Boston 1958

A beautifully preserved MID-CENTURY MODERN residence in Cape Town's northern suburb of BOSTON has given its cinematographer owner more good angles than can be shot in a lifetime.

- ANNETTE KLINGER

“I'M A CINEMATOGRAPHER, so my whole life is about looking at things and finding the best angle to make them beautiful,” says Johannes Pieter Nel, owner of a Mid-century Modern residence designed in 1958 by the late APS Conradie – hailed by some as South Africa's answer to American architecture great Frank Lloyd Wright. “Being able to wake up and live in a space that aesthetically stimulates me 24 hours a day is very special.”

While Johannes was immediately drawn to the retro sensibilities of the house when it came on the market, he only learnt about its architect from the former owners, after which he did a deep dive into Conradie's prolific Modernist oeuvre.

It's one that encompasses public works such as libraries, schools and police stations – but he especially earned renown for his Dutch Reformed churches and residences. “I started visiting some of the houses and churches he built, including his first church in Rawsonville, which is very similar to this house,” says Johannes.

“There's a very churchy, cathedrally kind of vibe to many of his earlier houses, I think because he started out designing churches.”