Creating Coromandel

Coromandel House sits in a valley near Lydenburg, about 275 km northeast of Pretoria, South Africa. Completed in 1975, this farmhouse has gained a cult following for its mix of building, ruin and wilderness, and it appeals to anyone curious about architecture that grows out of its natural setting.

Milanese architect Marco Zanuso (1916-2001) designed the house for clients Sydney Arnold Press (1919-1997), a South African fashion retailer, and his wife Victoria de Luria Press (1927-2015). The couple met in 1969, and their shared passion for design led to a ten-year partnership. That collaboration produced the house on the Press family's large farm and, in 1978, Edgardale, their business headquarters.

The book examines the relationships among the clients, the architect and the notable figures connected to the project. They include photographers David Goldblatt (1930-2018) and Margaret Courtney-Clarke (born 1949), German-born architect Steffen Ahrends (1907-1992), Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx (1909-1994) and Italian landscape architect Pietro Porcinai (1910-1986). Photographs, sketches and firsthand accounts document a lesser-known period of Zanuso's career. He was known for small industrial design products and large warehouses for IBM and Olivetti, and with Coromandel House he worked skillfully across both scales.

The volume looks at Zanuso's responses to the landscape and the interiors, and it shows how the design process unfolded through collaboration. Fans of Coromandel House will find a single reference source. Architects, designers, historians, photographers and anyone interested in design will find an inspiring account of how a legacy was built.