Axor, the designer brand of bathroom specialist Hansgrohe SE, revealed five prototypes for avant-garde mixer spouts in Milan.

Each year, as part of its WaterDream project, Axor invites a group of international architects and designers to consider water and the living space, and come up with designs.

For WaterDream 2016, Axor invited architect David Adjaye, furniture designer Werner Aisslinger, design group Front, design studio GamFratesi and architect Jean-Marie Massaud to conceptualise the ultimate water mixer spout for the bathroom of the future. It had to fit on Axor’s U-Base, a universal mixer base for spouts.

Ritual

David Adjaye’s bronze-and-granite sculptural creation, celebrates the ritual of modern living. The water itself is ritualised, from source to flow and eventually descent.

Mimicry

“We didn’t want to simply create a mixer, an object that dispenses water; we wanted to accomplish perfect integration into an architectural landscape,” says architect Jean-Marie Massaud about Mimicry, his tap design that sees the marble merged in harmony with the water.

Water Steps

Water Steps by Anna Lindgren and Sofia Lagerkvist of Front focuses on the playful exchange between water and form.

Zen

Zen, from design studio GamFratesi, is an interpretation of an Oriental bamboo fountain, exploring “the honest connection between water and nature in a spiritual way”, explains the duo, architects Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi.

The Sea and the Shore

The Sea and the Shore is German furniture designer Werner Aisslinger’s design. Made of clay, the design is a hybrid, combining the idea of a shelf and a fountain. The shelf symbolises the beach and the water fountain symbolises the sea, constantly filling the beach with fresh water.

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For Jozi-based fashion designer Suzaan Heyns and graphic designer Willem Kitshoff, their wedding in the Free State was as much a celebration of love as an expression of creativity.

The Suzaan Heyns fashion label has long had a link with architecture and sculpture. The eponymous designer’s Autumn Winter 2013 range took its inspiration from the Indian-style doors and labyrinthian alleyways of Zanzibar’s Stone Town. In 2012, her Re-imagine Concrete collaboration with cement manufacturer PPC revealed a marriage of fashion and sculpture that had the country’s most fashionable tongues wagging. So, when it came to wedding her partner of 14 years, this bride’s penchant for art and architecture took centre stage.

The venue was the 135-year-old Prynnsberg Estate in Clocolan in the Eastern Free State. Established in 1881, a century before both Willem and Suzaan’s birth year, the estate was the brainchild of Kimberley diamond magnate Charles Newberry, built in pursuit of creating an English country estate in Africa. It featured various buildings and facilities: two churches, a vicarage, a game-keeper’s lodge, barns and a cricket field. But its star feature was a grand Victorian sandstone manor. The house suffered generations of neglect, until the current owners bought it in 2003 and set about restoring it with the guidance of a master plan by architects Michael Scholes and Michael Rayne.

“The house has an eerie sensuality about it and, with murals painted by Rudyard Kipling, I found it incredibly unusual and visually appealing,” says Suzaan. “It resonated strongly with our aesthetic.”

Much like the house and in true Suzaan style, the wedding was no ordinary affair. First off, instead of flowers, the decorations consisted of white ceramics. The sculpture theme was pulled through to the decor and the wedding cake – doing away with the familiar figurines and instead featuring sculptures of Willem and Suzaan’s hands.

For the reception table, Suzaan got in touch with Rial Visagie, founder and creative director of Ceramic Factory. “I asked him for any pieces that weren’t perfect that we could repurpose. Ceramic Factory loved the idea and supplied beautiful slightly flawed items that found a new home in the shape of serving ‘dishes’. We took them to the local bakery with the instruction to cram as much dough into the shapes as possible and bake and see what happens. The process was very experimental but the result was food as art – bread over-flowed from ceramic pieces such as cups, cattle skulls, spindly deer, miniature dogs and dinosaur feet, purposely creating an interactive experience for people to literally break bread together.”

The couple invited about 60 wedding guests and took full advantage of the setting. Says Suzaan: “It was quite the event, with guests arriving on Friday and leaving on Sunday. The idea was to have a full-blown weekend of fun for our closest friends and family. Surrealist adventure games, dressing up and, of course, flowing Champagne… The celebration felt like an opulent festival for the not-too-fussy. Although the manor house can accommodate only 24 guests, Prynnsberg has a glamping area set with canvas tents, where there was a lot of late-night dancing in the moonlight.”

Avant-garde, bizarre, inventive, boundary-pushing… These are all words that have been used to describe Suzaan’s work as a designer. We didn’t expect any less from her wedding, and she didn’t disappoint.

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Renowned French designer Philippe Starck’s latest creation, an avant-garde hotel in Singapore’s Robertson Quay area, is a raw concrete structure brought to life through the use of projections and videos. Named M Social Singapore, the 293-room hotel is decorated with Philippe Starck designs.

“M Social is where all the elements of the world – including creativity, humour and love – come together in an explosion of energy to create the joy of today and tomorrow’s world. To me, it is a stage dedicated to creative people,” says Starck. The hotel offers four types of rooms of different sizes and configurations, humorously named The Nice Room, The Nicer Room, The Big Room and The Bigger Room. The Nicer Room opens out to a private terrace, and The Bigger Room is a duplex-style loft, also with its own terrace. Even The Nice Room has a dedicated patio.

The hotel’s bar and restaurant also benefit from Mr Starck’s style. Classic and contemporary elements are combined to striking effect in the leather-upholstered couches, Spanish tiles, soft furnishings and contemporary art on the walls.

Going to Singapore any time soon? Visit millenniumhotels.com to make a booking.

(h/t) designboom.com

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Keep yourself (and your home) feeling cosy this winter with any of these 10 knitted accessories.

1. Mark Tuckey Striped Round Cushion R599, Cotton On

2. Grey Knitted Throw R795, Weylandts

3. Large Knit Scatter Cushion R350, Studio. W at Woolworths

4. Ensson Knit Throw R1 399, Country Road

5. Cable Knit Weave Pouffe (50cm x 30cm) R899.99, Mr Price Home

6. Gabi Beanie R169, Vero Moda at Superbalist.com

7. Wool Hand Woven Stool R1 299 (in store only), @home

8. My Big Tea Teapot (1.5L) R799, Eva Solo at Yuppiechef.com

9. Fine-knit Scarf in Navy R199, Avant Garde at Spree.co.za

10. Nomkhitha Throw R1 350, MaXhosa for Hinterveld at On The Patio

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Whether you’re looking to brighten up your outfit with a bold design or simply stay warm this winter, these 10 stylish scarves for the season will do the trick.

1. Block Printed Scarf in Geo Ochre R495, Skinny laMinx

2. Grid Rib Knit Scarf R699, Country Road

3. Mountain Long Scarf R199, Vero Moda at Superbalist.com

4. Block Print Scarf R160, Woolworths

5. Sierra “Jubilee Field” Wool Shawl R1 071, Hinterveld

6. Patricia Geo Scarf R180, Poetry

7. Simple Stripe Scarf R229, Avant Garde at Spree.co.za

8. Gridlock Print Scarf R49.99, Mr Price

9. Feisty Floral Watercolour Scarf R500, Handmade By Me

10. Geostatic Scarf R699, Mimco

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