Discarded office furniture becomes bespoke art for the 2050 workplace.

UPCYCLE, a unique showcase which recently took place at Maker’s Landing at the V&A Waterfront, reimagines the future world of work through circular design. The exhibition was a collaboration between Sanlam, leading global property advisory company JLL, and its subsidiary interior design firm Tétris Design and Build – a world-class design, build and furniture business.

UPCYCLE saw a group of local makers and artists, alongside a local and international team from Tétris transform discarded office furniture into bespoke art installations.

Each piece of art was assigned a sustainability score, which guides incorporating sustainability aspects at every stage of design and build, covering eleven essential pillars. The artworks were evaluated according to factors such as the use of materials to minimise impact, design to foster improved air quality and water preservation, the inclusion of natural elements and light to promote well-being, as well as innovation.

Patrick Bongoy

The 2024 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize finalist is known for embracing an artistic methodology that revolves around the randomness and unique properties of the materials he works with. His process relies on actively listening to the materials as they guide and direct him, allowing for a fluid and organic creative approach.

For the exhibition, Bongoy used 80 unused desk bookshelves to create Carrefour – a four-stair structure that fosters a sense of connection, a place where people can converge and exchange ideas. His second piece for UPCYCLE, Sagan Palmier, was crafted from plastic dustbins, bookshelves and old meeting room tables. The towering lamp references the palm tree, which plays a significant role in African biodiversity production and agriculture.

Both installations invited the viewer to engage with the profound connection between art, environmental consciousness, and the power of recycling.

Ananta Design Studio

Sisters Viveka and Rucita Vassen from Ananta Design Studio created a plush ‘sea creature’ for UPCYCLE. The design duo used a discarded office bin at the centre of their playful lighting installation, which incorporated tactile elements like dried seaweed flowers, beaded urchins and fronds woven from old cassette tape by the talented makers at re.bag.re.use.

”When we thought of the future of the workplace, we thought of a playful, sensory, and interactive space. We wanted to create a plush floor seated area – something that stimulates creativity, challenges the current perception of the workplace and acts as a connector to nature,” says Rucita.

Wiid Design

Laurie Wiid van Heerden and his team at Wiid Design created an outdoor sculpture that adds to the environment by offering itself as a sustainable haven for birds.

Birdhouse – Version 2, crafted from recycled office bins and cork, symbolises coexistence and community. This contemporary interpretation of a functional birdhouse emphasises the importance of conserving wildlife and biodiversity, while also reducing the abundance of waste by up-cycling forgotten office furniture.

Hoven Design

Nisha and Justus Van der Hoven imagined the ‘future of work’ according to a job description set in the year 2050. At the centre of their multi-faceted display was the Cabinette – a tiny work cabin.

”The decentralised workforce of the future will rely heavily on a mobile toolkit, which is housed in a customised ‘cabinette’. This functions as a base station to perform tasks in the field. In the case of the Climate Restoration Engineer (a naturalist), the cabinette is an indigenous seed library, a herbarium for preserved plant specimens and a mobile apiary for the rehabilitation of insects,” says Nisha.

Cabinette was crafted entirely from old office furniture – old credenzas, dustbins and cubical screens were used to craft the mobile unit. The Climate Restoration Engineer’s work ‘jumpsuit’ and overgarment was made from the office cubical acoustic panel fabric and barrier mesh the designers found on the side of the road. ”Because we don’t know what the landscape will look like or what dangers we’d face in 2050, we decided to choose blaze orange as our primary colour – it’s non-threatening to wildlife but easily identifiable to the human eye,” says Nisha.

Tétris

Helen Wentzel and Tshepiso Lesufi from Tétris South Africa created Work at Play, a series of rotating, swinging seats.

”We found these corporate workstation legs, sketched out our ideas and came up with this swing,” says Tshepiso. ”We thought about our children who are our future workforce, and what they would want. We created this functional seating system that encourages creativity,” says Helen.

Another creation from the Tétris team was the Oxygen Farm Work Pod – made from reclaimed COVID work screens and plywood. ”This is a fully functional green pod, which is ideal for bringing nature into an interior working environment,” says Helen.

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Meet the designers turning trash into treasure by transforming old office furniture into works of art for UPCYCLE: Office Furniture Reimagined

This unique showcase taking place at Makers Landing at the V&A Waterfront on 19 and 20 April 2024 will highlight how design has the potential to shape a more conscious workspace.

Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy, sisters Viveka and Rucita Vassen of Studio Ananta, Nisha and Justus Van der Hoven of Hoven Design, and Laurie Wiid of Wiid Design have been tasked by global design and build company Tétris to create an artwork or installation using donated office furniture items in a direct response to the current office ecosystem that sees furniture often end up in landfills. Their four pieces will be showcased alongside Tétris’s furniture upcycling projects.

The team of designers representing Tétris is stacked with international talent. An acclaimed figure in architecture, interior design, space planning and workplace consulting, Adrian Davidson, Design Director Tétris EMEA, has more than 25 years’ experience in designing luxury eco-lodges, retail and premium workplaces. Before joining Tétris he completed Klein JAN, the award-winning restaurant in the Karoo in the Western Cape for Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik Van Der Westhuizen.

Amaury Watine, Creativity and Innovation Director Tétris EMEA, has an extensive background as a product and space designer with particular interest in innovation, trends and technological developments. His work for Scaleway, a French cloud computing and web company, reflects a forward-thinking approach to space design focused on the end user experience.

Flying the flag for South African design will be Helen Wentzel and Tshepiso Lesufi, both Senior Interior Designers from Tétris South Africa. Helen has more than 30 years’ design experience in the commercial, residential, and retail sectors, where she uses her love of design and attention to detail to create spaces that people find rewarding. From the Pepsico HQ in Johannesburg, to curating the selection of African art for the Roche Johannesburg informal collaboration spaces, Wentzel has an incredible knowledge of local design and materials.

Tshepiso has more than 18 years’ experience in retail and corporate design. With an interest and joy in local design and craft that infuses her work, Lesufi recently completed work for NBA in South Africa and Ethiopia where she worked with teams to repurpose and refurbish 65% of existing office furniture and fittings to create dynamic workspaces that playfully include sustainability best practice principles.  

Each of the designers and artists, chosen by the Tétris team based on their body of work and reputation in the industry, play a critical role in shaping what the future could be and imagining new possibilities for the workspace. The brief was simple: create an installation or art piece from disused office furniture, and then use this creative moment as the foundation to define what ‘the future of work’ may be – functional and practical, or abstract and fantastical.

Laurie Wiid is well-versed in the art of using unconventional materials in his work. As the founder and lead designer of Wiid Design, Laurie is an expert at finding the niche between high-end and sustainable product design. For UPCYCLE, he will be creating a sculptural birdhouse using almost 30 old office dustbins in combination with cork, steel and concrete. 

Studio Ananta is a Cape Town-based design studio committed to fostering a circular economy and creating sustainable, ethical and eco-conscious products. The studio’s fantastical beaded creations, characterised by colour and bold patterns, are designed by the duo and crafted in collaboration with skilled artisan communities, such as the beaders at Monkeybiz.

“We are thrilled to be participating in Tétris’s UPCYCLE exhibition which allows us the opportunity to explore how creativity, colour and craft can be used to reimagine the future of workspaces,“ commented Viveka and Ructia.

Acclaimed Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy is a fierce advocate for using art to give new life to discarded materials. Using materials such as disused rubber, the artist creates new life and symbolism with his artworks, making him the perfect contributor to the UPCYCLE project.

‘The concept of the workplace has undergone significant changes over the past few decades, and the future promises to bring more transformation,’ says Patrick, whose project will involve developing an artwork that helps workers lower their stress and anxiety and boost their performance.

Lastly, Nisha and Justus Van der Hoven’s unconventional and multidisciplinary architecture, interior design, film and exhibition studio Hoven will bring its experimental approach to the UPCYCLE exhibition. By combining their overlapping interests, the duo has shaped a unique process in their approach to projects and imagining new possibilities within an African context – particularly with regards to workspaces. The Van der Hovens have previously been involved in the architectural and interior design of workspaces such as Workshop17’s The Bank, Firestation, Kloof Street and Tabakhuis buildings, where they rethought the future of the physical, digital and experiential workspace and developed new space typologies designed for flexibility, variety and choice.

In terms if of the event, there will be a student-focused day on 19 April and a walkabout with the artists and designers on Saturday 20 April at 11h00, which will be led by Heath Nash of Circular Squared. A designer and serial social entrepreneur, he has been ardently advancing the notion of waste as value since 2004. The Head of Sustainable Design at Circular Squared, a non-profit that champions circular economic thinking, and the founder of Our Workshop, a shared upcycling and design studio in Langa, Heath is committed to social engagement and circular design in all his work.

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This pioneering exhibition taking place from 19 to 20 April 2024 showcases how human creativity can tackle the challenge of tomorrow’s working world.

Upcycle is an innovative initiative showcasing how design can champion circularity and contribute to creating more sustainable workspaces. This project will take the form of an exhibition in Cape Town, presented by JLL, a leading global property development company, and its subsidiary Tétris Design and Build, an interior design firm. The exhibition aims to raise awareness around environmental challenges and inspire others to take action.

“We see a brighter way forward for our clients, our people, our planet, and our communities… we’re unveiling opportunities that create a brighter future for all,” JLL states.

Tétris, which creates commercial environments that are inspirational and sustainable, is deeply invested in defining what tomorrow’s workspaces will look like in our ever-changing society. JLL and Tétris have identified that we need to contend with how the agile reconfiguration of the workspace in the post-Covid world has led to a mounting tide of discarded office equipment and furniture that either languishes in storage, ends up on an over-supplied second-hand market, or worse – in landfill. In Tétris’s view, designers and artists play a critical role in imagining new possibilities that help shape what the future could be, which is why the company has invited a collective of leading creative minds to spotlight the issue and to prompt its own organisation and the broader industry to reconsider their role.

With Upcycle, the aim is to put bigger issues of sustainability and regenerative design under the spotlight in a creative way. A select group of local designers and artists, including members of Tétris’s own local and international teams, has been tasked with breathing new life into discarded office equipment and furniture pieces. With these thought-provoking pieces that will ignite conversation, Upcycle is set to be an intriguing affair.

The select group of local designers and artists include:

• Congolese artist Patrick Bongoy
• Sisters Viveka and Rucita Vassen of Ananta Design Studio
• Nisha and Justus van der Hoven of Hoven Design
• Laurie Wiid of Wiid Design
• Amaury Watine, who is the Creativity and Innovation Director Tétris EMEA
• Adrian Davidson, Design Director Tétris EMEA, as well as two Senior Interior Designers from Tétris South Africa, Helen Wentzel and Tshepiso Lesufi.

The exhibition will be open to the public at Makers Landing at V&A Waterfront from 19 to 20 April 2024. On Friday 19 April, design students will be welcomed for a special student-focused day, and on Saturday 20 April there will be a free curated walkabout with the artists and designers at 11h00. 

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We caught up with the creative force behind innovative furniture brand Wiid Design to find out more about his approach to design, and his studio space.

Walking into Laurie Wiid van Heerden’s Cape Town showroom, with its views of Table Mountain, is like stepping into a cabinet of curiosities, where the temptation to touch and feel is as critical as sight. As a self-taught furniture and product designer, Laurie has been reimagining wood, clay, glass, steel, terrazzo and, of course, cork for more than a decade under the auspices of Wiid Design.

How he learned his craft

Before Laurie started Wiid Design, he was an apprentice to various artists and craftsman, learning skills from cutting and kiln drying the timber to manufacture furniture pieces. Assisting artist Wim Botha, he also worked on large scale projects that entailed steel, fine carpentry, joinery and prepping various materials for carving.

“As a designer, you have to understand materials and various software prior to designing a product. I had to experiment with cork for over 10 years in order to fully understand the various properties. When I initially opened Wiid Design, it was only myself and Sam (my first employee) who physically manufactured everything for more than 5 years in a small workshop in Woodstock.

“Having the knowledge to communicate to engineers, carpenters and suppliers in the correct way is one of the most important factors of being a designer and running a design business. It involves lots of research and trial and error, and it takes experience. It also allows you to push boundaries and perhaps adapt and modify designs in ways you might not consider if you were only outsourcing or if you do not have the correct amount of experience.”

His approach to design

His sensorial touch is evident in an impressive collection of bespoke products and designs that explore the tension between the natural and man-made and put him at the intersection between art and interior design.

“The essence of what we do at Wiid centres around a passion for materials and the tradition of craft, a curiosity for experimentation and revealing the artisanal soul and intimacy of the handmade. For me, the power of the collective means fewer boundaries, more opportunity and learnings and the excitement of building momentum together as a creative community.”

“Design to me is not just about function; it’s about how it makes you feel. So, instead of a piece of cork, a lump of terrazzo, or a dollop of clay, I try to use these materials to convey a feeling in all who come across them. That feeling, for me, is a successful design.”

The space, why he choose it, and how it’d evolved

His studio, workshop and factory in Cape Town’s Woodstock is a place where Laurie’s ideas take form; from giant cork pendants that draw the eye upward to hand-blown amber glass tumblers designed to cradle perfectly in the palm of one’s hand or the raw glamour of handmade ceramic tabletops glazed to perfection in an ombré of autumnal shades. It’s a space resplendent in Laurie’s love of art, colour and collectables.

“We bought the building in 2014. I loved the 90’s double-volume structure with its simplistic grey face brick facade. It is an industrial building with massive volumes, parking and most importantly it was not a heritage building, which meant I could  make changes to suit our needs without going through drama regarding certain regulations.

“We had to do quite a lot of renovations  make it work for my business. We gutted all the offices to make it more open-plan, installed a new roof, an oak floor, two skylines in the showroom, cast all the floors in a gloss grey epoxy resin, and painted the facade black. We painted the interior walls in a crisp white to create a clean canvas, and then also included grey and black detailing all over to create a uniformed clean/ contemporary look.

“The natural light in the showroom allows for a calm green space with oversized plants in an almost tropical conservatory setting, where I can showcase not only the work we do, but also the things I collect.

A typical working day

It’s a full working day for Laurie and his team – he gets the factory every day at around 8.30am and leaves around 6:30 / 7:00pm. First up is to do the rounds downstairs in the factory side, greet the staff and double check what’s on the production schedule, what needs to go out and what needs to be ordered.  

“Monday’s and Friday’s are more intense due to the week’s planning and general collections and deliveries. I’ll head up then to my office to have a coffee or two, scan through emails, and go through my to do lists. I am very hands-on, particularly with managing projects and our production. I therefore constantly move between my office and the factory overseeing progress, quality and timelines with the team. Or I could be out doing an installation (which is often the case).

“It’s my job as the owner and creative director to keep track of all the various stages of product development and manufacturing from start to scratch. This includes design work, presentations, quotations, invoicing, product development, production schedules, timelines, packaging layouts, exports and delivery schedules.”

He still make time for design

As the business has developed, much of his day is now absorbed in the studio/factory management and admin, but Laurie still makes sure he’s in touch with his roots, where designing new collections and experimenting is what makes him happy.

“I have a very capable team whom I personally trained over the years. It is however important for me to be hands-on when it relates to new products we are prototyping, especially with regards to the ceramics. Though we have various collections that we constantly manufacture on a daily basis, it’s the new products and the mix of incorporating new materials with the old that excites me. When we do a new product, I am always involved in development and, once the new product or collection has been trialled and tested, I will hand it over to our team for production. I’m constantly trying to find more time to do design new work … I love making new stuff and getting involved in the process.”

The art hanging on the studio wall and the stories behind them

Laurie has loads of art and collectibles – it’s been a passion of his to collect and trade from a young age. The professional trading spark happened when he worked under Otto du Plessis from Bronze Age, as he was the first person to teach Laurie the value of trading. 

“Currently I have pieces by William Kentridge, Wim Botha, Conrad Botes, Jillian Lochner, Frank van Reenen, Lionel Smit, Otto du Plessis, Ceramic Matters, Nicolaas Maritz, Lakin Ogunbanwo and Barry Salzman to name a few. I also have a passion for collecting plants such as cacti and various rare specimens, natural history, furniture, walking sticks and antique plant stands.“

Laurie’s favourite and most treasured art pieces include:

• Vases sculpted by the late Anthony Harris from Ceramic Matters – “He was like a father figure to me and my best friend, we often traded and the various vases I have collected from him over the years  are priceless to me.“
• Charcoal and ink sketches by Wim Botha – “When I apprenticed Wim at his studio in Kommetjie he was well aware of my passion for collecting art and gifted me these artworks to say thank you after we completed exhibitions.“
• Small Ink drawing by William Kentridge – “William was staying in the old slave cottage in Simon’s Town (back then part of Bronze Age) I walked to him and provided a small leather bound book with handmade paper including a quill pen – I then ask if I can have his autograph, he smiled and said, ‘what a beautiful book and pen‘ he drew me a small bird and provided his signature underneath.“
• Oil Painting by Lionel Smit “untitled” – “I have known Lionel for more than 12 years and we have collaborated on numerous hand painted benches, I have traded with him many times but this special painting is something I treasure“

New products/ranges in the pipeline

Currently almost 60% of Laurie’s business relates to custom products designed and developed for lodges, boutique hotels and private homes locally and abroad.

“We are therefore constantly developing new pieces, but with tight deadlines it is often very difficult to professionally document these pieces and place them on our website or market places. We are however focusing on launching new ceramic tables, ceramic vessels including tableware, glassware and fun sculptural structures similar to our birdhouses.“

We are also in the process of developing new lights and furniture pieces from moulded cork and not machined and hand-finished cork. All our cork is already recycled cork, but the moulded element will add just another sustainability factor to our production process whereby we will not only reduce costs but also be able to produce products quicker from locally sourced recycled wine corks and offcuts from our standard production process. 

“Lots to keep me busy… but unfortunately the realistic thing all relates to time and our limited hours a day. I love what I do but it’s difficult to make time for the new and fun projects if one is constantly running a business with a busy production schedule.“

wiiddesign.co.za

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Bonolo Chepape of Lulasclan, Laurie Wiid Van Heerden of Wiid Design, Bonga Jwambi and Marie Aoun of Saint D’Ici have each designed and created pieces that speak to the heart of their craft while taking inspiration from and elevating the qualities and characteristics that set BULLDOG apart as a refined and modern gin.

The collaboration is part of BULLDOG’s efforts to support and celebrate local design, as the brand resonates with the independence of those who seek to carve out their own paths, write their own story and pioneer the unconventional. A total of 12 items have been created from the collaboration’s efforts, with furniture by Bonga Jwambi, woven artwork by Bonolo Chepape, a gin-inspired botanical scent by Marie Aoun and a glassware set by Laurie Wiid van Heerden.

Bonolo Chepape, founder of textile studio Lulasclan created three one-of-a-kind woven artworks that subtly represent the boldness of BULLDOG as a brand. From the “B” in the brand’s logo to the shape of the bottle and the brand’s signature black colourway, various brand traits were considered in Bonolo’s designs to produce the fluid yet geometric shapes in the final artworks. “I see myself as a woven person – there’s different parts that come together to form my identity. And that’s what I wanted to explore in terms of the brand and depict in the three pieces I’ve created.”

Laurie Wiid van Heerden worked with Ngwenya Glass to create a gin glassware set made from recycled BULLDOG Gin bottles. “We came up with the concept of a short gin glass with a unique twist – where we could incorporate recycled glass with cork,” says Laurie. Each glass in the set has been designed to meet and intersect with a cork base to form one unit. The glassware set comes complete with a cork tray featuring a dark porcelain inlay.

Furniture designer Bonga Jwambi’s goal for his collaborative designs with BULLDOG Gin was to create furniture pieces that celebrated the social side of gin-drinking – items that would encourage intimate moments of interaction and sharing. The final custom designs include a bar stool, bench and low resting chair. “I used a natural wood called Kiaat because of the dimension of colour,” says Bonga. “In one piece of wood you can get about five shades of colour. I wanted to create items that anyone would like; that anyone would love to have in their space.”

Marie Aoun, founder of Johannesburg-based botanical parfumerie Saint D’Ici, created a collaborative BULLDOG scent, where she worked towards replicating the smell of the gin with the complexity that stems from some of the gin’s natural botanicals. With ingredients such as coriander, bergamot, cinnamon, vanilla and vetiver, amongst others, Marie’s creation with BULLDOG is a unisex scent that is expansive, dry and full of interest and depth.

BULLDOG Gin drinkers stand a chance to win one of the 12 exclusive collaborative pieces when purchasing a limited-edition BULLDOG Gin pack, available in store until the end of December 2020. Not for sale to persons under the age of 18.

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When a New York couple opted to build a home in Cape Town, they honoured its location by furnishing it with pieces by some of South Africa’s most renowned artists.

It was 13 years ago in 2007, that New Yorkers Jim Brett and Ed Gray were first enchanted by Cape Town. At the time, Jim was Head of Home at leading US retailer Anthropologie and was on a buying trip to South Africa with local design promoter and exporter Trevyn McGowan of The Guild Group. The three of them embarked on a trip cross-country, visiting the studios of artisans and designers, and formed an immediate bond. “I had never met anyone who could match my passion for handicraft and design,” Jim says of Trevyn.

“As we travelled to South Africa more often, we fell in love with the country, specifically Cape Town and its environs,” Ed says. So, it came as no surprise to family and friends when he and Jim decided to build a home for themselves in Hout Bay, just 30 minutes from Cape Town’s city centre, in which they hope to eventually spend six months of the year. Enlisting the help of Trevyn and her husband and business partner Julian, it was only natural that they would continue their trajectory of working with local designers, furnishing the home with pieces by some of the country’s most prominent names.

For the new build, the couple briefed architect Francois Swart of PADIA, requesting barn-like structures that suited the expansive property, on which they also have a guesthouse. Pitched roofs, a silo structure, and a variety of window shapes brought this vision to the fore. “As a reference to the informal way sheds grow into existence, there is a certain charm in the creative use and placing of windows,” says Francois, explaining the forms that are stackable and hidden in places, lowered for framed views in other instances, or inserted flush against walls in corners in order to allow light to flood in unobstructed. “The ‘journey’, surrounded by nature, can be experienced open or closed, and doubles as a pause area that can be used as a sunroom or gateway to the pool garden,” says Francois of the thoroughfare that offers glimpses of the furnishings beyond.

“It’s really enjoyable creating a world for people you care about,” says Trevyn of the project that has dressed the home in pieces by the likes of Gregor Jenkin, Charles Haupt and Laurie Wiid van Heerden, designers represented by the McGowans’ collectible design gallery, Southern Guild. “It’s a beautiful homage for the work we all continue to do for South African design,” she says of the result.

The newness of the home and its interiors paint a fresh African story for the US couple. “It’s important to us that our home feels warm and welcoming, with a degree of humility,” says Jim. Their modus operandi in eliciting the desired warmth was a crafted use of colour. An abstract artwork by John Murray mounted above the dining room cabinet – where striking tones mix with neutral hues – informed the colour choices for sofas, walls and decorative objects.

As with the varying patterns in John Murray’s painting, a myriad forms exist in the home – from tapered pot plants and circular nesting tables to curvaceous dining chairs and elliptical sideboards. “There are very few hard corners on the furniture items,” Jim explains of their brief. “Ovals, circles, or rectangles with rounded corners… it’s very subtle details that add a softness to the experience.” Equally considered is the collection of ceramic vessels. “I’m a bit of a ceramics junkie – I just can’t seem to stop buying them,” says Jim. It’s a passion he and Trevyn have shared since the start of their friendship, which made it easy for her to suggest new pieces by Andile Dyalvane, Zizipho Poswa, Anthony Shapiro, John Bauer, Madoda Fani and Chuma Maweni for the home.

What began as a professional exploration between Jim and Trevyn over a decade ago has resulted in a very personal celebration of South African design. “We still manage to inspire each other,” Jim smiles, gesturing around the home that proves his point.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at the colourful, bold contemporary Johannesburg home.

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Up-and-coming designer Khosi Leteba is behind the design of the Bodulo Bench, created in collaboration with Wiid Design and Nando’s Clout.

The bench is a striking interpretation of Basotho culture, with the influence evident in the patterned illustrations and curvature of the design. When conceptualising the bench, Khosi drew on his heritage and ancestry, keeping culture, architecture and agricultural practices top of mind.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlBlL4J2P8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Initially part of a trio, the bench forms part of the larger Bodula collection, which Khosi pitched at the inaugural Clout Industry Days Fired Up by Nando’s at 100% Design South Africa 2019. His work caught the attention of the judges, including Tracy Lynch of Nando’s Clout and Studio Lee Lynch, and prototyping for the Bodulo bench began.

Tracy thought that designer Laurie Wiid van Heerden of Wiid Design would be the ideal collaborator for the project, where he brought in his distinctive cork furniture style to complement Khosi’s design.

The final piece is a fusion between tradition and contemporary design and will be available globally through the Nando’s Portal To Africa.

For more information, visit clout-sadesign.co.za.

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Nando’s is supporting a collective of South African designers to showcase their work at the annual Milan Design Week from 9-14 April 2019. 

The exhibit, entitled Sacrosanct, was conceptualised by Thabisa Mjo of Mash.T Design Studio who was invited to exhibit as part of Ventura Future. Thabisa has a longstanding relationship with Nando’s after her Tutu 2.0 light helped her win the Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search Lighting Design Competition in 2016.

The pendant has since been awarded the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa in 2018 at Design Indaba, exhibited at 100% Design South Africa in Johannesburg and 100% Design in London, and installed in Nando’s restaurants around the world. It’s no wonder Thabisa was included in the Mail and Guardian newspaper’s list of 200 Young South Africans.

Now, thanks to sponsorship from Nando’s, the Tutu 2.0 will be showcased in Milan as part of the local design collective curated by Thabisa. Thabisa also designed the Sacrosanct installation architecture, taking inspiration for the room-sized pod from her celebrated server (which graced the cover of VISI 97).

Visitors will enter Sacrosanct in order to experience the local products. In addition to Thabisa’s lights, her Potjie Server will be the centrepiece of the interior. It features beaded panels by Qaqambile bead studio, in association with Spier Arts Trust, and a hand-painted pattern by mixed-media artist and fashion designer Sakhile Cebekhulu.

Thabisa Mjo and Sakhile Cebekhulu.

Inside Sacrosanct will be mirrors with woven details by Candice Lawrence of Modern Gesture; two carpets by The Ninevites – one a wall hanging and the other a handwoven mohair rug – both inspired by traditional Ndebele tribal patterns; Mpho Vackier’s Oromo chair upholstered in fabric designed by Bonolo Chepape of Lulasclan; and a collection of four ceramic vases by Laurie Wiid van Heerden of Wiid Design.

Candice Lawrence of Modern Gesture was one of the finalists in the Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search Lighting Competition.

Founder of The Ninevites collaborative platform, Nkuli Mlangeni was the winner of the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa at Design Indaba 2017.

Mpho Vackier of The Urbanative took inspiration from traditional African hairstyles for her African Crowns Collection.

Bonolo Chepape, founder of Lulasclan, was one of the finalists in the 2018 Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search.

Art meets function in Laurie Wiid van Heerden’s Wiid Design pieces.

A limited-edition tote bag will showcase Agrippa Mncedisi Hlophe’s award-winning pattern design. Agrippa is the current winner of the Nando’s Hot Young Designer Talent Search.

Agrippa Mncedisi Hlophe with his award-winning pattern.

In supporting Sacrosanct, Nando’s continues its commitment to promote and support South African design. Its global franchises’ feature Afro-positive interior design: bold, bespoke furniture items that are procured through an online interface known as The Nando’s Portal to Africa (bepartofmore.com) and a revolving gallery of contemporary Southern African artwork curated by the Spier Arts Trust.

“There’s tangible evidence of a dynamic, layered culture filtering up in what’s being created here in South Africa,” says Creative Director of the Nando’s Design Programme, Tracy Lee Lynch of Studio Lee Lynch. “These emerging designers are passionate about telling that unique story. And how they tell that story is often through collaboration with crafters and other makers. Often a piece reflects so much more than just one person’s ideas or responses. It’s perhaps why, when works travel from South Africa, they get the response they get – because they feel like they’re a whole universe in one piece. There’s so much inspiration here that isn’t cookie cutter, that isn’t very safe.”

Since its launch in May 2018, The Nando’s Portal to Africa, which acts as one of the largest facilitators of South African design export, has generated more than R16 million in sales for its featured designers. Follow the Nando’s Hot Young Designer account on Instagram for the latest news and read more about its design platform here.

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A movable transparent facade bonds the interior of this contemporary Pretoria home with its remarkable natural setting.

“Nothing that looks like a house.” This was the brief to architect Nadine Engelbrecht at the conceptual stage of her clients’ new home in Zwavelpoort, east of Pretoria. “It took me four or five proposals to figure out what that meant,” she recalls.

For homeowners Charmaine and Andre Freyer (who happen to be Nadine’s parents), inspiration came in the form of an unpretentious barn conversion. What materialised was a contemporary glass house with bricked extensions on either side. “Our previous home was in a valley, so I really wanted views this time round,” says Charmaine.

The house sits at the upper end of a 36 ha stretch of land that drops down towards Zwavelpoort Spruit. Capitalising on the location, Nadine incorporated 16 photovoltaic panels and three dams in the design, taking the house off-grid.

A steel-and-glass skin is all that separates much of the home from the landscape, and the absence of blinds and curtains bolsters the dwelling’s bond with the outdoors. Living, kitchen and dining areas run perpendicular to the barn-shaped conservatory at the core of the house, allowing the Freyers to close sections off for temperature regulation. Ceiling fans, ribbon windows and strategic overhangs also aid in thermal control.

Picture entering the voluminous conservatory with its more-than-6 m-high roof. Light washes in from windows, doors and skylights, and inside you’re greeted by a profusion of happy indoor plants. The floor seems to disappear beneath you where a glass panel reveals a subterranean wine cellar. Then, as though in a scene from a James Bond movie, a colossal mechanised glass door (a sexy cousin to the garage variety) rises at the flick of a switch, connecting you intimately with the outdoors. If “nothing that looks like a house” was the brief, this is indeed a triumph.

“This idea of having a view of the landscape from everywhere in the house, and bringing the views and greenery into the core of the conservatory, means it’s not a case of inside versus outside; it’s all the same thing,” says Nadine.

Charmaine is an admirer of South African design, and notable contemporary furniture pieces feature in every room: A David Krynauw chandelier, a Laurie Wiid van Heerden bench, a Gregor Jenkin table and Ronel Jordaan chairs mingle with pieces that bear the signs of the passage of time. For Charmaine, there’s no bigger turn-off than a one-size-fits-all approach.

The length of the house faces north, towards the plunging cleft in the mountain that gives the area its name, but the Freyers’ bedroom and balcony claim the lion’s share of the views down the escarpment, covered with indigenous trees and grasses. It’s here, on the balcony, that they sit and sip the best wines from their cellar as they watch the sun go down over Bronberg, an extension of the Magaliesberg range.

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“Natural history and natural curiosities have always been part of my inspiration, where my studio displays a variety of interesting objects, shapes and curiosities,” says renowned local designer Laurie Wiid van Heerden.

Wiid Design’s collection of timber tortoiseshells, hand carved by carver Dumisani Chiota of the Wild Design team, was directly inspired by Laurie’s love of tortoises and their gentle nature. “Ever since I was young I have had a fascination with tortoises,” he says. “I am also intrigued by their symmetrical geometric armour in combination with the variety of colours and shapes of their shells.”

The shells, available in a variety of sizes in hard maple, walnut, teak and zebrano, are carved from solid laminated timber blocks. “Seeing as I love tortoises and want to protect the species and not exploit them in any way, I decided to mimic some of my favourite tortoiseshells in solid hand-carved timber.”

Laurie is also behind the design of the Meraki Daybed. “The initial concepts derived from extensive research and drawings based on various shapes and forms,” says Laurie. “This resulted in my decision to focus on African furniture in combination with more modern geometric shapes.”

The Wiid Design team made use of traditional techniques in combination with CNC technology to create this contemporary furniture piece in American soft maple and 100% recycled cork. “The decision to combine two natural materials such as cork and maple is an example of how we combined two very different but also similar materials to create something new and original,” he says.

The Meraki range will be expanding in 2018 to include two occasional chairs.

The below video takes a closer look at the process that goes into making these intricate designs.

View more of Wiid Design’s work at wiiddesign.co.za.

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