VdB Architects

VdB Architects Architecture & Design

VDB Sketchbook — From the Studio TableSome ideas start as lines on paper.These drawings explore rhythm, shadow, and the ...
04/12/2025

VDB Sketchbook — From the Studio Table

Some ideas start as lines on paper.
These drawings explore rhythm, shadow, and the way spaces breathe — long corridors, clerestory light, pitched roofs, and openings framed for views of the Overberg landscape.

A reminder that architecture begins long before the computer.
It starts with pencil, intuition, and imagination.

VDB Architects
Design with context. Build with intention.

VDB Notes | Elevating Coastal LivingCoastal architecture is more than opening the house to the sea.It’s about shaping sp...
25/11/2025

VDB Notes | Elevating Coastal Living

Coastal architecture is more than opening the house to the sea.
It’s about shaping spaces that celebrate the view while protecting the people who live in them.

In the Western Cape, wind, sun, salt, and shifting landscapes create a complex environment.
Design becomes the balance point — framing the horizon, sheltering against the elements, and creating moments of calm within openness.

Elevating coastal living means designing with the site, not just on it.

Where views meet protection.

Vdb Notes | Behind the Design: Reading the SunLight reveals how a space wants to be lived in.In this home, the sun creat...
21/11/2025

Vdb Notes | Behind the Design: Reading the Sun

Light reveals how a space wants to be lived in.
In this home, the sun creates long shadows that move across the floor — a quiet reminder of orientation, time, and season.

Full-height glazing brings in balanced northern light, while clerestory windows soften the brightness and draw it deeper into the room.
The structure, the beams, the textures — all of it works together to frame sunlight in a way that feels warm, calm, and intentional.

Designing with the sun isn’t only about opening up a view.
It’s about shaping atmosphere.
It’s about comfort.
It’s about understanding how light behaves.

Where orientation becomes atmosphere.

Project in collaboration with
Builder:

VDB Notes | Managing Sun & ShadeLight shapes how we live.In the Western Cape, the sun is strong, direct, and ever-presen...
14/11/2025

VDB Notes | Managing Sun & Shade

Light shapes how we live.
In the Western Cape, the sun is strong, direct, and ever-present — influencing comfort, orientation, and atmosphere in every home.

Designing with the sun means understanding its rhythm:
where it rises, how it moves, and how it shifts through the seasons.
Shade isn’t the opposite of light — it’s what makes light liveable.

Through thoughtful orientation, deep overhangs, layered screens, and material choice, architecture can soften glare, welcome warmth, and create calm, balanced spaces all year round.

Where orientation becomes atmosphere.

Behind the Design: The Wind Wall in Betty’s Bay - a collaboration with This home sits just one row back from the ocean ...
12/11/2025

Behind the Design: The Wind Wall in Betty’s Bay - a collaboration with

This home sits just one row back from the ocean — where the South-Easter is a constant guest.
The challenge was clear: create an outdoor entertainment space that’s still usable on the windiest coastal days.

Instead of hiding from the wind, the design turns it into part of the experience.
A curved brick wall embraces the patio, breaking down the wind’s force by deflecting and guiding it rather than stopping it outright.
The circular shape forms a calm pocket in the centre — a natural gathering point.

Small openings between bricks were left intentionally — not as decoration, but as breathing gaps that allow air pressure to balance.
They let the wind pass through instead of building up, softening gusts and creating a gentle airflow that cools the space in summer.

The result is a protected, sculptural courtyard that remains connected to the surrounding landscape —
a space shaped by collaboration between architecture, craftsmanship, and environment.

Project collaboration:
Builder:
Location: Betty’s Bay, South Africa

VDB Notes | Designing for Windy Coastal ConditionsThe Western Cape coastline inspires but also tests architecture.Strong...
07/11/2025

VDB Notes | Designing for Windy Coastal Conditions

The Western Cape coastline inspires but also tests architecture.
Strong winds, salt, and shifting light demand design that listens to the land.

This week, we explore how to build homes that embrace these forces instead of resisting them.

Architecture with soul begins with understanding nature. 🌿

Hi! I’m Vincent, a professional architect and part-time artist with over 15 years of experience in crafting timeless, de...
02/11/2025

Hi! I’m Vincent, a professional architect and part-time artist with over 15 years of experience in crafting timeless, design-driven architecture.
My work blends craftsmanship, creativity, and regional understanding — shaping buildings with soul that belong to their place and people.
Rooted in South Africa’s landscapes and inspired by global perspectives, I create bespoke spaces that balance honesty, function, and emotion.

Stay tuned for VDB Notes — a weekly exploration of architecture and design, sharing insights, facts, and practical guidelines on creating meaningful spaces and how thoughtful design shapes the way we live.



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Solar Parking and Spa building on a 5-star Game Lodge in Limpopo. invested another 100 solar panels in their sustainabl...
01/09/2023

Solar Parking and Spa building on a 5-star Game Lodge in Limpopo. invested another 100 solar panels in their sustainable tourism stance through the use of clean energy.

We used the independent primary cantilevered structure as a shading canopy with new utility spaces underneath, able to expand freely as the need arise, whilst enjoying passively cooled interior spaces. Looking forward to take this project to site!

The Platform was a proposal for an exclusive meeting hub in the centre of historical Stellenbosch. Spaces inside the her...
16/08/2023

The Platform was a proposal for an exclusive meeting hub in the centre of historical Stellenbosch. Spaces inside the heritage building had large volumes, perfect for inserting a mezzanine that expanded the limited floorspace and provided for smaller intimate meeting spaces.

West Coast House maximises it’s orientation and spatial relationship between massing to create a well balanced indoor-ou...
10/08/2023

West Coast House maximises it’s orientation and spatial relationship between massing to create a well balanced indoor-outdoor lifestyle that responds to the climate and local context. The courtyard space offers a private and protected nook that links all the primary spaces of the dwelling. Designed for an interesting individual, the design seeks to convey it’s unique character through the expression of simple and sometimes overlooked architectural elements, as one can see in the negotiation of the chimneys. Small moments of delight should never be disregarded even on tight budgets!

Man Cave Garage Conversion.The brief was for the extension of an existing single garage into a liveable 'man cave' space...
02/08/2023

Man Cave Garage Conversion.

The brief was for the extension of an existing single garage into a liveable 'man cave' space, a triple garage for the toys and ample work/ storage space. The roof tilts open towards the North to maximise natural daylighting whilst creating a secure and practical structure.

House remodeled in Stellenbosch for a large family lead to the modernization of the façades as well as the floor plan to...
02/08/2023

House remodeled in Stellenbosch for a large family lead to the modernization of the façades as well as the floor plan to facilitate their lifestyle and growing spatial needs.

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