresses of brides ...but to no avail. Money was an issue at all times down to the cost of a pot of paint. When I moved in there were wood pole fences on top of roofs etc ...Photo six is a musical and conference room/hall facing a carpark I wanted old fashion corrugated tin roofs painted in green and white stripes as in the Cape. But no he insisted on it to be plane and then forced the wrong angle making it too flat. They blocks you see were destined to make a beautiful bench in rough wood or stone to protect the walk way that is 45cm lower than the carpark and insure total safety against any car jumping forward ( it happens) especially in a wedding venue where guest may consume alcohol. The chapel is an old "laundry corner" facing a swimming pool. Not having enough space my idea was to cover the existing volume of the swimming pool with strategically placed opaque glass bricks in the floor to provide day light and cover it and make a sunken spa sauna jacuzzi underneath open (in the evening) when no wedding ceremony is planned. The wall along the drive I suggested to become a bridal walk so guest seated would see her arriving protected from the elements. I wanted to cover the old 50s wall with plaster but it was an unending battle. The two squares behind the chapel facing the car park where supposed to have a very simple sleak cross made with plaster and brick relief.
The big Greek inspired pool by the house that existed, was set in awkward colonnades that did not match anything. I wanted to soften the cheap straight lines with curves to no avail. The pool side along the wall was suppose to grace some over seized short "pied d'estale" with ornamental grasses and plants and water falls but he insisted on one more column setting. I consider this project of mine even not 100% me a miracle as it was a nightmare of a money strapped client who posed condition on condition and made every worker flea within days due to his slave driving language.