SAOTA, Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects, South African design studio, Cape Town office news

SAOTA Architects, South Africa

post updated February 12, 2026

February 12, 2026
Villa Lyla, Nassau
Architecture: SAOTA ; Interiors: ARRCC

photo : Adam Letch

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Contemporary South African Architectural Practice – Cape Town Design Studio News

SAOTA Architecture Design News

15 May 2024
Water’s Edge House, Sydney property, New South Wales, Australia

photo : Tom Ferguson Photography
Located in a historical suburb in a treed residential enclave close to Sydney’s central business district, this project’s unique position overlooking the harbour guided every design choice, from the orientation and organisation of living spaces and outlooks to the material palette and landscaping. Creating a continuous interface with the water was critical, as was maximising the ocean views, while maintaining optimum privacy.

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SAOTA Architects News

4 Nov 2022
Glyfada Apartment Building, Athens, Greece
Design: SAOTA with interior architecture by ARRCC

photos : Vangelis Paterakis & Panagiotis Voumvakis
Glyfada Apartment Building Athens

26 May 2022
LuxeRivers Chongqing Apartments

image : PrismImage
LuxeRivers is a new mixed-use development in Chongqing, a large city in southwest China, on a steep site at the confluence of the Yangtze and the Jialing Rivers. It comprises several blocks of luxury apartments, residential villas and commercial elements woven together with extensive infrastructure, including bridges and tunnels, landscaping, paths, water features and recreational facilities.

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SAOTA Architecture Designs – latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically:

Oct 2021

SAOTA has produced two short architectural films. These videos explore two Cape Town projects and follow the homeowners – SAOTA Directors Stefan Antoni and Greg Truen – as they shed light on the design process, the powerful connections to the landscape and how these buildings enable a better quality of life.

Tour Stefan Antoni’s private villa overlooking the iconic Clifton beaches – the architect narrates the story of Beyond, a private residence in Cape Town:
SAOTA // Beyond from Tatjana Meirelles Penfold on Vimeo.

Experience indoor outdoor living at the foot of Table Mountain – Kloof 119a, a private residence in Cape Town:
SAOTA // Kloof 119a from Tatjana Meirelles Penfold on Vimeo.

3 Oct 2021
SAOTA launches first monograph – LIGHT SPACE LIFE

image Courtesy architecture studio
SAOTA launches first monograph
SAOTA, award-winning international architecture studio launches first monograph by Thames & Hudson. The book celebrates thirty-five years of innovative residential design from around the world from Lagos to Los Angeles, including houses from the dramatic South African coast where it all began.

12 Jul 2021
SAOTA Projects Shortlisted for WAF 2021

La Reserve in Dakar, Senegal
Two SAOTA designed projects – DDS in São Paulo, Brazil and La Reserve in Dakar, Senegal – have been shortlisted as finalists for the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2021:
SAOTA WAF 2021 Awards

27 May 2021
Silver Pine, on the Moskva River, Moscow, Russia

photo : Sergey Ananiev
Silver Pine House Moscow
In the Russian Capital of Moscow, this contemporary home Silver Pine, set among the pine woods on an island in the Moskva River, introduces a revolutionary outward-looking approach to the city’s architectural tradition.

2 Feb 2021
Horizon Villa, Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA and ARRCC

photo : Adam Letch
Horizon Villa, Cape Town House
Overlooking the Atlantic Seaboard in Bantry Bay, Horizon Villa boasts the perfect balance between luxury and comfort.

3 Feb 2021
Buffelsdrift Restoration, Ladismith, South Africa
Architects in Collaboration: Jaco Booyens Architect & SAOTA

photo : Adam Letch
Buffelsdrift Restoration, Ladismith
The restoration of the ensemble of heritage buildings on Buffelsdrift, west of Ladismith in the arid Klein Karoo region of the Western Cape, by SAOTA and Jaco Booyens Architect, a specialist in clay buildings, recently won the gold medal at the seventh edition (2019) of the international Domus Restoration and Conservation Award in Italy.

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13 Jun 2019
Uluwatu House Bali, Indonesia
Design: SAOTA

photograph : Adam Letch
This resort‐inspired home in Bali’s iconic surf destination, Uluwatu, puts a contemporary spin on local materiality and vernacular architecture to create a luxurious modern holiday home deeply attuned to its beautiful surroundings.

30 Apr 2019
Neuländer Quarree Precinct Competition, Hamburg, Germany

image Courtesy architecture office
The winners of the architectural competition for the new Neuländer Quarree precinct in Hamburg have been announced. The jury awarded SAOTA – an architecture and design firm from Cape Town, South Africa, BeL Architecture from Cologne and ROBERTNEUN Architects from Berlin.

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23 Nov 2018
KLOOF 119A Residence – Lion’s Head House, Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Project Team: Greg Truen, Dov Goldring, Jaco Bruwer, Ian Cox and Puja Patel

photographers : Adam Letch & Micky Hoyle

18 Oct 2018
Beyond Residence in Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni and Leah Johnson

photographers: Adam Letch & Stefan Antoni
Perched on the shoulders of Lion’s Head, the home springs from a steep hillside that drops off to the famous sequence of Clifton’s white beaches to the Twelve Apostles beyond.

20 Mar 2018
Luxury Restio River House in Pringle Bay, South Africa

photograph : Adam Letch

10 Apr 2018
Contemporary Double Bay House on Sydney Harbour Shore, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

photograph : Adam Letch

28 Feb 2018
Bora Headquarters, Illes Balears, Spain

photograph : Adam Letch

29 Jan 2018
La Lucia in Kwazulu Natal (KZN), South Africa

photograph : Karl Beath

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8 Nov 2017
House Invermark by SAOTA – Awarded 2017 CIFA Commendation, Cape Town, South Africa

photo : Stefan Antoni
Forty seven years after receiving a medal for excellence, House Invermark has been awarded a prestigious Commendation from the Cape Institute for Architecture (CIfA), in recognition of noteworthy contributions to architecture.

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26 Oct 2015
OVD 919 Residence in Bantry Bay, South Africa
Design: SAOTA

photo : Adam Letch

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11 Aug 2014
Sprecher House, Hangklip, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : SAOTA – Stefan Antoni

2 May 2014
Yzerfontein Residence, Pearl Bay, Yzerfontein, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

image from architects

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22 Aug 2013
Melkbos, Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : SAOTA

22 Aug 2013
Glen 2961 Residence in Cape Town

photo : Adam Letch

25 Jul 2013
Kloof 151, Clifton, Cape Town, South Africa

photo : SAOTA

7 May 2013
De Wet 34, Cape Town, South Africa

photo : Adam Letch

5 Apr 2013
Head Road 1815, Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA Architects

photo : SAOTA

14 Feb 2013
St Leon 10, Cape Town, South Africa

photo : SAOTA

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7 Dec 2012
Plett 6541 – House at Plettenberg Bay, The Robberg, Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : SAOTA

22 Nov 2012
Head Road 1816, Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : Adam Letch

29 Oct 2012
Glen Higgovale, Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : Adam Letch

14 Aug 2012
Clifton House, Cape Town, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : SAOTA & Adam Letch
The clients, a British couple living in Cape Town, requested a six-bedroom, seven-level home that makes the most of the site, the views and the mountain.

9 Jun 2012
La Lucia Durban Holiday House, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Design: SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : Karl Beath

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SAOTA Architects – Key Projects

Buildings by SAOTA Architects listed chronologically by addition date:

6 Apr 2012
Pearl Bay House, Pearl Bay, Yzerfontein, South Africa
SAOTA Architects

photos : SAOTA
The clients are a couple from New York building a holiday home in the Southern hemisphere for summer vacations. Aware of contemporary architectural trends, they requested a sculptured building with clean horizontal lines, large areas of glass and screens.

6 Apr 2012
Radisson Blu Hotel Dakar, Senegal, western Africa
SAOTA Architects and Antoni Associates

photo : Jon Case & Vauban Radi

6 Apr 2012
NTunde2 Lagos Property, Lagos, Nigeria, western Africa
SAOTA Architects

photo from architects

2 Apr 2012
Mankgaile Primary School, Limpopo, South Africa

photo : SAOTA

19 Mar 2012
Voelklip Beach House, South Africa
SAOTA Architects and Antoni Associates

photo : SAOTA & Adam Letch

19 Mar 2012
Nettleton Clifton House, Cape Town, South Africa

photo : SAOTA & Adam Letch

19 Mar 2012
Dakar Sow House, Senegal, western Africa
SAOTA Architects and Antoni Associates

photo from architects
This luxurious property is set on a cliffside overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Dakar, Senegal. The house was designed for a Senegalese businessman and his family and built on the site of an old World War Two bunker and on the edge of a cliff.

10 Jun 2014
Cove 6 House, Pezula, Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa
SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo from architects

19 Mar 2012
Cove 3 House, Pezula, Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa
SAOTA – Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects

photo : Micky Hoyle courtesy of Visi