HOTEL GARDENS
SPIER FARM | STELLENBOSCH
The original Spier Hotel was conceived in an era of large conference venues, tour groups and expansive hospitality spaces. Its transformation in 2025 offered a chance to rethink the relationship between architecture, landscape and place.
Working closely with a client deeply committed to sustainability, the intention was to create a hotel that feels more like part of the farm than something placed on it. Rather than starting from scratch, we removed significant portions of the existing building, allowing the landscape to slowly reclaim parts of the site and re-establish a stronger connection to its surrounding ecology. The aim was to move towards a place with a strong sense of genius loci, a landscape that feels grounded, specific and quietly connected to its setting.
In contrast to the gardens of the historic werf, where plants are arranged in structured, geometric beds, the hotel landscape was approached as something looser and more immersive. Instead of a traditional ornamental garden, guests are invited to move through a living system where biodiversity, seasonal change and natural processes are allowed to shape the experience.
The planting design is rooted in the ecology of the Cape Flats. The site’s seasonally waterlogged, poorly draining soils support a diverse community of grasses, sedges and geophytes that are well adapted to wet winters and hot, dry, windy summers. These existing plant communities became an important reference point for the design, helping to shape a landscape that feels resilient and closely tied to its environment.
Many of the species were propagated for the project by Wilton Sikhosana at Spier. As the grasses begin to fade into warm tones of gold and bronze towards the end of summer, the first winter and early spring geophytes start to emerge through them. Zantedeschia, Chasmanthe, Bulbinella and Ornithogalum appear in seasonal waves, bringing subtle moments of colour and marking the shifting rhythms of the Cape Flats.
Rather than imposing a fixed idea of a garden, the project works with what is already present in the landscape. The result is a space that invites guests to slow down and experience the richness, resilience and quiet beauty of this very particular part of the Cape.